ISLAND COUNTY: August 2025 ICD Newsletter
The Island County Democrats publish a monthly newsletter, which we are posting here. We believe that the statements made by the leadership of each party is of general public interest.
Message from ICD Chair, Jennifer Haase Morris
We Are Fighting for Your Freedom, Your Family, and Your Future
Last month, I invited you to participate in a Concerned Citizens survey which we also used at the Whidbey Island Fair. Twelve current issues were included in the survey with the instruction to rate your level of concern about each of those issues.
“How would you rank the following current issues in terms of your level of concern or interest in ensuring that democratic, constitutional principles are followed?
1 = lowest level of concern or desire to find solutions
5 = highest level of concern or desire to find solutions
The highest rating (5) was the most popular choice across all twelve issues, with protecting free and fair elections leading the way at 92.6%. While a statistician might question these results, I see something else: a community that refuses to rank their democratic values.
Here were the top ranked issues:
- Protect free and fair elections, including voting access and redistricting
- Ensuring that due process is protected and followed for immigrants targeted by ICE
- Appointing skilled, objective professionals in the Department of Justice
- Amending the budget bill to lower the negative impact on Medicare and Medicaid
- Getting humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza
At the heart of it, that’s really what we’re fighting for, isn’t it? Imperfect as it is, we still believe in the power and promise of our representative democracy.
That representation starts with the person sitting next to you at the school board meeting, the neighbor running for the Fire District, the community member stepping up to support our Whidbey Health rural hospital.
Our overwhelming concern about election integrity isn’t abstract—it starts with the choices we make right here in Island County. The upcoming general election gives us a chance to act on these values. From City Councils to School Boards to Water Districts, candidates will be seeking your vote in November.
That’s how democracy works. Neighbor to neighbor, conversation by conversation, vote by vote. To those reading this who represent your neighbors at any level of our democratic system….thank you for your service.
Tell your friends and neighbors that Island County Democrats are fighting for your freedom, your family, and your future.
An editorial note: Watch our website in October for information on “Preferred Candidates” for select offices.
Message from Island County Commissioner, Janet St Clair
Dear friends and neighbors,
Recently, my daughter and I were recipients of the kindness of strangers. They didn’t ask if I worked in government and no one wondered who was Republican or Democrat. We were in trouble and they helped. That is my vision of community. Once elected, your leaders work hard to do the work you hired us to do. And that means being in community and reaching out to others, on both sides of issues.
Island County has been doing a series of workshops on our transportation plans. A big topic of conversation is roundabouts. I was pleased at our meeting on Camano, with nearly 100 participants, that folks were curious and kind. They asked questions and offered suggestions that will be included in our final plans. Our regional planning is also underway and you can sign up for updates and to offer input here. This is also the place to share your thoughts on our bridges, ferries and state highways as WSDOT is a key partner. I also checked on social media to see what comments or ideas were suggested. Unfortunately, some of the rhetoric was less respectful. To answer a couple of questions…The “why” is traffic safety with increased serious accidents and the “how” is through dedicated county roads funding.
I want to encourage people to contact the county directly with your questions if you truly seek information. You can customize the information you seek on our public portal. Or you can email me directly at j.stclair@islandcountywa.org. Happy to help or answer questions. We are actively involved in decisions that will impact you. Transportation, capital plans, budget and comprehensive plans. There are upcoming public hearings and Town Halls. We do want to hear from you directly.
That said, I want to remind folks that we live in community. Most of our county employees live in this community. We do have laws that protect public employees. More importantly, we have moral code that calls on each of us to treat others with respect. So, if you come to the counter in our offices, please know they are just trying to do their jobs and follow the rules set up by local, state and federal government. If you’re frustrated or don’t like the rules, send me an email. I will problem solve with you, address complaints, and direct you to how to be heard and influence policies. And if you can be anything, please be kind. You never know when you might need the kindness of strangers.
Respectfully,
Janet St. Clair, Island County Commissioner
Message from State Representative, Dave Paul
I spend a lot of my time listening to residents across our district, so that I can learn what issues are most important to our community—and then work on solutions in Olympia. Much of my work over the last month has focused on collaborating with first responders, local elected officials, and community members to improve behavioral health and public safety.
It’s no secret that there is not enough infrastructure in our region to help those who need mental health services and substance use disorder treatment. I’m especially proud that the state legislature approved my request to allocate $927,000 in the 2025 Capital Budget to expand the Ituha Stabilization Facility in Oak Harbor. This was my #1 capital request last session—and I’m grateful for the bipartisan support to help our community.
This month, I also met with local community members and local experts to learn first-hand about their experiences—and frustrations—with trying to help family members experiencing mental health crisis. I will be meeting with local and state elected officials throughout the fall to help address shortcomings in our system and identify ways our state can improve treatment services.
Finally, it’s clear that our local public safety agencies are understaffed, a problem that is made worse as many police officers, deputies, and fire fighters near retirement. I’ve worked closely with local public safety leaders, budget writers, and local and state officials to create the Basic Law Enforcement Academy in Arlington. Regional training academies are especially critical for recruiting parents and underrepresented groups into local agencies, since other training sites are hours away.
I’m pleased to report that the Arlington training center graduated its first class on July 30. It was an honor to attend the ceremony and celebrate the graduating class with family members and community members!
As always, it’s an honor to serve as your state representative.
