There was more than one surprise at Wednesday’s candidate forum in Freeland where both local and national issues were discussed by general election candidates.

Island County commissioner candidate Rick Hannold told the audience that the threat of global warming is largely overstated.

“I feel it’s just part of the natural course of things,” said Hannold, a Republican. “You can skew the facts either way depending on who’s paying for the study.”

No matter how you view climate change, said Hannold, the county leaders need to be good caretakers of environmental resources with balanced solutions that aren’t “at the expense of our businesses.”

His Democratic opponent Karla Jacks disagreed stating that climate change is a real threat that needs to be mitigated.

“We are experiencing global warming,” said Jacks. “I think we need to help promote protections of our climate and work on different sources of energy.”

The Wednesday night forum was staged by the League of Women Voters of Island County and Sno-Isle Libraries. A second forum will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 16, at the Oak Harbor Elks Lodge.

Jacks said that while she wouldn’t want to raise taxes, she couldn’t say she would never do it either. She said she would prefer to look first for other revenue sources to offset the costs of county services.

Hannold advocated for a lean budget that focuses on essential services and being “good stewards of the money we are given to spend.”

When asked about potential solutions for the county’s growing population of people with mental illnesses, Hannold said, “we need to have compassion.”

Hannold went on to say that he believes that mental health issues start in homes and schools and that the government should “unshackle” parents and teachers from “a lot of liberal rules and regulations.”

Jacks said she understood the problem first hand, describing her mother’s nervous breakdown and resulting hallucinations.

“A lot of families struggle with the system the way it is,” Jacks said.

Jacks said the county’s top two issues are balancing the budget and providing better, more efficient service to the community through upgrades in information technology.

Hannold said public safety and boosting the county’s economy are the top two issues.

In the race for Island County treasurer, candidate Wanda Grone pointed out a $1 million loss in investment revenue by the office last year. If elected, said Grone, she would diversify the county’s portfolio to prevent losses of this size and ensure that a secondary person reviews the investment decisions.

Sitting Island County Treasurer Ana Maria Nunez defended her investment practices saying that “all investments by me follow current policy.”

Grone, a Republican, served as Nunez’s chief deputy until she filed to run against her and was fired.

Nunez, a Democrat, said it is not easy to invest and that the risk of loss is inherent.

“I try to be a good steward of public money,” Nunez said.

Grone said she believes the treasurer should network with other treasurers to find best practices and that the county should stay away from more risky extended maturity bonds.

Grone said if she wins the election, the public can expect “action and answers, not excuses and delays.”

Nunez cautioned voters not to “get sidetracked by rhetoric” and asked for their support for a second four-year term.

Tenth Legislative representative Dave Hayes, completing his first term in Position 2, said he supports Initiative 591 which prevents the state from regulating guns beyond federal requirements. Hayes said Initiative 594, which would require background checks on all firearm sales and transfers, is “focused on the wrong people.”

Hayes’ Democratic challenger, Nick Petrish, said even as a gun enthusiast himself, he believes I-594 doesn’t sacrifice constitutional rights and is a “great way to bend into the demands of the public.”

Petrish said he would advocate for the closure of tax loopholes in order to come up with funding for the state’s public education mandate. Petrish also supports a measure he calls “clawbacks,” which would force companies to repay tax incentives if they break promises to keep jobs within the state.

Looking at the budget “piece by piece” is going to be the only way the state is going to be able to come up with funding for education, Hayes said.

Hayes said he is not a supporter of a state-wide minimum-wage increase to $15 because it would “create an even worse business environment for Washington State.”

Petrish said he would support the $15 wage but would also support a law that would allow workers at large corporations to unionize and negotiate their own wages.

“I am 100 percent in support of the worker,” Petrish said.

Neither of the 10th Legislative Position 1 candidates, Republican incumbent Norma Smith and Libertarian challenger Michael Scott, were in attendance.

A brief statement was read from each non-present candidate.

Republican Island County Auditor Sheila Crider was also absent, but her challenger, Independent Rebecca Wagner was in attendance to make her own statement.