Langley council changes faces with 2 new members

Published 1:00 pm Saturday, December 27, 2003

Come January, the Langley City Council will have two new members.

Faith Bushby and Robert Gilman will step into the council to take seats left vacant by Neil Colburn and Ray Honerlah. Bushby ran unopposed in the 2003 election, while Gilman was recently appointed to the seat at a Dec. 17 Langley City Council meeting.

While both are new to Langley’s political scene, they are not unfamiliar faces around South Whidbey.

Bushby is a licensed massage practitioner, and operates her own massage business in Langley next to her First Street home. After talking with councilwoman Bettina Fisher, Bushby said she was encouraged to run and become an active member in her community.

“I was tired of complaining about politics,” Bushby said.

Having never attended a Langley City Council meeting before, Bushby said she doesn’t really know what to expect. She believes some of the issues she will see in her term are growth, water and sewer issues and the development of Langley Small Boat Harbor.

Looking back on growing up in Nantucket, R.I., Bushby said the area was ruined by excessive growth that wasn’t controlled, and hopes to keep Langley from meeting that same fate.

“I’d just like to be effective in making sure that it doesn’t get developed to the point it loses it’s Langley flavor,” she said.

Bushby agreed with the recent decision made this summer by Langley City Council to reject a developer’s request to petition to annex. She felt the development scheme had been too large and had not been thought out enough by the developers.

“They all need investigation,” Bushby said. “We need to have a say in how it happens.”

Gilman said he will draw on his life experiences to make informed decisions in what makes a successful community work, having personally and professionally lived in and seen many different types of communities.

“Langley definitely works a lot better than most,” Gilman said.

Educated as an astrophysicist, he was a co-founder of the Context Institute in 1979, an organization dedicated to sustainable human culture. He operates the organization from his Louisa Street home, but says he will maintain plenty of time to devote to the council.

“It was a good time to get involved,” Gilman said. “If you’ve put yourself forward, you’ve got to have something to offer.”

Gilman said he is still learning about many of the issues he will deal with while on the council. He hopes to strengthen the fabric of Langley by retaining aspects that many feel make it a special city. He feels an important factor is keeping Langley pedestrian friendly in the future, and building on elements that keep the community informed and involved.

“Those design decisions will effect the community for a long, long time to come,” Gilman said.

Bushby and Gilman will be sworn in for their terms on the Langley City Council at the Jan. 7 council meeting.