Mayoral hopefuls offer visions for Langley

Published 3:48 pm Friday, July 10, 2015

Langley mayoral and Whidbey General Hospital commissioner candidates shared a little more about their backgrounds and vision at the final scheduled public forum on South Whidbey before the primary election.

The three Langley candidates touted their different experiences at the voter forum hosted by the League of Women Voters of Whidbey Island and Sno-Isle Libraries. Answering 12 questions, the Langley candidates were civil during the nearly hour-long Q&A session. None of them used their challenge cards, which were available to counter a fellow candidate’s response.

Facing a crowd of about 50 people at the Langley United Methodist Church on Thursday night, the questions covered a range of issues facing the city. Some of the inquiries were about the nature of balancing residential and commercial interests, familiarity with the city budget and possible improvements, infrastructure projects to be pursued, city funding sources, water and utility rates, the police department’s size, and encouraging youth and younger generations to live in Langley.

Some of the more pressing questions were with regard to the balance between a desire for growth and maintaining the city’s Village by the Sea character.

Mayoral candidate Tim Callison, who touted his 36-year career as a corporate executive, said the city’s citizen advisory boards handle those issues well, citing businesses that ask to develop in certain ways that could impact views and were denied or rejected.

Sharon Emerson, who also said her qualifications as a career administrator suited her well for the elected office, cited the city’s ongoing struggle with Mo’s Pub and Eatery and nearby residents complaining of noise. She said she would work with all parties to negotiate a “win-win” solution.

Thomas Gill, a city councilman midway through his first term, alluded to the recent food truck flap in which the city approved an application and may have known the vehicle exceeded the length restriction outlined in city code. The council eventually amended the ordinance to remove the length restriction, among other changes, to allow food trucks to resume operations.

“We’re learning,” Gill said. “Nobody who is going to do this job is going to be perfect.”

Their prior experience was a running point for the mayoral candidates. Callison several times worked into his responses that he had led a successful company, highlighting his ability to lead, identify efficiencies and work with a group of people with diverse and sometimes competing interests.

Emerson, who still runs her own medical care business she co-founded, touted her ability to oversee a large staff.

“I stand for courtesy, competence and common sense,” she said in her opening statement.

Gill said he is the lone candidate who knows the workings of city government. Prior to being elected in an unopposed race to the city council in November 2013, Gill had served on the Planning Advisory Board.

“Though I am the youngest candidate, I am the one with the most city experience,” he said.

All three candidates said they wanted to see a diversification of the generations living in Langley and to utilize the expertise and knowledge of the older residents willing to lend a hand for the city.

“I want to see a balancing of the demographics,” Callison said in his closing statement.

“Everything we do needs to expand that village feeling,” he later added.

The hospital commissioners offered vastly different takes on leadership of Whidbey General Hospital. Joyce Amatuzzo of Oak Harbor asked the candidates what they’d do about what she said were impending cuts to the hospital’s Medicare reimbursement rates. Rita Drum said the hospital must be prepared for lower reimbursement. Georgia Gardner, the incumbent who was appointed in July 2012, said Whidbey General Hospital may not be affected because it is a critical access hospital, but a just-in-case budget was created with several possible factors included.

“We’ve got a three-year pro forma budget …,” Gardner replied, “with all these scenarios plugged into it.”

Robert Born of Greenbank said he thought the hospital was protected as well because of its critical access designation.

In closing statements, Gardner said she was dedicated to the oversight of the hospital’s finances. As a certified public accountant, that’s where her expertise was best utilized. She cited the hospital’s switch to a different software without asking for a tech levy as an example of strong stewardship of public funding.

Born, who has long dogged the hospital district for public records, said he was a problem identifier and solver by nature.

“I’m an advocate, I’m a lawyer, I’m a communicator,” he said.

Drum said her vast experience working in healthcare as a pathologists’ assistant would help her understand the inner workings of the hospital.

“A hospital needs someone who is able to communicate with the hospital staff,” she said.