What is with you people?

Surely I’m not the only person who feels deeply insulted by the numerous candidates for office who take the trouble to register for the election but can’t be bothered to submit an information statement for the voter’s handbook. Even though we have a tiny population, we don’t all know each other. What is with you people?

Morgan Seeley

Quilcene

Support for Kerber

I am writing in support of Stu Kerber as a commissioner for East Jefferson County Public Hospital District #2. I’m grateful for the work done by the hospital board and in our current times we need a functional and pro-active group of professionals who will keep that work all about the health of the local community. Jefferson Healthcare is a successful hospital and we are privileged to have a high quality healthcare system in a small and beautiful place like Port Townsend/East Jefferson County. We need a group of people on our board who can work together to meet the challenges ahead and keep the hospital a viable, secular and independent organization. I’m concerned about Commissioner Ready’s focus on “whistle blowing” on his own peers and his dream of a single payer system instead of the volume of real work at hand to sustain our local healthcare programs. In a recent League of Women Voters forum Matt Ready describes that he is “hopeful” we can make adjustments to stay viable despite federal funding cuts, Stu Kerber has concrete examples of ways to improve the strength of the organization. Stu Kerber has a strong background in leadership and can work effectively on the board and keep that work about the community and the hospital workforce and not waste precious time and energy with personal battles in a public forum. Stu Kerber plans to stay connected and engaged and keep people informed and involved. The work done to plan for the future of Jefferson Healthcare needs to be functional, open and transparent and it’s time for new and positive energy on the hospital board.

Laura Showers

Support for Quarles

Running for City Council Position #1 are two fine men, we could use them both on the council. That won’t be happening this round. We are living in challenging times and must get the things we must do on track now. Dylan Quarles is energized and motivated by his family history here in Port Townsend and his own young family. It will be an education and inspiration to his generation to have a contemporary advocate of Dylan’s caliber on the council. Even though Port Townsend does have one of the highest median ages in the state and country, that makes a wise voice from Dylan’s generation on the council even more valuable. We older members of the community want to see youth, the signs of youth and the young progeny of youth thrive here just as well as we do. Having that voice on the city council will invigorate the city’s momentum to the advantage of all citizens. We must have a wide range of ages and backgrounds living comfortably here to give us all the best possible options and opportunities for a good life. I will vote for Dylan, I hope you do too. 

Bill Dentzel

Sale of Quilcene food bank

The building is 80% complete with generous support from volunteers and donors. The design, function, and use has always been fully transparent with buy-in from the community. We had local contractors and volunteers working on the building that could’ve been completed over a year and a half ago stopped by Patricia(executive director)and we were told that she would be bringing in outside contractors that would be more expensive to complete the project. It feels like such an insult to the community to take away, and sell at a loss a building that could have easily been completed and currently being used as a wonderful place to help serve the communities food needs. We had an anonymous donor lined up to pay for the roofing and siding, and rather than accepting that help, the executive director insisted on knowing the identity, further discouraging future donations. We need this food bank. The funds were in place. Design, layout, usage was all transparent with support from the community. The executive director, and current board could easily set their egos aside and do what is right for the community and complete this project. I encourage everyone to call and ask them why not?

Keith Meyer

Quilcene

Inclusive, responsive leadership

Open, engaged leadership is a choice a community makes. When our ballots read like a rubber stamp—with too many unopposed races and empty bios—we’re undermining our civic culture.

This year’s Jefferson County Local Voters’ Pamphlet exemplifies this issue, listing 37 local positions, of which 24 are unopposed. Additionally, 19 entries lacked information, and 23 had no photos. Within the unopposed group, a dozen candidates submitted no statements, and fourteen provided no photos. This creates a void where accountability should exist.

Voting for unopposed, faceless candidates diminishes community involvement, suggesting that voters’ voices don’t matter. If the outcome is predetermined, what’s the motivation to vote? Opposition isn’t merely about winning; it’s about stimulating dialogue, addressing trade-offs, and combating complacency. Even a long-shot campaign can spark crucial discussions on housing, infrastructure, and resilience. While some may win, they generally move the needle forward.

Consider our local government as a bus. An experienced driver knows the route, but a younger driver brings fresh perspectives and curiosity to explore new paths. The healthiest trips combine seasoned guidance with energetic exploration—this represents effective succession.

The City of Port Townsend has demonstrated this with new leaders like Emma Bolin, Renata Munfrada, and Adrian Smith, proving that renewal and continuity can coexist. Our elected officials should similarly prioritize recruitment, mentorship, and elevation.

As a real estate broker and advocate for a healthy local economy, I believe that a successful future relies on inclusive, responsive leadership across our local institutions. Change begins with active participation and open races, creating an inviting culture. We must retire “unopposed and unknown” in Jefferson County and cultivate engaged, accountable leadership. That’s how we keep our community moving forward.

Scott Rogers

Fred Obee impresses me

In 2024 he applied for a vacated position on City Council but was bypassed by the council (in favor of Neil Nelson). Then when the filing period opened this year with an open seat, Fred filed his candidacy. He wants to do this job!

