There’s one area where both Helen Price Johnson and County Commissioner Phil Bakke can agree: The differences between the two candidates couldn’t be greater.

Price Johnson, a Democrat, is hoping to unseat the incumbent Republican for the District 1 position on the county board of commissioners on Nov. 4. Currently a member of the board for South Whidbey schools, she has highlighted her extensive community involvement through the years and her efforts on the school board to bring the district back from a budget crisis several years ago.

She also emphasizes her small-business experience with Price/Johnson Construction, the home-building company she owns with her husband, Dave, and her time as the owner of Jones Department Store in Langley — knowledge she says will come in handy as the county faces tough economic times.

“My experience is totally different than Phil’s, in that I’ve raised a family here, had two small businesses here and have been deeply involved in the community at all levels,” she said.

“I have a real understanding about how Island County fits together and the unique qualities that we have in the community, and I want those to be represented.”

Price Johnson, 50, said she will bring an understanding of how the economy works to the board of commissioners.

“Our small businesses … they need to have customers and they need to have employees. And the county has been slow to address the transportation needs, the affordable-housing needs and the economic needs of our community,” she said.

One area where the county could do better is affordable housing, she said.

“They should have been creating land-use policies that would encourage and allow density in the areas that make the most sense,” Price Johnson said.

In Bayview, for example. It’s where the Goosefoot organization wanted a unique interpretation of county regulations that would have allowed extra homes on its property on Bayview Road. The county later rejected Goosefoot’s suggestion on how its property could be more intensely developed.

Affordable housing is not a new issue, Price Johnson said, chiding the county for not looking at its underlying land-use policies.

“Yet this crisis has been building for 10 years in our community,” she said. “This isn’t a new thing. It’s become more pronounced.”

Though the county shot down Goosefoot’s idea for increasing the number of allowable homes to be built in Bayview, Price Johnson said Bayview has unique attributes that fit with the proposal.

There are neighborhood retail businesses in Bayview, and it’s on the bus line, Price Johnson said. Some human services such as Good Cheer and the senior center are nearby, Whidbey General Hospital is building facilities there, the list goes on, she added.

“It makes sense for density to be allowed where folks of lower incomes can access those services,” she said.

Though regulations shouldn’t have been changed to assist just one developer, it’s fair to say the county has been slow to react to the issue, Price Johnson said.

“I don’t think special decisions should have been made to address Goosefoot’s request, but I do think we need to take a longer-range approach about what our islands should look like 20, 40 years from now. Where is the growth going to go? We need to be thinking about that and having conversations with our communities, and not wait until it’s a crisis situation, as we have been.”

Water fight

Price Johnson has also been critical of the county about its handling of Holmes Harbor, which had been closed for recreational uses for much of the summer due to pollution, and is still off-limits for shellfish harvesting.

“The cause of the problem was never identified,” she said. “To solve the problem, we have to address the cause. And that hasn’t been done.”

Price Johnson said she would have tackled the Holmes Harbor problem differently.

“I would have started by really engaging the community in the information that they needed, about how sensitive that watershed is, as well as that harbor. I think information is a very powerful tool.

“Storm-water management in that area has to be addressed in a sustainable manner. The failed systems need to be repaired, and reasonable inspections make sense to me. I would have tried to address the cause of the problem, not just test until the results were what

I was hoping for,” she said.

Though Price Johnson has been critical of the county’s slow work in improving the water quality of Holmes Harbor, her school district has had its own problems in providing clean water for students and staff.

Students and teachers in some schools have been drinking bottled water since 2004, when unacceptable traces of lead were discovered in the water system, along with iron and manganese. And the current project to improve treatment of drinking water is expected to wind up $100,000 over budget.

The delay is partly due to new problems popping up, and the wait for grants from the state and federal government to help improve the water system, said Price Johnson, a school board member since 2001 and the president of the board from 2003 through 2005.

The school district had hoped to use its new water-supply system by the start of the school year, but discovered high levels of iron in the water.

“It’s been an unfolding problem as we’ve moved ahead,” she said.

‘No new taxes’

Another hot topic this election season has been taxes. Price Johnson has criticized Bakke’s vow for “no new taxes.”

Bakke, however, said his pledge did not cover a 1-percent increase on property taxes that he will vote for when county commissioners adopt the 2009 budget. The increase is expected to raise roughly $55,000 countywide.

“I think it’s an empty promise. If you say you’re not raising taxes, yet you already know you’re going to vote for the 1-percent increase — that’s a raise in taxes,” Price Johnson said.

“And if you say that it’s not a pledge for future decisions, then I don’t understand what the pledge is.”

Price Johnson, though, has borne the brunt of some criticism for supporting the multiple levy requests that her school board has put before voters.

“The school board does not raise taxes,” she said. “We identify the crucial needs of our school district and communicate them to our voters. And then let them decide whether that’s an important use for their tax dollars or not.”

