At the end of a nearly hour-long candidate forum on Sept. 3, Democratic opponents Ben Thomas and Heather Dudley-Nollette described what they would bring to the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners if elected in November.

Thomas, a Port Townsend City Council member and winemaker for Port Townsend Vineyards, cited his “ability to see things holistically … and predict what the challenges are going to be before they happen.

“That’s just something I have a knack for,” he said. “It’s something that you don’t always get in government.”

Dudley-Nollette, deputy executive director for Bayside Housing and Services, said that while her and Thomas’ values are “really closely aligned,” her experience in project management, human resources, permitting, policy development, budgeting and public-private partnerships sets her apart.

“I know our community really well,” she said. “I have the skills and the work ethic that this job demands.”

The candidates, both 53, are running to replace Kate Dean as the three-member board’s representative for District 1, the boundaries of which essentially mirror those of the city of Port Townsend.

Dean announced in March that she would not seek re-election and has since endorsed Dudley-Nollette, who took 66% of the vote in the Aug. 6 primary to Thomas’ 25%. So far she has outraised Thomas 95-to-1, according to publicly available campaign finance records.

In the Sept. 3 virtual forum organized and moderated by the League of Women Voters of Jefferson County, the candidates fielded questions on issues such as housing, homelessness, the budget, infrastructure, water supply, a recent wildfire near Brinnon and the perception that Port Townsend residents disproportionately benefit from county resources and services.

A link to a video recording of the forum is available on The League of Women Voters of Jefferson County website: lwvwa.org/Jefferson.

PT privilege?

Thomas, who grew up in the county outside of Port Townsend, said he thinks the sense of division between Port Townsend and the rest of the county has only become more extreme over the years.

“I know people in south county, and on the west end in particular, really feel disenfranchised by the decision-making process,” he said, noting the “unfortunate” geographic distance between the seat of county government, Port Townsend, and the rest of the county.

Thomas said he’d “love” to see county government operations move south to “at least Port Hadlock.”

“There’s that chance that one day, if the courthouse is no longer serviceable … that would move out of Port Townsend,” he said. “I do think that we can represent a little bit better more centrally.”

Dudley-Nollette called the geographic divide “an issue in our county since the dawn of time.” Recalling her experience as vice chair of the county’s Economic Development Council, she said “intentions are often really great” but efforts at outreach and engagement often miss the mark.

“We made efforts to bring people from Districts 2 and 3 to the board and really tried to address issues, but … that fell flat because we continued to hold our meetings in Port Townsend,” she said. “We have to go to the communities where the issues are and not expect them to come to us.”

Asked what a District 1 commissioner can do to foster county unity, both candidates reiterated the importance of holding meetings outside of Port Townsend.

“You’ve got to get out there,” Thomas said, noting the City Council’s efforts to hold meetings outside City Hall.

For her part, Dudley-Nollette said “we have to find all the little ways,” citing the fall 2021 combining of Port Townsend and Chimacum schools’ athletics programs to establish the East Jefferson Rivals.

“The excitement around sports is up; the collaboration between the two school districts is up,” she said. “That’s a great example of, in small ways, how we can really reach out to each other.”

Fire, water and growth

Dudley-Nollette also cited recent efforts to assist Brinnon-area residents and animals affected by the Mount Jupiter fire as an example of county unity in the face of crisis.

“I can’t say that I’m surprised,” she said. “That’s something we can learn: We actually do have each other’s backs, and it helps a whole lot.”

As vice chair of the Jefferson County Fair Association Board of Directors, Thomas said he and his fellow board members sought to offer up the fairgrounds in Port Townsend as a safe haven for evacuated animals, though it ultimately wasn’t needed.

“It was really important to jump on the line and try to figure out how we can be part of that, but also not confuse the airwaves by communicating randomly,” Thomas said, noting that Center Valley Animal Rescue took a lead role in coordinating aid for displaced animals.

A main takeaway, he said, was the value of having clear communication channels to avoid confusion and redundancy.

“I would be interested to have a little debrief and see if that flow actually worked,” he said. “I think it mostly did, but I could see a refinement on that.”

Asked how the county should educate residents, particularly newcomers, about the vulnerabilities of the county’s water supply, Thomas said it’s important to understand that while Port Townsend’s comes from surface water impacted by annual snowpack, much of the county relies on groundwater.

Thomas noted that Port Townsend Paper Co. uses “literally 10 times what the city uses,” but didn’t offer any thoughts on community education.

Dudley-Nollette said she understands the paper company has “made major improvements around the way that they use water,” but said now may be a good time revisit the city’s agreement with the company, in light of a leak last month that resulted in the use of an estimated 40 million gallons from the City Lake reservoir.

She also said residents should be advised to maintain at least a three-day supply of water in case potable supplies run short.

“Humans can last a lot longer without food than we can without water,” Dudley-Nollette said. “So we must have supplies for our family.”

The candidates were also asked how the county should prepare its roads, sewer systems, and water and electricity infrastructure to accommodate population growth over the next 10 years.

“In 10 years, I believe our population is going to be significantly higher,” Dudley-Nollette said. “I don’t think that we do ourselves any good by trying to stop that population from happening.”

She suggested the county “take some long, hard looks at deferred maintenance,” but offered little else. Thomas said completing construction of a sewer system in Port Hadlock is key to that area’s ability to add density.

“I would love to see the county working with the [other] local villages, if they want to get their own sewer,” Thomas said.

Housing, homelessness and budget

Asked how they would boost housing while protecting the environment, both candidates said they believe in striking a balance.

“I do believe in being a little bit more open with development, but I also believe in emphasizing low-impact development,” Thomas said. “The last thing we want are giant lawns and ‘McMansions.’”

In his first 100 days, he said, he would convene a task force of developers and homeowner builders to get insight on barriers to development of all types.

Dudley-Nollette said she would focus on permitting staff levels in the county’s Department of Community Development and seek efficiencies through continuous process improvement.

“Sometimes it really is about workflow,” she said. “And we can look to other counties that have models that are much more efficient than ours.”

Asked what policies they might pursue to address homelessness, neither candidate offered specifics. For her part, Dudley-Nollete said she recognizes she has a lot to learn. “I’m not thinking that I’m just going to go in and do this exponentially better job than our current commissioners,” she said.

The county should keep funding organizations that provide case management and supportive services, she said, noting that housing development won’t solve the problem alone.

She also asserted that “we will not address homelessness until we address the living wage crisis.”

Thomas likened homelessness to a game of Chutes and Ladders where “there’s a lot more chutes than ladders,” adding that he’d like to explore ways to create more ladders.

“One half a step up from where you’re currently at can make all the difference,” he said.

Because Bayside receives money from the state and county, Dudley-Nollette said she would resign from the nonprofit if elected.

For his part, Thomas would have to resign his City Council seat if elected, leaving the council to appoint someone else to finish his term, which runs through 2025.

Asked what they would like to see change in the county budget, Thomas said he hasn’t had time to “dig into” it because he’s been “swamped” with his job, the City Council and family. Otherwise, he said he’d like to find opportunities to upgrade equipment to boost productivity.

“I’ll be looking for those opportunities to leverage future labor to get more out of it,” he said.

Dudley-Nollette similarly offered no specific concerns with the budget, echoing Thomas in wanting to find efficiencies. She added that she wants to look at how the city, county, Port of Port Townsend and Jefferson County PUD can share resources beyond the work of the county’s Intergovernmental Collaborative Group.