WHIDBEY NEWS TIMES: Commissioner challenger address Old Goats

Kira Erickson reports from the Old Goats luncheon on May 20, 2022.

Standing before a small crowd of conservative-minded people, Rick Hannold announced to the room that what the Island County Board of Commissioners needs is a man.

Hannold, along with Timothy Hazelo, has filed to run against incumbent Democrat Janet St. Clair in the race for the Island County Commissioner position representing District 3, which encompasses Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, the unincorporated area north of Oak Harbor and Camano Island. St. Clair is one three commissioners on the all-women board.

They Said It

On affordable housing:

“Government has no business providing housing for people,” [Rick] Hannold said. “That is not our job.”
“Some of us have lived in [relocatable buildings] and if it’s good enough for me in Afghanistan, it’s probably good enough for a homeless person here in the United States,” [Tim Hazelo] said.

On the amount of land purchased by the Whidbey Camano Land Trust using the county’s Conservation Futures funds:

“We have more than enough property in conservation,” [Hannold] said.
“We shouldn’t be buying these properties up,” Hazelo agreed.

On the similarities between the two candidates:

“We’re both farmers. We’re both military,” Hazelo said. “We both come from humble beginnings.”

On Janet St. Clair:

When asked what he could do better than the incumbent, Hazelo spoke about the importance of having an open-door policy and being available to the public. He also said he would work to audit every single department of Island County, both fiscally and operationally.

Hannold, who later referred to St. Clair as an “evil woman” in his closing statement to the room, …claimed that on North Whidbey, grass hasn’t been cut, drainage ditches haven’t been cleaned and snow hasn’t been cleared since he was in office.

[Janet] St. Clair said she believed that to be a “slight overstatement” and that the level of service has stayed the same. “I’m not sure our road crew would appreciate the hyperbole,” she said.