PORT LUDLOW — The three candidates for Jefferson County District 3 commissioner sparred in a forum that drew more than 100 people.
Previously the three candidates had participated in forums in Chimacum, Quilcene and Brinnon.
The seat is now occupied by John Austin, 69, a Port Ludlow Democrat and retired career psychologist, who was first elected in 2006 and is seeking a second term.
He is challenged by Port Ludlow builder Jim Boyer, 64, a Republican, and by Tarboo Bay psychotherapist Diane Johnson, 66, a Democrat.
The two candidates who receive the most votes in the Aug. 17 primary will, regardless of party affiliation, advance to the Nov. 2 general election.
Primary ballots were mailed Wednesday.
Discussion at Thursday’s forum, which alos featured candidates for Position 6, State Supreme Court, was similar to preceding forums, with Boyer criticizing the county for missing the chance at a timber sale, Johnson stressing her local roots and Austin saying that it is one thing to run for office and make promises and another to serve in an office and keep them.
Boyer criticized county spending, saying that the government needs to adopt the basic fiscal standards followed by an average household.
“County policy is not about helping people,” Boyer said.
“It is all about slowing down and impeding business growth, and standing in the way of anyone who has an original idea for a business, and the commissioners want us all to live in a forest where there is no business, commerce or development.”
Boyer favors opening up the permit process and allowing construction projects to continue.
“It’s like the Department of Community Development is waiting for the commissioners to define shoreline policy before it tells people what they can build,” Boyer said.
“We do need to help people through the permitting process but that isn’t simple,” Austin said.
“We need to be fair to everyone, but write laws that take the individual needs into consideration.”
Questions from the audience were asked of the entire panel but some were directed toward Austin, asking him to defend or justify county programs.
One question concerned an advertisement for an assistant county administrator, who would be hired at a salary of about $80,000.
“With the current financial conditions, I don’t think we should be hiring other people,” Boyer said.
“We should be looking for ways to trim the fat.”
“That statement is analogous to saying ‘I haven’t changed the oil in my car or tuned my engine for two years so I might as well wait another two,'” Austin said.
“It’s important that we get someone in this position to take the burden off of our county administrator, so he isn’t bogged down with all these details and can do his own job,” Austin added.
Boyer criticized Austin and the other two county commissioners for establishing of 150-foot buffer zones around wetlands. He said the restriction against development in those zones impinged on property owner’s rights.
Austin defended the buffers, stating that it was important to aggressively protect Puget Sound.
“There is a sense of urgency here and we need to maintain this resource,” he said.
“If we were to lose the shellfish industry, it would cost the county $20 million to start.”
Johnson said that local waters are not in as bad a shape as those elsewhere in the region and existing pollution does not originate from Jefferson County.
“The waste that is in Puget Sound originates from other areas,” she said.
“All the estrogen in the birth control pills from the women in King County is going into the sound and making our salmon a little goofy.
“We need to find the places that are causing these problems and hold their feet to the fire, and make them fix it.”
The Port Ludlow forum on Thursday night was sponsored by the League of Women Voters, the Association of University Women and the Port Townsend-Jefferson County Leader.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
