Alan Lichter Orcas West County Council

1. What is your background and education?

I have Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctoral degrees from the University of Washington, and was a faculty member at the University of Kansas for 26 years. During my academic career, I’ve also been a guest professor at universities in Sweden, Poland, and Germany, and was a Fulbright Professor in Gdansk, Poland; I’ve also given several invited presentations at international conferences.

I’ve been an Orcas resident since 1987, where I’ve been a Resource Steward in Moran State Park and the founder of the Tough Trekkers hiking club. I was a Mercy Flight pilot, flying patients to mainland medical facilities, and President of Airhawk Aviators, a non-profit group awarding scholarships to San Juan County teenagers. I’ve also led an Orcas Library lecture series, served on the Library Book Selection committee, and directed a theater series.

I’ve served as a member of both the previous Board of Commissioners and the new County Council, including chairing the Council during the transition to the new Charter. I am Chair of the County Veterans’ Board, and the only veteran on the Council. I’m also Chair of the County Board of Health, and liaison to the Canadian Gulf Islands Trust, an increasingly important role in our shared seas.

2. With all Council positions being part-time, how do you intend to prioritize your work?

This is a very difficult question, especially since the Charter does not state that a Council Member’s job is part-time. The Salary Commission has established a part-time salary base, but the reality is that being a County Councilman is much more than a part-time job, if you want to do it competently. So it is very difficult for me to speak of prioritizing my work. County government is complex and if you want to understand the issues on which the County is making decisions, you have to be prepared to spend a lot of time researching the issues, speaking with experts in the field, other government officials, and so on. In general, my priorities will be directly connected to safeguarding our island communities for the future.

3. What was the biggest mis-step of the County Council since the Charter went into effect in 2006, and how do you think it should have been addressed?

In 2007, a San Juan Island citizen filed a referendum concerning stormwater fees, and the Council voted to challenge the referendum in court. As the legal challenge moved forward, I researched similar litigation in other counties and concluded that it was unfairly burdensome to force the citizen who filed the referendum to endure the costly and time-consuming hardships of courtroom maneuvers. I moved to reverse the Council’s decision, the motion was seconded by Rich Peterson, and was upheld by a majority of the Council. The litigation was cancelled. In retrospect, I believe it was a mistake of Council judgement to impede the first-ever referendum filed under our new Charter.

4. What are the changes you see as essential to ferry service and how do you plan to help bring them about?

We need ferry service for San Juan County that is safe, reliable, and affordable.

These services will require new ferries, an efficient WSF administration, and a predictable source of funding. We’ll need constant contact with our legislators in Olympia, and relationships with WSF management, and all the State agencies that deal with ferry-related issues.

I want to have strong partnerships with all other ferry-served communities, and some of this partnering has already been initiated. Beyond that, I’ve proposed that the Council provide a half-time staff person for our SJC Ferry Advisory Committee, one who could provide the same professional back-up we now give to our Marine Resources Committee and Agricultural Resources Committee.

5. How do you plan to facilitate the implementation of the Eastsound UGA stormwater plan?

There are two main issues to resolve: how to satisfy the UGA, and how to be most efficient in dealing with and retaining our precious water resources.

For Eastsound, we have the Rasmussen Plan on the books, put in place some time ago. It is both unwieldly and expensive, requiring a dozen or more infrastructure projects in Eastsound over the next six years. This plan will neither solve the Eastsound stormwater challenges, nor provide acceptable models for other stormwater venues in San Juan County.

We have a very energetic stormwater sub-committee, whose Chair, Rich Peterson, is taking an intelligent and realistic approach to the issue. We will have to address the question of fees, and who pays for what.

I am fully supporting the work of the sub-committee as it explores innovative solutions for this issue, both for Eastsound and SJC. Presently, they are looking at a multi-level fee structure with a very low basic fee for property owners, and then an island-specific and UGA-specific fee. This multi-level approach seems fair, realistic, and efficient, although it needs to be examined more closely.

6. What efforts will you make to address affordable housing on Orcas Island?

Affordable housing for San Juan County is one the central issues that will determine the health of our island communities, and I have always worked diligently to keep this issue in the forefront of my work. In 2007, for instance, I presented two days of workshops dealing with Smart Growth and Affordable Housing, which brought together most of the governmental and non-governmental organizations in San Juan County. I’ve also recently helped to get the final go-ahead for OPAL’s new project on Mt. Baker road. You’ll see an ad elsewhere in this edition from affordable housing advocates, complementing my support for housing grants and affordable housing legislation.

7. How do you think the Council should best address its relationship with the Legislature in Olympia? If the Council elects to hire one of its own to be a lobbyist for the County in Olympia, would you be willing to serve in that capacity? Why or why not?

If we are trying to get things done in Olympia, personal relationships constitute the central fact of political life and effectiveness. Certainly knowing the ins and outs of issues is also very important. After four years, I have those relationships and a knowledgeable grasp of the issues we’re involved with.

This is not Washington, D.C., and our State Legislators have told us that professional lobbyists don’t receive nearly as much attention in Olympia as local elected officials.

If I’m asked to represent the Council and SJC on any issues in Olympia, I will be pleased to serve in that capacity.

8. What are the top two skills or personal attributes that make you the best candidate for this position?

First, my past experience as a negotiator – which includes work at the University of Gdansk during the Solidarity uprising against the communists in Poland – has enabled me to be a moderating influence in County government. I’ve also mediated clashes between street people and police in Seattle, and arbitrated issues between Arab and Jewish students at the University of Kansas. Voters may remember how disruptive and disfunctional the former Board of County Commissioners was before I was elected as a Democrat in 2004. Now, Council Members don’t always agree, but we work together effectively and civilly.

Second, and perhaps more important, is my length of experience over the past four years. It takes time to learn the complexities of County government, and it takes time to develop good working relationships with other Council Members, with County department heads, with non-governmental organizations, and with Olympia legislators.

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