OAK HARBOR: Bold candidates with strong opinions run for council

Jessie Stensland reports on the Oak Harbor city elections for the Whidbey News-Times. Read the whole story.

Oak Harbor voters will have a choice between two outspoken, fiscally conservative candidates who have strong understandings — and opinions — of the issues facing the city.

Yet Sandi Peterson and Andy Plumlee have different backgrounds, distinct opinions on many issues facing the city and different communication styles.

Peterson is currently the chairperson of the city’s Civil Service Commission and previously served on the Planning Commission. Her career path has included real estate sales, property management, small business ownership and administration. She co-founder of Civility First, a nonprofit that promotes respectful communication, and was formerly the chairperson of the Island County Republican Party.

Plumlee is a Navy veteran, the former chairperson of the Oak Harbor Planning Commission and a former member of the Oak Harbor Chamber of Commerce board. He owns and runs the city’s iconic candy store, Popsies, while working as an area manager for Amazon.

They Said It

Both candidates have known political disappointment. Plumlee ran for council twice before and asked to be appointed to vacant seats three times, but never succeeded. In 2023, he lost to Chris Wiegenstein by just 112 votes; he has relied on forums, interviews and word-of-mouth discussions instead of signs or advertising to get his message out. He said people in power have passed over him because he’s known for asking tough questions and speaking his mind unapologetically.

“I’m not the easiest person to vote for. I get that,” he said. “I’m tenacious and hard-headed, but I’m also dedicated.”

Plumlee has concerns about decisions that the council has made, from a new tax on businesses to changes in an ordinance that protects parkland.

“It’s really about I don’t like the way we are being governed,” he said.

Peterson previously ran for council in 2013 against incumbent Joel Servatius but lost in a close election. She said she remembers that the News-Times endorsed Servatius and urged her to get more experience in the community before running again. It’s advice she took to heart, she said.

She’s been working hard at campaigning and has even done the old-fashioned door knocking all over town. She said her philosophy is simple when it comes to public service.

“You gotta build consensus and you gotta be willing to lose,” she said.

When asked about what distinguishes her from his rival, Peterson said her “only concern” about Plumlee is his decision to quit the planning commission in protest of the council’s controversial adoption of Ordinance 1999. The measure loosened the city’s restrictions on trading parkland with a developer in order to make way for a planned hotel downtown; previously, the city had an ordinance that required a vote of the people to dispose of any parkland.

Peterson said she was in favor of the ordinance since it requires a like-for-like swap of parkland, which would result in the city getting even better parks.

Plumlee said he was outraged by the decision.

“The community was seen as a barrier to what they wanted to do,” he said of city leaders. “The community is not a barrier.”

Peterson said she wondered what Plumlee’s reaction would be if he’s on the council, and the members make a decision he doesn’t agree with.

“It makes me wonder, if he gets mad at another vote, will he just leave,” she said. “That concerns me. I’m not going to give up. I’m tenacious.”

Plumlee admits that he thought he was going to withdraw from city politics over Ordinance 1999. Nonetheless, he didn’t want to see any position go unchallenged and has strong feelings about decisions being made.

For his part, Plumlee said he distinguishes himself from Peterson because of his independence. He pointed out that she has a long history with Republican organizations on the island and accepted donations from prominent Republican figures in the community. He questions whether her connections with partisan politics will influence her decision-making.

“These connections will color the decisions she makes,” he said. “I don’t suffer from them.”

While describing herself as an “old political hawk,” Peterson said anyone who knows her knows that she makes her own decisions and isn’t afraid to express her opinion, even when it isn’t popular. When the former mayor appointed Tony Slowik as police chief, for example, she spoke out and said the city should have advertised the position like it always had done previously.

“It doesn’t matter to me where a good idea comes from,” she said in reference to partisan politics. “I love that people think differently.”

Plumlee added that he sees himself as a libertarian. He wants a limited government, free markets and limited taxes. He said he was against the council’s decision to adopt and Business and Occupation tax to fund needed dredging and repairs of the city-owned marina. He said other, more creative funding options should have been considered.

In addition, he pointed out that the city’s public works director called the city’s infrastructure “in severe state of decay” just two years ago.

“I’m confused why we are putting the marina before that,” he said.

Peterson describes herself as a “fiscal conservative and social moderate.” She said she also likely would have voted against the new tax, though she has a more nuanced view.

“It’s hard for me to understand how you can talk about economic development on one hand and then tax businesses on the other,” she said.

Both candidates said that changes are needed when it comes to SPiN Cafe, a nonprofit organization that provides food and services to people in need. It’s located amidst businesses on Barlow Street, which has led to conflicts and criticism from some in the community.

Peterson said the facility is in the wrong place and the city should encourage the leadership to move it to a more suitable spot, perhaps in the Goldie Road area where there would be more room and less chance of conflict.

Plumlee, on the other hand, said SPiN Cafe leaders should simply do more to alleviate problems. He suggested that they should come up with a plan for “holding their people responsible,” such as requiring the clients to clean up in the area before getting food. He said “trespassing” people from the facility doesn’t solve the problem since they will simply go elsewhere.

“We can have compassion but also standards,” he said.

When it comes to the issue of homelessness in general, Plumlee said government support should prioritize people who experience short-term homelessness because of such issues as domestic violence or unexpected financial problems. He questioned whether it makes sense to funnel public dollars to help people who have chosen a life of chronic homelessness.

Peterson, on the other hand, said she has creative ideas for dealing with homelessness and would like the opportunity to lobby Olympia as a city council member. She believes that laws should be changed so that it’s easier to require people to go into into treatment for drug, alcohol or mental health problems; she said such treatment should be long-term because the usual short-term stays are ineffective.

Both candidates agree that the city should be doing more to encourage the diversification of the economy. Plumlee said the city can’t rely on the Navy base being in town indefinitely. Peterson suggested the city could take a bold step, like creating an indoor “sports plex” on the city’s Gun Club Road property through a public-private partnership.

On the Ballot in November 2025