LANGLEY: Chaplin faces Cyr in hot council race (SWR)

Kira Erickson reports on elections in Langley for the South Whidbey Record.

The soon-to-be former Langley mayor is challenging the seasoned incumbent for his seat on the city council.

Scott Chaplin, who was appointed mayor in 2021 when Tim Callison resigned from the role, opted to run for city council this election rather than another term as mayor, which he said he couldn’t afford to do since he is not yet retired.

In his quest for Position 4 on the council, Chaplin faces Craig Cyr, who was soundly elected in 2019. Within his first year in office, Cyr wrote and sponsored an ordinance successfully banning fireworks in Langley, fulfilling a campaign promise.

He also helped establish the city’s citizen-led Dismantling Systemic Racism Commission, which focuses on providing recommendations to the city council and mayor on policy matters that advance equity.

They Said It

“I wanted to finish up some projects that I had become involved with, but I didn’t have time to dedicate to the mayor’s position, especially at the reduced salary,” [Chaplin] said.

“I think of all the candidates of all the positions, I have the most experience working with effective local governments, really successful local governments,” he said.

Chaplin said he was most proud of his work in tackling a 20-plus year backlog of city records management neglect. In his short time as mayor, he has had a direct hand in choosing the majority of the city’s department heads.

“I’ve hired some great new staff, including our planner, police chief, finance director and our new city administrator, so I can recognize good talent for municipal needs,” he said.

“I am really passionate about social justice, and that’s another reason I want to keep running,” Cyr said. “I want to make sure that Langley looks at itself and has an honest conversation about itself, and who it is.”

The two candidates appeared to be in agreement over a number of issues, from much-needed upgrades for outdated financial software to the creation of affordable housing to improving relationships with the local tribes.

On the latter topic, Cyr pointed to his efforts to remove faux totem poles in Seawall Park as a step towards mending those relationships. A white carver made the Langley poles at a time when it was illegal for members of the Snohomish Tribe of Indians to do so.

“When they would go by in their fishing boats, one of the captains of the boats said he couldn’t look at Langley because of those fake totem poles,” Cyr said. “And now, we actually have delegations from the tribes coming to Langley.”

As mayor, Chaplin has welcomed and acknowledged those delegates during city council meetings. He said the city is working with the Tulalip Tribes on restoring some local streams.

Also on the subject of the environment, Chaplin spoke about the importance of putting more solar, renewable energy and battery backup around Langley so that the city can handle power outages more successfully.

“I think we’re beginning on the path towards a just and rapid transition away from our dependency on fossil fuels, which started when Langley got the first electric police car on the island,” Chaplin said.

Cyr staunchly advocated for the police department’s purchase of an electric vehicle, which happened earlier this year. As a board member for Island Transit, he is also passionate about making environmentally-friendly changes in Langley.

“I want to make Island Transit as resilient as possible from an electrical point of view, and frankly I want to make Langley as resilient as possible from an electrical point of view, where we generate our electricity locally,” he said.

When talking about the city’s budget, Chaplin favored growing revenues rather than focusing on cutting expenses. He said it needs to be understood that the city can’t “scrimp and save” its way out of its current financial dilemma, but that a multi-year effort to catch up will need to be financed.

Cyr said he is hopeful that in the coming years Langley will be able to accumulate the needed reserves to sustainably operate city government.

“Additionally, I have been a persistent voice for a return to predictable, organized, scheduled budget processes as well as active fund balance monitoring,” Cyr said. “I look forward to that returning with the election of a new mayor.”

If elected again, Cyr is hoping to take some action in regards to empty storefronts in Langley. Sometime in the future, he plans to move forward an ordinance that encourages businesses to be run in these spaces that have been vacant for several years.

Chaplin, on the other hand, said he is looking forward to making policy from a different vantage point.

“As a council person, I can help direct the discussion away from trivial matters, such as dog licenses, and also try to make sure our meetings are more efficient and respectful,” he said.

Chaplin added that his years of experience in government have led him to not take disagreements personally but rather respectfully, which allow him to listen to his opponents with an open mind and forge a solution together when possible.

Cyr, on the other hand, called this into question.

“I’m focused. I listen. I’m organized. And I collaborate. And we have seen times in city council meetings where the qualities I just mentioned were not on display during presentations from my competitor,” he said, adding that there have been occasions when directors at the staff level have been completely surprised when they looked at the meeting agenda packet and saw things that affected their department, and they were not informed or consulted.

On the Ballot in November 2023