Jefferson County’s response to the housing crisis and efforts to put a temporary roof over the heads of homeless people prompted widely divergent opinions during a candidates’ forum last week for county commissioner.

Three candidates are in the running for a four-year term in Position 3 on the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners.

Voters will cast ballots during the Primary Election on Aug. 2 in the race, and the top two finishers will advance to the General Election in November.

The three-way battle pits incumbent Democrat Greg Brotherton against two Republican challengers: Marcia Kelbon and Jon Cooke.

During an online-only forum July 13 sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Jefferson County, both Kelbon and Cooke offered a different approach to the issue of homelessness.

Brotherton has taken the lead on the homeless issue in the past two years for the board of commissioners, which has seen the county move a controversial and problem-plagued homeless camp from the county fairgrounds to a new location on Mill Road, with the county planning further improvements to the homeless shelter in phases.

Cooke raised the issue early, during his opening statement when he recalled being at a commissioner meeting and hearing a man who had gotten 200 acres from his father, and he and his brothers had hoped to build two more homes on the property but were told no.

He noted how close together the county had allowed homeless tents  and campers at the fairgrounds.

“I agree we need to help these people, but sometimes helping them is getting them on their own and working again and moving again,” Cooke said of the homeless. “I really feel the fiasco at the fairgrounds said a lot about the way our county is going.”

“Instead of looking at the problems there, we expanded it to a bigger problem,” he said.

“I think we need real housing; housing that would build jobs and help people, and we need to help single-parent families and families overall,” Cooke said.

In answering a question on spending priorities, Kelbon said she would not favor “spending millions on homeless encampments that have been proven elsewhere not to work.”

“Really, we’re just kind of moving people around,” she said.

Kelbon noted that efforts to house the homeless started in Port Townsend, moved  to the county fairgrounds, then the county considered moving the homeless camp to Cape George, and then finally, Mill Road.

“Instead, I think we really need to take those compassionate dollars and put them toward treating, screening, and treating underlying conditions of mental illness and addiction,” Kelbon said.

Brotherton countered the criticism near the close of the forum, and the charge he called inaccurate that the county was just moving the homeless around.

“What it is, in fact, is a specific solution to a very specific problem,” Brotherton said.

He recalled that the COVID pandemic prompted a ban against evictions, as well as changes to police enforcement, that led to the county’s first “Seattle-style encampment.” Brotherton also noted the real problems that ensued with the homeless camp at the county fairgrounds.

Drug use by campers, plus overdoses and drug dealers living at the camp,  resulted in residents of the nearby neighborhoods getting more than a hundred anti-harassment orders.

Federal pandemic relief money funded the shelter on Mill Road, he noted.

DEFENDING THE MOVE

“I went there and I kept working with the aggrieved neighbors, with the fair board, with law enforcement, with the city, with Discovery Behavioral Health, and the nonprofits. We kept working through it until we came up with a solution to use some of our relief dollars to find a place that we could actually manage the population. And the outcomes couldn’t be more different. There’s no more drug dealers in it. There’s no more overdoses like there was,” Brotherton said.

While some residents of the shelter have substance-use disorder and mental health issues, Brotherton said he firmly believed in the housing-first model.

“Both of my opponents are talking about this bootstrap mentality. