The author of a March 23 Whidbey News-Times letter, Dean Enell, focuses on four issues where in his opinion I fall short. I found them concerning and would like to respond.

Let us begin with Mr. Enell’s first criticism — that I claim the dangers of “climate change” are “overstated” and that he and my opponent for re-election agree with the scientific “consensus” that climate change is caused by greenhouse gases and Island County government must do something about it. Multiple peer-reviewed scientific reports state those claims simply are not true.

There are more than 1,350 studies published supporting the arguments of climate change skeptics. Yes, our climate is ever evolving; however, I question the actual causation. History tells us the world’s climate has been changing for millennia. As for the “scientific consensus” Mr. Enell confidently writes of? Consensus does not equate to fact; history does.

Secondly, Mr. Enell criticizes me for not voting in favor of raising the Conservation Futures tax these past few years. I also voted “no” on increasing the road levy because we have an adequate reserve. I am aware that conserving our resources is important, but I also knew that state property taxes were going to rise significantly due to the McCleary decision.

I felt our taxpayers deserve all the relief we could possibly provide at the local level and chose to vote accordingly. I will never apologize to anyone for doing my part to keep taxes low. My support for conservation is well documented as evidenced through projects such as Fakkema Farm, Barnum Point and Penn Cove.

I suggest Mr. Enell review the records. In addition I have been quite proactive to ensure adequate funding is available for management and operations of our properties.

Next, Mr. Enell has issue with the fact that I voted to contract with an outside land use attorney to assist in the drafting of our Comprehensive Plan update. I did favor contracting for outside expertise to assist our prosecutor’s office with this project. Our prosecutor repeatedly claimed he was understaffed in our civil office yet hiring of a full time attorney for a short time period was not cost effective. I had a meeting with the prosecutor explaining my reasoning for support of this proposal and at the onset he was amenable to the prospect. Only later did he object.

Regardless, the county got a very experienced land use expert to assist our staff in the prosecutor’s office, without the ongoing expense of a full-time employee. Mr. Enell was chair of the Planning Commission during this time and he seemed pleased with the quality of product, never once objecting to our use of outside counsel. By the way, the Department of Commerce was impressed with the finished plan as well. The update was approved with no challenges, a first in this county.

Yes, we did pay for our attorney’s defense; we were obligated to do so as her contract had an indemnification clause. Sorry, I don’t renege on contracts.

Lastly, Mr. Enell criticizes my support for Naval Air Station Whidbey Island saying I don’t agree with claims that jet noise is the cause of health problems in the community. If you go through meeting comments on this subject you will see that I believe there are various reasons for individuals having poor health. I do understand that noise is annoying, yet I do not believe it is the single cause of the multitudes of ailments such as opponents would try to make us believe.

That being said, I understand that my opponent, at a recent campaign event, stated she would support a study to examine what economic benefit there is to closing down our base. What she doesn’t realize is that NAS Whidbey is a critical asset in our national defense system as well as our number one economic driver in this county. I will not waiver in my support of our active duty sailors, the training they receive here, nor our veterans and their families who have access to hospital, commissary and exchange privileges. Nor will I apologize for this loyalty.

• Rick Hannold is Island County Commissioner for District 3.