And Fred has relevant experience. In covering local government for decades as a journalist, he understands government processes. He is adept at asking questions, researching issues and putting it all together. As a manager of organizations, both private and non-profit, his inquisitiveness, his communication facility and his understanding of budgets are needed on our

City Council. Pease join me in voting for Fred Obee for City Council.

Catharine Robinson

Pink flamingos on your lawn

If you wake up to find pink flamingos on your lawn, you’re not imagining things—you’re helping to keep our kids safe on graduation night. Over the next few weeks, Port Townsend High School’s Class of 2026 is continuing the tradition to raise money for Grad Night: a celebration with food, entertainment, prizes, and most critically, safe transportation on one of the riskiest nights of their high school lives. The event isn’t school-sponsored, so we rely entirely on community generosity.

PTHS seniors will place small flocks of flamingos in yards after dark. Donation details are attached to tags around the birds’ necks. Donations are optional, but if you’re feeling mischievous, you can pay a little more to flock a friend! The next day, the flock migrates to a new location.

We’ve heard from alumni—some now in their 70s—who say graduation night remains one of their most treasured memories. They want to pay it forward for today’s seniors, and we hope you will too.

If you catch the flockers in action, please keep your sense of humor! Students will introduce themselves and ask permission, and if you prefer not to participate, they’ll respectfully move along. If by chance you get flocked twice, just leave us a note—no second donation expected.

Prefer to donate without being flocked? Visit our GoFundMe page. Thanks for supporting the Class of 2026 Seniors!

Tonya Cole & the PTHS Grad Night Parent Committee

Support for Quarles

We are a family with two young children living in Port Townsend. We have watched as the town has become unaffordable for many families and those living on fixed incomes. We have had friends pushed out of PT due to cost of living increases and the lack of diverse housing options. The issue of unaffordable housing is a primary concern for us as we want a PT where the youth can grow up here, find employment here, and live here into

adulthood if they so choose. Beyond the focus on families and our older neighbors on fixed incomes, we also want a PT where the working class is priced in, not out.

With that in mind, we support Dylan Quarles for Port Townsend’s City Council because we believe that he is the right person to help fix these and many other problems we see in PT today. We got to know Dylan by attending one of his campaign events out of our own curiosity. We had a long conversation with him to learn more about his platform and what he stands for as an individual. Following that event, we are very confident that Dylan Quarles will be part of the solution.

Matthew and Rebakah Minarchek

Get involved

Like many, I value transparency in our local government and have noticed more calls for that recently. However, I think there could be more awareness of the avenues we already have for learning and engagement with the City of Port Townsend. So, for those for whom this might be helpful, existing avenues include: 

-City Council meetings - typically the 1st and 3rd Mondays of the month at 6pm in Council Chambers. I’ve found that viewing these meetings, even just occasionally, leads to much more nuanced understandings of the issues and decisions. 

-Planning Commission meetings -  where issues and recommendations are often first hashed out, before going to City Council.

-All City meetings are open to the public and most are available both in-person and virtually, with agendas posted beforehand. You can make public comment either in-person or in writing. If you can’t make it “live,” you can review past meeting recordings and reference their agendas to see which parts you want to “skip” to. Additionally, you can visit the city’s website to watch educational videos; sign up for City e-news (you can even select specific topics to be notified about); and learn about other engagement initiatives. You can use the new “Ask the City” feature (and responses) on the City’s home page, or listen to past recordings of Brewocracy Now! on KPTZ’s website. 

There’s more, but it won’t fit here. And I’m not saying there aren’t more access points to explore. But I’d love more residents to take advantage of the avenues already available. It takes more homework on our part, and we still might not agree on everything, but it will lead to more constructive and informed community conversations. Which, I assume, is what we all want.

Kelsey Caudebec

Consider doing more

Like many of you, I was struck by the amazing, enthusiastic turnout for the No King’s event in Port Townsend and around the country. But now that this event has happened, don’t let your enthusiasm for a change of governmental direction dissipate. Consider doing more by joining local community action groups who work to come to the aid of others within our own neighborhoods and beyond.

Myself, I am a volunteer on the Jefferson County Immigrant Rights Advocates (JCIRA) Legislation and Policy Tracking team which researches and edits news articles, legislation and governmental policy on issues pertaining to the immigrant community on the Olympic peninsula. I have become deeply concerned about masked,

unidentified agents who have physically intimidated and detained not just immigrants but US citizens as well. The third largest US detention center is the NW Detention Center in Tacoma. The center is operated by the Geo Group, on behalf of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in spite of having no valid contract since the end of September. To date, neither ICE or Geo Group have confirmed whether a new contract exits. In spite of what appears on their website, Geo Group has a notorious reputation for human rights abuses including poor sanitation, lack of access for detainees to healthcare or legal representation, and blocking the right

of our Congressional Representative Randall to conduct impromptu and scheduled visits. To protect themselves, Geo Group is pushing the Supreme Court to grant themselves blanket immunity from lawsuits.

