I am supporting Nick Power for San Juan County prosecutor because I have seen Nick Power support citizens’ needs and common sense over the will of established elites. For example, when Community Treasures was about to close in 2011, due to county regulatory changes, Nick Power was instrumental in supporting CT and keeping it open. CT became a formal 501(c)(3) public charity because of Nick Power’s communications with the IRS, and Nick helped move CT past the desire of some of the Friends of the San Juans, and some council members, who simply did not want to set the precedent of having CT become conforming by changing its land-use designation. CT should not be a controversy, but CT has not been supported by the full council, and the current prosecutor refused to enforce the state’s Essential Public Facility RCWs and laws that, if enforced, would have been to CT’s benefit. Nick Power will support the law and the needs of the people over the political desires of a few elites.

Nick has worked overtime for those oppressed by our government, rather than support the political desires of a few to overregulate and bypass laws that protect property rights and essential public facilities. Thank you, Nick. It would be beneficial to have a county prosecutor who is supportive and interested in seeing that San Juan Island is able to have its own version of Lopez’s Take It or Leave It site or The Exchange on Orcas.

Frank M. Penwell

San Juan Island