Questioning the council candidates

October is here. It is an odd year, 2021. That is true in a lot of ways. One local fact is town council elections occur in odd-numbered years. For the first time since 2015 council seats are contested in La Conner. Residents are fortunate that they have a choice for each position: Ivan Carlson is challenging John Leaver. Rick Dole seeks to unseat Bill Stokes. Glen Johnson wants to replace MaryLee Chamberlain.

Some candidates have been knocking on doors to introduce themselves and discuss their positions. Good for them. In this pandemic year, it is difficult to gather people together for rallies and forums. A group of any size people meeting indoors, or even outside for any length of time, is neither a good idea nor a good public health practice. How to hear the candidates? How to engage them and ask them questions?

The Weekly News has a solution: partnering with the League of Women Voters of Skagit County and organizing a prerecorded Zoom question and answer session with the candidates that will be available for the 18 day voting period starting Oct. 15. The community advantage, beyond public health, is that the YouTube link can be viewed from the League’s website at residents’ leisure and on their schedules. Seek and you shall find. You will not miss it because of a conflict or rain or not being able to get a babysitter.

It would be great to have 100 people in Maple Hall, but not this year. That is a one-time event that many would have missed for a variety of reasons in a non-pandemic year. This month voters can watch the 45 minute exchange of issues from home, a coffee shop, a library or anywhere they can Zoom in at the time and date of their choosing.

So, how to put the public in public forum? Questions from residents are critical and central to the process. Whatever your concerns: past decisions or future needs regarding ballfields, parks, parking, taxes, infrastructure, council-citizen engagement or any common or unique issue, the best questions will come from residents. Send them by the end of Friday, Oct. 8 to the Weekly News: [email protected].

Think carefully about what town issues are important to you. Six candidates in a 45 minute forum will have time to respond to five or six questions. Short questions are better than long ones. Teachers tell their students it is harder to write a great concise paper than a good long paper. It is.

Wende Sanderson, League president, and her colleagues will group similar questions and develop the wording for the candidates. They need your questions. This is your opportunity to share with the candidates and the entire La Conner community your interests and your concerns.

Some council candidates have been reaching out to you and will do so throughout October. They want to know what is on your mind. Tell them. This is your chance to reach out to and engage them.

Again, send your questions to the Weekly News: [email protected].

And, if you are not registered to vote, get registered at voteWA.gov.