Six people hoping to fill three positions in the general election this November answered a string of questions during a forum hosted by The Record on Wednesday night in Langley.

Before a crowd of about 70 people at Langley United Methodist Church’s Fellowship Hall, four candidates for two spots on the Whidbey General Hospital board of commissioners and the two Langley mayoral candidates responded to inquiries about their leadership style, what they want to improve and change, and where they want to take their respective agencies in the coming years.

Whidbey General Hospital, Position 2

Overall, the forum remained cordial for the candidates. The most notable emotion appeared to be indignation by hospital commission candidate Rob Born during his opening and closing statements with regard to what he described as “character assassination” and “mudslinging” by some within the hospital’s ranks in recent letters to the editor.

“It was character assassination, plain and simple,” he said. “I won’t stand for it.”

Several included unfavorable descriptions of Born as unprofessional, misinformed, and a records request abuser. But one description by sitting hospital Commissioner Grethe Cammermeyer that said he was unemployed was incorrect. Born, an attorney, retired and works for a firm in Marysville. He also clarified that he lost his previous job as an attorney in Freeland after his boss was found guilty of embezzling $2 million, which closed the firm.

The incumbent, Georgia Gardner, later characterized the hospital’s reputation problem as being one of perception and mischaracterization. She cited a “misleading” headline in The Record about the state Attorney General’s Office filing an appeal of a judge’s decision regarding the hospital’s reimbursement of an employee’s legal fees in a criminal case. She said that the Attorney General was appealing the judge’s decision not to recuse himself from the case, and that the reimbursement was OK because it was in the hospital board’s policies to defend its employees.

“Nothing was done in secret,” Gardner said. “It’s in our policies and procedures. If you don’t protect your employees, nobody would work for you.”

Assistant Attorney General Stephen Fairchild, however, filed an appeal of the reimbursement order on the argument that the judge should have recused himself, the jury instruction regarding reimbursement and the judge’s ruling on the self-defense reimbursement.

The Position 2 candidates also squabbled over Born’s statement that he was concerned over financial reporting that seemed to place the publicly-funded tax levy into the hospital’s operating revenue, drawing grumbles from several in the audience. Gardner challenged his statement and said the levy is not part of the Whidbey General Hospital operating income.

She also disagreed with Born’s characterization of past years’ deficits, saying it was for an expensive electronic record system that should be seen as an investment, not a deficit.

They also fenced over the role of transparency in improving the hospital’s public image. Born, a frequent requester of public records, criticized the current response by the hospital’s administration and board.

“We’ve really damaged the hospital’s reputation because of a lack of transparency,” he said.

“If only to get the newspapers off our backs, we should be bending over backwards,” he added.

Gardner defended the 7 a.m. hospital board meeting time as being convenient for hospital staff and joked about serving food as a possible lure for more people to engage with hospital board business.

Born, speaking slowly and annunciating each syllable, said he would not rule out affiliation for the hospital district, but it would have to work for Whidbey Island.

“I believe it would be irresponsible not to explore affiliating with one of the four major hospitals nearby, two of which are not faith based,” he said, referring to Swedish and the University of Washington health systems.

Gardner said she is unequivocally against affiliation.

Whidbey General Hospital, Position 4

Transparency was not seen to be a problem for the other two commissioner candidates, incumbent Nancy Fey (pronounced like pie, but with an F) and challenger Erika Carnahan.

Fey said the morning meetings were chosen two years ago after public input.

“When is the good time?” she said. “We try to be as transparent as possible.”

Carnahan echoed the statement, saying the board and hospital were not hiding anything that should be publicly available.

Neither Fey nor Carnahan supported affiliation. Carnahan was particularly opposed to aligning with a faith-based hospital, stating that she would not want to impose her faith values on others any more than she would want others’ faiths imposed upon her.

“It’s my body,” she said.

Fey was open to “some small partnerships, some small affiliations for purchasing,” and did not rule out a faith-based system.

On the role of the board, Fey said she wanted to make sure it set the direction, ensured quality facilities existed, oversaw the chief executive officer, and did not “micromanage.”

Carnahan said the board was thrust into “issues,” and it should support the chief executive officer. She praised newly hired CEO Geri Forbes for her open-door policy.

