CENTRAL WHIDBEY: Firefighting veterans vie for seat on the board

Allyson Ballard reports on the Coupeville elections for the Whidbey News-Times. Read the whole story.

Two candidates are campaigning for a seat on the Central Whidbey Island Fire and Rescue board in a race marked more by camaraderie than competition.

Lifelong Whidbey resident and former volunteer firefighter and EMT Chris Chan hopes to pave a path for the future in this position. Meanwhile, Larry Goff, a seasoned firefighter, brings an open mind and decades of leadership experience from Oregon.

They Said It

In his free time, Goff is a volunteer at the Coupeville Visitors Center and a member of the Island County Amateur Radio Club. Similarly, Chan has deep community roots on Whidbey, having served on two elected boards — starting on the Coupeville School Board, and working as the Lagoon Point Water District Commissioner since 2019. He also acted in a variety of positions on the Central Little League Board for 15 years.

Goff has accumulated a plethora of experience, having served 24 years on the board of directors for Oregon’s largest fire district, Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue. He has also served as fire chief and emergency manager of the City of Lake Oswego Fire Department; Clackamas County Fire Defense Board chief; Oregon Incident Management Team liaison officer; Oregon Governor’s Fire Policy council member; wildland firefighter; and president of the Oregon Fire District Directors Association.

Also experienced in the firefighting industry, Chan volunteered as a firefighter and EMT for Central Whidbey Island Fire and Rescue for 30 years, fueling his passion for supporting firefighters. He hopes to work on ways to retain their talent and not just be a training ground for devoted firefighters, he said.

Goff’s background as a board director has enabled him to understand what is needed to fine- tune policies, he said. One of his top priorities as commissioner is to maintain community trust and to create more opportunities for community involvement. This way, the community understands the district is using its tax dollars efficiently and providing the best service possible, he said. He also prioritizes employee retention, maintaining a strong training program, like Chan, and ensuring employees are treated fairly.

Chan said the best way to go forward is to plan for the future. “The island’s changed quite a bit and the population is growing and so we have to really look forward to planning,” he said.

To avoid being a training ground for other agencies, he intends to look at South Whidbey, North Whidbey, Port Townsend and Jefferson County to ensure their workers have a competitive salary and benefits, he detailed.

Though Goff admits he doesn’t see any clear issues in the district right now, he intends to come up with fresh ideas as he learns.

“I’ll be in learning mode for a while; learning from the other fire commissioners and others,” he said.

Likewise, though he knows some improvements will need to be made, Chan is happy with the trajectory that the district is going in. He emphasized the importance of having quality equipment and said he’s glad the district’s gear is relatively new, including a brand-new rescue boat.

There is a lot of trust that firefighters develop for each other, and running against Goff is no different, Chan explained. No matter who wins, “the community is gonna get a really good guy,” he said.

Goff echoed his competitor. “You don’t get many people even running,” Goff said. “It’s not a paid position so you do it because you wanna help make a difference.”

On the Ballot in November 2025