Phil Johnson deserves every word of praise he received Monday at the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners meeting, and perhaps a few more.

Born and raised in Port Townsend, Johnson learned about county issues from the ground up by working in at least three of our major industries. He worked summers at the Port Townsend paper mill to earn money for college. He was a commercial fisherman. And he was a building contractor.

He once recalled how, in his 20s, he was trying to decide whether to stay in Jefferson County or move on. There was a moment, he recalled, while waterskiing on Port Townsend Bay, that he looked around, felt the water under him, saw the mountains around him and decided there was no place better than where he was. So he stayed.

Armed with an understanding of the environment and the economy, Johnson was elected 12 years ago to represent District 1 (Port Townsend).

But Johnson saw his job as representing everyone in Jefferson County, not just his city constituents.

He has been a stalwart defender of the environment and, in particular, a voice for clean water and wild salmon.

Johnson led the fight against a state mandate to allow certain types of aquaculture, notably net pens, in Jefferson County. A proponent of catching fish in the wild and keeping them safe, Johnson was determined not to allow net pens to release fertilizer, antibiotics, sea lice and other parasites into Jefferson County waters.

Johnson also kept the pressure on a Poulsbo company that wanted to develop a 4-mile conveyor belt and extract gravel out of a pit, moving it to the shoreline, then by barge under the Hood Canal Bridge. That project is effectively dead in the water.

Throughout all of the controversies facing commissioners, Johnson kept his cool, listening attentively to those appearing before him, even when some of them were attacking him personally.

Johnson also has a dry sense of humor and an easy smile.

It’s no wonder he was elected three times to the board and why he won with more than 10,000 votes every time.

Thanks, Phil, for your good citizenship and service to

Jefferson County.