Despite not thinking there was a problem with transparency, Carnahan said she thought the hospital’s reputation was “a little rough.” As someone who works in the health care field, she said she’s heard of issues, but noted she has used the hospital’s services herself without any problems.

“It’s a good hospital,” she said.

Fey said Whidbey General would never please 100 percent of its patients, but that with focused and consistent feedback from people utilizing the hospital, they can work to improve specific areas.

“The squeaky wheel is getting all the publicity, and that’s a very small number,” she said.

On improving the reputation, Carnahan recommended the board and staff go to the public as a way of demonstrating their interest.

Fey touted more celebrations and open houses as ways of showcasing the good works being accomplished by the hospital.

Regarding staff turnover, Fey said the hospital has an issue with retaining medical personnel. She countered with a plea to recognize that the hospital also has long-serving employees, and said most of the turnover was because of the “employment of a spouse.”

Carnahan said turnover is just the way a hospital serving an island with a military base operates.

Langley mayor

Bunnies, the funicular, economic vitality and resident interests were all topics covered by the Langley mayoral candidates. Both Sharon Emerson and Tim Callison have been regular attendees of city council meetings as well as citizen board meetings and touted their grasp on the role of the mayor as the city’s top executive.

The first question was about Callison and Emerson’s thoughts on the city pursuing a funicular to connect the marina to downtown. Neither candidate supported the project, with each saying they want to see the earmarked county funds used to stabilize the Cascade Avenue/Wharf Street bluff.

Emerson has long criticized the project as being without merit and called for the funds to be redirected to the original purpose of shoring up the bluff. Callison said he was not convinced of the need because the city had yet to provide any data showing how it may impact commerce, and thought the city should consider widening Wharf Street if possible to improve traffic safety along the steep, narrow roadway.

Another controversial topic was the city’s options for dealing with a perceived feral domestic rabbit population. Asked what they would do if they had to make a decision that night, Callison said he would “do nothing” because there is a lack of information about the scope and future spread. Emerson said she would not harm the rabbits, but said the city could suggest legal ways of private property owners dealing with them. She also proposed city hall buying traps for public use.

What improvements they would pursue became apparent. Callison, citing his penchant for positivity and an uplifting attitude, said he would work to spark business interest in the city’s commercial core. A couple of highlight proposals included more city-sponsored public art and considering opening Langley City Hall to the public on Fridays. City Hall is currently closed on Fridays and is reserved for staff to catch up on work. He also said if he was elected, within four years the city would widen Wharf Street and stabilize the bluff and research the feasibility of a marina/Seawall Park connection.

“I think it would be the most outstanding thing that happened in the last 15 years,” Callison said.

Emerson similarly said one of her chief ambitions was to see the money earmarked for a funicular instead used for the bluff stabilization. She also said she would look into a study of the city’s utility rates and what could be done to lower them. Langley leaders are often asked what they can do to lower the utility bill, which represents sewer, water and storm water services. 

A persistent push by Emerson has been for the inclusion of more documents readily available from the city’s website. Some of her ideas and requests have been adopted, including the posting of city council meetings audio recordings and some budget documents.

Improving the city’s economy was also an issue for the candidates. Callison said he would pursue a diversity of businesses to town to help wean it off of its reliance on tourism spending. One industry he is also eyeing was local agriculture. Emerson said the city lacks an anchor tenant such as a pharmacy or hardware store, both of which were in the city at one time and closed. A pharmacy, said Emerson after citing her career as a health care provider and owner/co-founder of Island Home Nursing, may no longer be a realistic business in Langley because of the costs associated. The hardware store didn’t pan out, she said.

“I’m not sure we can get them back,” she said.

One of the stark contrasts was a question about the importance of having lived in Langley for a long time. Asked by someone in the audience, the question immediately favored Emerson, who has lived in the city and its surrounding area for more than three decades. Having lived in the city for about three years, Callison said the people of Langley are open to new ideas and outside perspectives, both of which he said he brings to city hall.

A different question earlier allowed for Callison to cite one of his campaign’s strengths — that he has the entire city council’s support in his bid to be the next mayor.

The Langley mayoral candidates will again answer questions during a 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 8 forum hosted by the League of Women Voters and again at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 14 at a forum hosted by the Langley Chamber of Commerce.