by Alina Daoust
“Now arriving, Friday Harbor!”
We headed down the ferry stairs, a blast of icy air hitting
our faces as we entered the car deck. Four layers of jackets and a fluffy hat were no match for the first cold snap of the season. Why would seven Orcas Christian high school students choose that chilly Tuesday morning in November to take a walk in Friday Harbor? It was Election Day, and we had the privilege of observing our local government in action. Led by our government teacher, Mr. Rivera, we headed up the hill to meet up with Cindy Wolf and attend a San Juan County Council meeting.
We had met Cindy, the representative for Orcas Island, during one of her visits to our school. She explained what it means to be a county council member and gave us the chance to ask questions and debate aspects of our local government. At her invitation, we now sat in on a meeting to learn even more about how the decisions for the county are made. We observed as Cindy, along with San Juan Island representative Christine Minney, and Lopez Island representative Jamie Stephens (present via zoom) discussed past and future policies to help improve our county. After each item was discussed, the council gave the public an opportunity to speak. “It’s reassuring to see that our county council members will listen to what the community has to say,” said TJ Liblik, an OCS senior.
We spent an an hour at the meeting, then went next door to visit the ballot counting room. “The A-Team”, a group of six paid volunteers plus a dog named Churchill, worked for hours opening thousands of ballots to be sure they were properly filled out in order to be counted. Prior to this experience, I hadn’t realized the ballots were so thoroughly scrutinized before heading to the counting machines. We spoke to the elections supervisor, Camolyn Armstrong, who enlightened us on the process of counting the ballots. We also learned that San
Juan County has one of the highest voter turnout percentages in the state. Way to go, island voters!
Voter registration papers in hand, we headed back outside into the cold and crossed the street to our third destination, a hearing at the San Juan County Courthouse. Island County superior court judge, Judge Carolyn Cliff, resided over the courtroom via a Zoom call. During the pandemic, courtrooms adopted this alternative way of holding court which allowed people to attend remotely and kept the wheels of justice turning. San Juan County has continued to use this system for convenience and for the added benefit of accommodating more witnesses who otherwise might not be present.
After the hearing, we broke for lunch and I ate the best fish and chips I’d ever had. This fortified me for our final event, an appointment back in the courtroom to speak with two judges. Judges Carolyn Jewett and Kathryn Loring shared their experiences on the road to becoming judges and what it means to hold that important and respected position. OCS senior, Evan Kulper, said, “I found talking to the judges very interesting and enjoyed learning more about what they do and how the court systems work.”
This trip allowed us to apply our knowledge from the classroom to the courtroom, and see first-hand how our local government is run. Loaded with an abundance of information and chocolate, we boarded the ferry and headed back to Orcas.
