One race for Langley City Council will be memorable no matter who wins.
Gail Fleming is hoping to make Island County history by winning a seat as a write-in candidate in the general election. Her rival, Tony Gill, is also hoping to set a precedent by taking a council seat beside his son.
It’s been an unusual race from the beginning. Tony Gill and Scott Chaplin both filed for Position 5 on the Langley City Council during candidate filing week in May. Since he was appointed mayor of the city in June, Chaplin withdrew from the race, although his name will still appear on the ballot.
Shortly after Chaplin’s mayoral appointment, Gail Fleming filed as a write-in candidate challenging Gill.
Peter Morton currently occupies the contested seat on the council. He will not be seeking re-election this year but did write a letter to the editor endorsing Fleming.
Gill questioned why Fleming waited so long to announce her candidacy.
“I think me stepping up to declare my candidacy says something about me, rather than waiting,” he said.
Fleming said it had never occurred to her to run for office when Chaplin was running for a seat on the council.
“I would have voted for him,” she said. “I would have been very happy to have Scott represent me on the council.”
She chose to file as a write-in candidate, she said, to fill “the political point of view” that Chaplin would have had on the council.
Gill, on the other hand, said he was trying to be non-partisan in his campaign.
“I don’t think being bogged down in anyone’s political ideology is good for anything,” he said.
But regardless of political persuasion, Fleming said she is hoping to represent everyone.
“I don’t find it useful, helpful or productive when there’s polarization going on, as we notice in our country in general,” she said. “From my point of view, the way to move beyond that is for people to actually hear each other, to actually really listen.”
Fleming has a passion for the environment. She has served 12 years on the city’s Parks and Open Space Commission and was a founding member of the citizen-led group, the Langley Critical Area Alliance, which aims to preserve and protect the city’s wetlands and bluffs.
“What sets me apart from the other candidate is my experience in city government,” she said. “Since the early 2000s I’ve been working with or within the city government.”
Her civic involvement extends to the Planning Advisory Board, another citizen-led committee. She served seven years on that commission.
If elected, Gill would join his son, Thomas Gill, on the city council. The younger Gill has not been afraid to stand in opposition to his fellow council members on issues such as Langley obtaining sanctuary city status, banning the use of fireworks and mandating anti-racism training for city staff.
When Tim Callison resigned as mayor of the city this spring, Thomas Gill submitted himself as an applicant for the role. The council ended up choosing Chaplin instead for the position.
Tony Gill said he decided to run for city council so he would be able to contribute to the discussions on longstanding issues, such as failing infrastructure. He said he recalls storm drains, sewer and water being talked about 30 years ago at city council meetings.
He said puddles from storm runoffs have become a hassle for people and dogs walking down the street, and referred to septic tank issues in the city as being “an environmental hazard.” He also voiced opposition to the most recent increases in utility rates.
“Some of these people, like myself, are fixed income,” he said. “It kind of puts a burden on them.
Both Gill and Fleming expressed hesitancy over big changes happening in the city.
Fleming spoke about retaining Langley’s small-town character while planning for sustainable growth.
“We’re not Seattle,” she said. We’re just a funky, semi-rural small town.”
Gill said some unwarranted changes have come with growth, such as more crime. He has observed people on his private property and suggested there could be more neighborhood watches in place to prevent crime.
“This is a tourist town and it basically caters to tourists,” he said. “I’d like to see it do a little bit more for the people who live here.”
Both candidates are also supportive of affordable housing.
“I’d like to see more families in the city,” Gill said. “I’d like to see some low-cost and intermediate-priced housing.”
When Fleming was on the Planning Advisory Board, she helped contribute to a permanently affordable ordinance for a development in upper Langley. The same board also began work on revising ordinances for tiny houses within city limits.
Gill
"write" - Google News
October 01, 2021 at 03:30PM
https://ift.tt/3a1nRK2
Write-in candidate challenges newcomer to Langley politics - South Whidbey Record
"write" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2rd6LGg
https://ift.tt/35zzbtW
0 Commentaires