When I vote in an election, I look at the candidates, the position and who is best qualified. I generally know the people running so this is not about personalities or friendships, it’s about who is the best person for the job right now. Rick Hughes is who we need now! He has the knowledge and experience that we desperately need to turn things around in our County offices. He knows the problems, which means he will hit the ground running when he is elected. We lost the best planning director under our last administration, who was replaced by someone who threw the whole department into a spiral. We need Rick’s experience and great leadership abilities to get things back on track in all of the departments and to have our voices heard in Olympia. His proven leadership has earned respect and is trusted by fellow elected officials in Olympia and Washington, DC. Rick knows we cannot just stay home and work hard. We need those relationships from State and Federal agencies to fund the needs of our community. Rick has established connections that will move our county forward.

Rick will listen and find solutions to the hard problems we are facing. He is always respectful and manages public meetings in a professional and respectful way. He loves our island and all of San Juan County. Rick has consistently demonstrated that he always has San Juan County’s best interests at heart.

If you would like the building department and the ferry situation improved, Rick is your guy, our guy. He will roll up his sleeves and work as hard as possible because that is who he is. It will take time to get us back on the right track and I believe he is the person to get us where we need to be.

We have many challenges ahead of us and Rick is the one to lead us and tackle the myriad of problems we are facing. Please join me in voting for Rick Hughes for San Juan County Council.

Leith Templin

Orcas Island