PORT TOWNSEND — Candidates for Superior Court and Board of County Commissioners positions in the Nov. 6 general election weighed-in on public safety during a forum last week.
About 35 people attended the forum at the Chimacum Grange on Wednesday.
General election ballots will be mailed to the military Friday and to all other registered voters Oct. 17.
Last week, in answer to a question about property crime, attorney Peggy Ann Bierbaum — who is running against Port Townsend Attorney Keith Harper for the Superior Court judgeship now held by Craddock D. Verser, who is retiring — said the cause of crime needs to be addressed at its root.
“Property crime happens because of substance abuse,” said Bierbaum, 54, of Quilcene.
“The people charged with property crimes almost always have a substance problem of one kind or another,” she added.
“If we need to stop property crime, we need to support programs like drug court and mental health court and other programs that address the underlying behavior that causes the problem.”
Harper, 58, agreed with this assessment.
“If you eliminate drugs and alcohol, it eliminates a lot of the criminal behavior that leads to propery crime from the equation.”
Along with the judicial candidates, the forum featured those running for Jefferson County commissioner seats.
District 1 incumbent Phil Johnson, a Democrat seeking a third term, is challenged by Republican Geoff Masci, a former mayor of Port Townsend.
Republican Tim Thomas seeks the District 2 set now filled by Democrat David Sullivan, who is seeking a third term.
“I’ve been robbed a number of times and have felt violated,” said Masci, 64, a Port Townsend chiropractor.
“It doesn’t feel good to come home to discover your house is trashed or your office is a mess,” he added.
“But we should feel lucky that all we have is property crime instead of violent crimes against our person,” he continued.
Masci favors supporting law enforcement but also advocates preventive efforts.
“When you have these programs when kids are babies, they don’t show up in jail or in the courts 15 or 16 years later,” he said.
Johnson, 66, advocates a strong recreation program “that gives kids enough to do so they don’t get into trouble. “
Johnson said that he can’t think of a program that can be cut comfortably but if cuts are forced then parks and recreation will probably be sacrificed.
Thomas, 41, and Sullivan, 60, linked property crime to the quality of life.
“If people don’t feel safe, they aren’t going to move here, or they’ll move away,” said Thomas, an Irondale resident who is president of Bernt Ericsen Excavating Inc., of Port Townsend.
“Once that happens, there will be a higher vacancy rate which creates easy targets for property crime.
“I think it is important to fund the sheriff,” Thomas added.
Said Sullivan: “Safety comes first, and if people don’t feel safe they won’t move here to start a business.
“I think we’ve kept pace with what we said we were going to do in supporting the sheriff, but we are having an increase in crime that we can’t support right now.
As for money that can be saved, Bierbaum said she would automate the court and make it less dependent on paper like most of the other courts in the state.
Harper agreed that automation is a valuable tool and predicted that new programs would become available to do so but does not want the county to be the first ones to get those programs.
Masci said that he could not recommend any single program to be cut, saying that each program needs to be examined before such a decision can be made.
State law does not allow sitting commissioners to modify their own salaries up or down. They can only do so for their successors.
Sullivan said that the county has already trimmed a lot of its non-essential programs.
The forum was moderated by Patrick Sullivan of the Port Townsend Jefferson County Leader.
The next candidate forum, sponsored by the League of Women Voters, takes place at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Masonic Lodge, 1350 Jefferson St. in Port Townsend.
Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