If you are interested in issues of illegal detentions and incarcerations, consider joining other locals making the

trip to the NW Detention Center on Saturday, Nov. 1st. for a 1-3 P.M. show of support for detainees. You can get more details by contacting the JCIRA office in Port Townsend (Jefferson County Immigrant Rights Advocates).

Kathleen Wilkinson

No kings, no coverage

Three thousand people attended the No Kings Day rally in Port Townsend this week and you put the story on A3? And a picture of two deer above the fold on Page 1?  What am I to make of this choice?  Wake up! Democracy is on the line.

Catherine Kapp

Food bank coverage

When the Leader published numerous one-sided articles contributed by the Food Bank administration, I was disappointed.

The Leader never delved into the controversy that caused many of the most cherished multi-year volunteers from Quilcene to sever all ties. I asked for an explainer about what was going to happen to the new Quilcene Food Bank, I wrote the new executive director three times by mail and received nothing back. Many in our small community stopped contributing, feeling treated without regard or respect.

Now the new building we had dreamed about in our community for many years is up for sale, and to add insult to injury, it is listed with a realtor from Port Townsend, not Quilcene. Still, there is no coverage in the paper.

This issue has rocked our small community. It impacts us all when people are hungry, when trusting relationships are severed, and there is only word of mouth to guess what is truly going on. 

An executive director who can’t embrace volunteers and donors is not doing the job of leading a community organization.

Did I mention that law enforcement was called to the food bank under her leadership? Or the story of the Christmas gift cards that no one received by Christmas? Bananas.

The pain for the food bank has not gone away, and no bridge has been built to renew anyone’s faith in the organization. I drove by the building to see the for sale sign and I cried.

The US Bank and the Henery Hardware store have closed, and a new shop has opened up. What good is the Leader if it won’t send someone down to South County to cover the news and these types of major happenings?

Kay Kennell - Quilcene 

Wake up!

My message is: Wake Up America!  On a daily basis, we watch with our own eyes, as the guardrails of our democracy are being dismantled by an evil egomaniac and his minions!  We no longer have three separate and equal branches of government!  We have a Supreme Court that allows our despot king to do as he pleases, a spineless Congress that “rubber stamps” his every wish, so let’s be honest, we have an executive branch, i.e., “King Donald”, a bully who runs amok!

Shame on all of us for allowing a certifiable nut case to be our Commander-in-Chief!  We can and must do better in the future! Apathy cannot be tolerated and we all must do our part to preserve the fragments left of our fragile democracy!

Warren S. Walvatne

Quarles postcard misleading on city finances

The postcard for Dylan Quarles paid for by Rick and Deborah Jahnke gives an incomplete and misleading summary of city finances.

It says “From 2000 to 2019, the City ‘balanced’ its budget by taking on Councilmanic debt” and “Let’s not go back to the OLD way of ‘balancing’ the budget by increasing debt for future residents and families to deal with.”

Cities are not allowed to incur debt to “balance” operating budgets, and it’s misleading to imply any council did so.

This is capital project debt. After decades of neglect, the city began catching up on infrastructure maintenance and investment by hiring Dave Timmons as manager.

Yes, debt payments could have been used for housing and other services, but paying cash for infrastructure is not fair to present taxpayers nor realistic for anyone but the uber wealthy. Sheesh!

The postcard doesn’t mention general fund expenses growing 88% from 2021 through 2025 while revenues grew only 33%. The draft 2026 budget is an improvement, though the State Auditor’s website rating for our general fund is “cautionary” regarding its “change in cash position.”

The city’s Financial Sustainability Initiative (Rick Jahnke was on its task force), recommended two options for raising taxes and fees by $4.8 million or $10.6 million a year. A new $40? million pool would have been the largest recipient of new revenue, receiving 47% or $2.3 million a year under the first option and 33% or $3.5 million in the second (the city is no longer proposing to finance a pool, which could yet sink the dreams of people who need affordable housing, not a deluxe pool).

Let’s elect Fred Obee, a thoughtful, fair-minded person who values common sense, transparency and collaboration. I can’t imagine Fred agreeing to pay our city manager more than the governor.

Barney Burke

Support for Kerber

I strongly support Stu Kerber for hospital commissioner. Jefferson Healthcare and all rural health care providers are going to face unprecedented challenges in the years ahead, especially

with the cuts to Medicaid that Republicans in Congress have dialed in. Stu’s experience in finance will be an important asset in keeping Jefferson healthy and under local control.

In 1977 I served for six months as Jefferson General Hospital’s interim CEO, culminating in the hiring of administrator Vic Dirksen. There were only three Commissioners for the Hospital District at the time but they held respect for one another and acted cohesively during a stormy time.

It’s important for a board to be able to disagree as it works through tough issues, but the whistleblower mentality that Matt Ready has displayed is counterproductive and corrosive. By violating terms set out by Olympic Medical Center as they solicited confidential proposals from competing health systems including Jefferson, Matt damaged trust that is needed with our sister hospital in Port Angeles. We need a high performing board as we navigate difficult times

ahead, and Stu Kerber is the clear choice.

Mark Secord