Mark Lundsten - Skagit County Commissioner, D1 (D)

Background / qualifying experiences

My wife Teru and I married 42 years ago, raised a family and live in a house we built in Skagit County. As a commercial fisherman for decades, I successfully helped solve difficult issues, including a quota system for overcrowded Alaskan fisheries and a bycatch-deterrent for an endangered seabird. From my three years serving on the county’s Planning Commission, I know that Skagit County has the same kind of issues: environmental, economic and social.

Handling the pandemic through 2021

Regions with a systematic, functional plan for COVID-19 have the best results, medically, mentally, socially and economically. Leaders need to be role models as well as educators for that plan. With newly developing antigen testing – a quick, cheap, self-test for COVID-19 – and a clear set of mask, distancing and environmental guidelines, we could expedite our social and economic recovery. The key is to formulate and follow a unified plan as we await a vaccine.

County climate change solutions

Skagit County cannot reverse climate change on its own but needs to be part of the worldwide effort to do so. Cutting carbon/methane pollution in half by 2030 and to zero by 2050 requires not just national and international cooperation, but also local action and solutions. Skagit County’s administration, zoning and public education all need to prioritize and facilitate a net-zero future, in cooperation with our state and city governments.

County affordable housing solutions

Affordable housing is essential to our community, for working families, economic equity and for the preservation of farmland. Suburban sprawl will not help. Traditional and alternative means for sustainable density in our cities need to be considered, along with variations for rural housing. Accessory dwelling units (ADUs), housing trusts, urban villages and height limitations all need to be considered. Most importantly, the cities and the county need to develop a common planning vision and strategy.

County water and salmon recovery solutions

We have the tools for countywide water security for public utilities, residential use, agriculture and fish. We need the political will to use them. That is how we avoid the continuation of lawsuits, gridlock and bad politics. The law states that salmon are essential to the Skagit River. If we acknowledge that fact and that water is a finite resource that has to be conserved and managed, we can sustainably provide it for the whole county.

Best ways to position the county for 2050

Skagit County is a magnificent, rare place. Our future relies on accessible, transparent and accountable government, a necessity for a healthy social fabric and economy, and also an instrument for being good neighbors, to each other and to the rest of the world. We face challenges: a changing climate and human habitat, as well as a growing population. We need good, sustainable government to face these issues realistically, confidently and successfully.