You will be heard. And then some.

That’s the promise from Angie Homola, an Oak Harbor-area resident who is challenging longtime incumbent Mac McDowell for his position on the board of county commissioners this November.

It promises to be an interesting election. Two of three seats on the board of commissioners will be up for grabs this fall. For District 1, a primary battle is already guaranteed as three candidates – Curt Gordon, Helen Price Johnson and Reece Rose – are challenging incumbent Phil Bakke for the seat.

Homola said she has been a citizen activist for the past two years, working on issues such as properly planned growth, protecting the environment and open government.

Homola, a self-employed architect, said she has seen enough to know there is room for improvement in Island County government.

“Until we change the people who have the ability to make decisions, then our own concerns go unheard or are for naught,” Homola said.

Homola is running as a Democrat in the race, though she did not register as a Democrat when she filed as a candidate in the District 2 commissioner’s race with the state on April 1.

McDowell filed as a candidate for reelection on March 8. The Oak Harbor Republican has been on the board of commissioners since 1993.

Homola said she first became interested in seeking a seat on the board of commissioners after she became involved in the fight against the expansion of Oak Harbor’s urban growth area.

The move to amend the county’s long-range growth plan so Whidbey Island’s biggest city could grow even more prompted concerns, Homola said. She became worried that the increase in impervious surfaces – roads, parking lots, roofs – from new development on the edges of Oak Harbor would mean more untreated stormwater rushing into environmentally sensitive areas, including north end estuaries and Swan Lake especially.

“They see this as a giant stormwater detention pond for the city of Oak Harbor. That made me mad enough to run for county commissioner,” she said

Homola worked as a volunteer for two years, and estimates she spent 20 hours a week working on growth and environmental issues.

“What I witnessed changed my life,” she said.

Controversy over the expansion of Oak Harbor’s growth area and the debate over well-planned development put growth issues on the radar for many on the north end, she said. It was reflected in last year’s election for city government positions, Homola added.

Growth is a big issue elsewhere in Island County, she said, on South Whidbey and Camano Island.

“We’re all very concerned with our quality of life and the direction we’re heading with growth,” she said.

“I plan to implement the comp plan, not find mitigations around it.”

Homola has been a registered architect in Washington and Hawaii since 1992. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Washington State University in 1988.

She moved to Whidbey in 1997; her husband, Jerry, is a Naval Reserve pilot at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island.

She has had her own architectural services business in Oak Harbor since 2004, and worked for three years as a plans examiner and building inspector for the Island County planning department from 2001 through 2004.

Homola said her professional skills would serve her well as commissioner, especially her expertise in contract administration and project management.

She also touted her volunteer work in the community – she has two children in Oak Harbor schools – which included designing a new playground and getting it installed, as well as helping out in the classroom. Those efforts earned Homola a “Golden Acorn” award at Broad View Elementary School.

So far, Homola is leading the incumbent in the money race.

According to finance reports submitted this week to the state, Homola has raised $7,606 in campaign funds, which include a $1,000 loan she made to her own campaign. McDowell has not yet reported any contributions to his campaign.

County commissioners set policy, pass ordinances and regulations and adopt a yearly budget.

Commissioners are paid an annual salary of $74,758.

Homola vowed to put “open government” on her list of top priorities.

“I think we’re being ‘heard.’ I don’t think we’re being responded to,” she said.

“I think we can do better. I know we can do better.”