Kira Erickson reports from the Island County Commissioners board meeting of Tue., Mar. 11, 2025 for the Whidbey News-Times. Read the whole story.
South Whidbey residents are getting fed up with a certain elected official’s brashness and are speaking out.
Members of the public who spoke during a Board of Island County Commissioners meeting this past Tuesday felt that Commissioner Jill Johnson, who was looking down at her cell phone, paid inadequate attention to their comments about banning fireworks.
In the middle of one of the comments, Johnson’s phone made a loud sound, despite Commissioner Melanie Bacon’s earlier warnings about silencing personal devices.
Last year, county commissioners thoroughly discussed the topic, which only went so far as a 2-1 vote banning consumer use of mortar fireworks; Johnson was the sole “nay” vote.
Yet the group of people who attended the meeting this week continued to advocate for more action. Jackie Lasater suggested an advisory vote on the ballot for South Whidbey residents and asked for county code to be amended to prohibit the sale of mortar fireworks.
They Said It
“I’m not listening. I’ve listened to this long enough,” Johnson said, adding that she didn’t make the sound on purpose.
At the end of the meeting, Johnson addressed her behavior.
“Look, I understand that I was rude about it,” Johnson said. “It was intentional to communicate the message that we’ve been working on this issue, and we have decided.”
She highlighted limitations in enforcement of the new code, which has not yet been implemented, and said she is not a “huge believer” in referendum government.
“I feel like we’ve addressed this topic with significant compromise and communication and listening and caring, and I have moved on now to other community conversations and concerns that have been in the queue and have needed to be addressed for a long period of time,” she said.
While she thanked people for participating in the democratic process, Commissioner Janet St. Clair said a ban on a geographically isolated area is a challenge.
Bacon said she would not put the request for an advisory vote on the ballot on a work session agenda unless there was support from at least two commissioners. She was more open to having a conversation about banning the sale of mortar fireworks and was most interested in the request to add fireworks to a list of prohibited items included in a type one burn ban.
This is not the first time Johnson has been criticized for her blunt way of speaking; the elected official herself has said in the past that she has had to work on her “tone.”
When asked about the Tuesday incident by a [South Whidbey] Record reporter, Johnson responded, “Find a new (expletive) news story.”
She said she did not intend to be rude and was trying to find a way to distract herself when her phone went off, which stressed her out and caused her to react to it. She believes she does not need to answer for every little thing that goes wrong, and she understands that it’s easy to attack locally elected officials. She questioned whether others’ weaknesses are scrutinized as much.
Johnson went on to add that those making the public comments were rude, calling her by her first name and not respecting her position.