As a school board member, she has supported all of the district’s proposed property tax increases. But that’s to be expected, she said.

“I am an advocate for addressing the essential needs for our students,” she said.

Next year is expected to be a difficult budget year for county government, which is facing declining revenues amid a sluggish economy.

“Whichever of us gets this seat, it’ll be an extremely difficult budget. We are looking at some very hard decisions for our county,” Price Johnson said.

Bakke, however, has blasted Price Johnson for being out of the loop on budget discussions.

Because Bakke was appointed, the person voters pick for the District 1 post will take office as soon as the election is certified.

“She will be voting on the 2009 budget,” Bakke said. “She’s been to two budget hearings. And didn’t stay for all of it. I don’t know how you don’t show up,” he said.

“I do have a job,” Price Johnson responded.

While she has responsibilities that prevent her from attending county meetings now, she said she has been meeting with department heads and has talked with other county officials regularly.

“I’m trying to get as much information as my schedule allows,” she said, adding that she has had much experience with budgets during her seven years on the school board.

Past is present

Bakke, 38, has been highlighting his extensive experience in county government, including his 12 years as head of the planning department.

“When you put together the combination of my educational background, my work experience, success at the county, and contacts throughout the county and the state … when you mix all those factors together, it makes me the superior candidate,” Bakke said.

He said the county will have to tighten its belt in a way it hasn’t done since 1997.

“My opinion is, it’s not going to be a bad thing.

I think it will be good. It will help the commissioners and the department heads and the community kind of reestablish what our core deliverables are, what our core services need to be,” he said.

“We’re going into a difficult budget year, and I don’t have a learning curve. I understand county government, I understand the county budgeting process, I understand what our departments do and what they struggle to do.”

The county is already doing many things right, he said. Bakke recalled how Price Johnson has said she would make departments work together. “Let me tell you, what’s involved is not making them.”

“It’s incentivizing teamwork; not telling them they have to do it,” he said.

The planning department has forged strong alliances with public works and the health department, he said, and that has led to greater efficiencies.

Bakke said he has helped county agencies work together, recalling the move of the parks department into the planning department.

“I won’t sit here and profess to say that I know it all,” he added. “I don’t. I’m still learning. After 15 years at the county, I’m still learning.”

On the campaign trail, Price Johnson has repeatedly characterized county government as a “good-old-boys network.” Bakke bristles at the charge.

“I spent my career at the county being a regulator. I’ve issued more enforcement orders personally than I could even count,” he said. “That’s not traditionally what a good old boy is thought of being.

“I’m very disappointed that Helen or anyone would couch it that way. That’s not what I stand for. Helen is the developer, not me.”

It’s also wrong, he said, for people to assume the three county commissioners are split along party lines.

“Some candidates want to draw a picture that there’s this big divide. And there’s no divide.

“We have a job to do. We work together well. We compromise with one another for the good of the public. It’s not harkening back to the old days when commissioners would yell at each other and stomp out of the room,” Bakke said.

Criticism has also centered on his long history as a county bureaucrat, or that fellow Republican Commissioner Mac McDowell may have too much influence on Bakke’s decisions.

Bakke, however, said voters should take a closer look.

“Don’t just assume that I’m the one who’s been here forever. Don’t assume that you know me based on my career as a department head. Take a look at what’s happened in the last year and the quality of decision-making that’s happened, the consensus that’s happened.

“A Democrat and two Republicans: We’ve agreed on just about everything,” he said.

Though he’s the incumbent, Bakke’s spot on the November ballot wasn’t a sure bet earlier this year.

He survived a four-way primary race, one where Price Johnson took the most votes with 46 percent of the Aug. 19 vote and Bakke slipped onto the ballot with a 52-vote lead over non-party candidate Curt Gordon.

Bakke has been dinged during the campaign for what some say is a lack of community involvement. Bakke said he has volunteered, though not by serving in a high-profile board position.

He also said he was working 60 to 70 hours a week as the planning director, and time was precious. “You want to have some time to spend with your family, too,” he said.

“I applaud Helen for having the time to be involved. I think that’s terrific. But we all contribute in our own ways.”

County commissioners set policy, hold public hearings, adopt ordinances and pass an annual budget. Commissioners are paid an annual salary of $74,758, plus benefits and an $800-a-month car allowance.

Bakke said he hopes voters will go beyond the stereotype that has been offered by his opponents during the campaign.

“People have 13 or 14 years of perception of me, based on having worked for somebody. I’d like the community to have five years of perception based on what my actual policy directives are,” he said.

“It’s a stark contrast between us,” Price Johnson said. “It’s a very clear distinction between us; whether it’s someone who has been behind the counter at Island County for his professional career, or if it’s someone who has been out contributing to their community,” she said.