No surprise local candidates appeared during Filing Week as of noon on Tuesday.
In Island County races, only current commissioners Jill Johnson and Helen Price Johnson have filed for their current positions. No other candidates have announced themselves or filed with the Public Disclosure Commission.
Superior Court Judges Alan Hancock and Vickie Churchill filed for their positions. Oak Harbor resident, and former Island County commissioner, Angie Homola, a Democrat, made good on her promise and filed to run against state Sen. Barbara Bailey, R-Oak Harbor.
If Price Johnson wins, it will be a third term for the Democrat. She represents District 1, which covers South and Central Whidbey.
Her priorities, she said, are transportation, small business, law and justice and the environment. Specifically, Price Johnson said she supports plans to revitalize downtown Clinton and to build a sewage treatment facility in Freeland, both of which will help small business.
When it comes to law and justice, she hopes to find solutions that will keep mentally ill people out of the jail; she also is concerned about opiate abuse on the island and the related property crimes.
“What I bring to the table is experience and fairness,” she said. “I’m willing to listen to all sides.”
Johnson is a Republican who is seeking her second term. She represents District 2, which covers the city of Oak Harbor.
Johnson said she had clearly stated goals for her first term, which she said she was able to accomplish. The commissioners made significant investments in law and justice, the county worked out a fair contract with the deputies, county offices were reopened to five days a week and the county worked collaboratively with other jurisdictions to plan land use.
Also, Johnson said she stood up for farmers by working to reduce the clean water utility fee on agriculture land.
Johnson said her priority going forward will be providing the right level and quality of county services at the most affordable price.
“Island County government is working,” she said. “I see my job as keeping the already well-running train on the track, and ensuring the appropriate expenditures of funding to provide a quality level of service, without increasing government’s role in the daily lives of our citizens.”
