Carol Frazey’s decision not to seek reelection to her at-large seat on the Whatcom County Council has created an opening for conservatives to undo the council’s narrow progressive majority.
The four candidates seeking to replace Frazey tend not to speak about progressive or conservative gains, however. Most say they would rather dispense with the us-versus-them posturing often seen on the council.
This could even be said of Jerry Burns, 63, who runs a towing and hauling company out of Kendall and who describes his politics as an “eclectic” mix that includes ideas from the Libertarian and Constitution parties.
“Being frugal is job one,” Burns said.
But his vision for an austere county government includes an allowance for spending on behavioral health. Burns said the county’s share of the state liquor tax should go toward health services.
As for a new county jail, expected to cost well over $100 million, Burns said he would pinch every penny he could to reduce that expense.
The sheriff’s office, Burns said, is “going to get used desks from Hardware Sales … I can haul the desks myself.”
Hannah Ordos, 50, a customer support manager for a nutritional supplement company, leans conservative. But as an at-large council member representing everyone in the county, Ordos said she wouldn’t allow her personal preferences to dictate her votes.
“I really want this position to be a nonpartisan position, as it’s intended to be,” she said. “I am so tired of the divisiveness on either side.”
If Ordos would favor anyone as a council member, she said it would be those who are unrepresented in the council’s decision-making.
The seat currently occupied by Frazey is a crucial swing vote in what is now a 4–3 progressive majority.
“If you know you always have the votes, do we really get the best outcome?” Ordos said. “Because you don’t have to be as concerned about engaging the rest of the constituents out there, who are represented by the three [conservative council members].”
Atul Deshmane, 55, is an engineer who specializes in clean-energy technologies. He said he would bring his skills as a problem solver to the county council.
In that vein, Deshmane’s campaign website has four pages of policy proposals, including a battery-storage array on the Lummi Peninsula to make the power grid more reliable, and upgrades to the existing county jail — as opposed to waiting for a new jail to be built.
If elected, he said he would resign from his current position as a commissioner for the Whatcom County Public Utility District.
Deshmane said he has proven himself to be pragmatic and capable of listening to all sides of a debate. His proposals on the county planning commission for Cherry Point regulations struck a balance between environmental concerns and good-paying industrial jobs, he said.
“Too often, people on the left and right throw away each other’s stories, and that’s not OK,” Deshmane said.
A candidate for the council at-large seat who fits squarely on the progressive side of the political spectrum is Jon Scanlon, 43. He is on the board of local environmental group RE Sources and works as a consultant for conservation and Indigenous-led organizations.
“I focus on the nexus of climate change and human rights,” he said.
If elected, Scanlon said he would use the upcoming update of the comprehensive plan — the county’s 20-year vision for growth — to work on environmental protections.
That planning would come with the right kind of job growth, too, Scanlon said.
“We have an opportunity here to be at the center of the transition in our energy economy,” he said.
“I think we should be attracting [clean-energy] businesses to our community,” Scanlon added. “So that we’re getting good-paying jobs here that are union jobs, so that people here can continue to live here, raise their kids here and afford to live here.”