Dave
Message from State Representative, Clyde Shavers
Dear friends and neighbors,
The future doesn’t arrive on its own. We choose it. We write it in the laws we pass, the projects we green‑light, and the opportunities we create for our kids. In Olympia, I’m focused on one promise: solving tomorrow’s problems today – with clean power that keeps the lights on without warming the planet, technology that people can trust, and classrooms that launch real careers. And this isn’t just talk. It’s real change you can point to on a map, in our statutes, and the curriculum you see in our schools.
When I meet students, ferry workers, small‑business owners, and veterans across our communities, I hear the same thing in different words: Give us a fair shot at the future. That’s what we’re building together.
We started with energy – the bloodstream of a modern economy. Washington is now one of the first states in the nation to give fusion energy a clear, responsible pathway from lab to grid. With HB 1018 (2025), we opened the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council “one‑stop” process to fusion facilities. It cuts red tape without cutting corners, and it tells innovators Washington understands the science and will regulate it right. We built this on last year’s foundation – SHB 1924 (2024) – which formally integrated fusion into our clean‑energy strategy and stood up inter‑agency planning so that when the technology is ready, the state is ready, too.
And the future is literally breaking ground. Helion Energy – an Everett‑based company – has begun site work on its Orion fusion power plant in Malaga, Washington, aiming to deliver electricity as soon as 2028. You can see the dozers moving soil on the banks of the Columbia; this isn’t a press release, it’s a construction site. That is what hope looks like when it shows up in steel and concrete.
We also know innovation is bigger than megawatts. It’s algorithms, media, and trust. AI can help us cure disease and teach kids – or it can bury the truth under a tide of convincing fakes. That’s why I introduced two guardrail bills to make sure AI works for people. HB 1168 (2025) would require developers of AI systems to publish a high‑level “training‑data ingredients” summary – basic accountability. HB 1170 (2025) would require providers to offer a detection tool so people can tell when images, audio, or video have been AI‑generated or altered. Both bills advanced – HB 1168 moved to Appropriations, and HB 1170 cleared committee and is awaiting action in House Rules – and I will keep bringing them back until Washington leads the country in human‑centered, trustworthy AI. The goal is simple: defend elections, and restore confidence that what we see and hear online is real.
But none of this sticks if we don’t prepare our kids to win the jobs these breakthroughs create. We’re changing that, too. This year, we made career learning start earlier and matter more. Our maritime careers bill – HB 1167 (2025) – is now law, directing the statewide CTE task force to build clear on‑ramps into shipyards, ports, and our ferry workforce. And the policy to begin CTE in sixth grade is now enacted through the Senate companion to our House bill – 2SSB 5358 (2025) – so middle‑schoolers can start discovering what they love and where they’ll thrive. Last year, we also expanded Core Plus through ESHB 2236 (2024), launching a statewide Allied Health track and laying the groundwork for more sectors to follow. That’s not abstract – it’s a 12‑year‑old wiring their first circuit, a 16‑year‑old earning a credential, and a graduate stepping into a family‑wage job with confidence.
These threads – fusion, AI, and career learning – are one fabric. They say to every family: the future will be cleaner, safer, and within reach. We’re already seeing proof. The fusion laws we passed are now the rules of the road for siting projects responsibly (HB 1018). The AI bills we advanced are ready for the next push when session gavels in. The career learning changes are on the books, so districts can start building programs – not in theory, but in schedules, budgets, and classrooms. This is what it means to fight for the future and win.
I believe hope should read like a work plan. It should sound like a parent telling you their child finally found a path that fits. It should look like an engineer in a hardhat at a clean‑energy site on the Columbia. It should feel like a journalist or artist knowing there are guardrails that protect their work from being cloned or counterfeited at the click of a button. And it should show up as a power bill that reflects the decisions we made to decarbonize without destabilizing people’s lives. That’s the future we’re building – step by step, law by law, project by project.
So when I say we’re solving tomorrow’s problems today, I mean it. HB 1018 (2025) gives clean fusion a responsible on‑ramp; SHB 1924 (2024) planted the flag that fusion belongs in our clean‑energy future. HB 1168 (2025) and HB 1170 (2025) set the standard that AI should be transparent and labeled so people – not machines – stay in charge. HB 1167 (2025), 2SSB 5358 (2025), and ESHB 2236 (2024) ensure our students have earlier, stronger pathways into the careers that will power our economy. And Helion’s Orion plant is rising in Central Washington to prove that big ideas can become clean electrons. This is Washington leading by building.
If you have ideas, concerns, or stories, please reach out. Your voice improves every bill we draft and every decision we make. The future is not something that happens to us; it’s something we choose together.
Always at Your Service,
Clyde
Message from US Representative, Rick Larsen
This month, I reintroduced the Veteran Families Health Services Act of 2025. This comprehensive legislation would expand the fertility treatments and family-building services that are covered under servicemembers’ and veterans’ health care to include—among other things—in vitro fertilization (IVF) and adoption assistance, for servicemembers and veterans who are unable to conceive without assistance, and the option for individuals to freeze their eggs or sperm ahead of deployment to a combat zone.
The 2nd District is home to nearly 57,000 veterans, including many veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. I am committed to ensuring that the women and men who have served our country in uniform get the resources and services they need – whether it be healthcare, housing, or career training.
While the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DoD) currently offer some forms of fertility treatment and counseling, these offerings are extraordinarily limited and difficult for veterans to access, even when they are technically eligible—and far too often, these benefits fail to meet the needs of servicemembers and veterans.
America’s women and men in uniform should have access to high-quality, affordable options to grow their families. Congress should take the long-overdue step of permanently overturning outdated limitations on IVF and other fertility treatments for veterans and service members by passing the Veteran Families Health Services Act of 2025. No one should be forced to choose between serving their country and starting their family.
More soon,
Rick
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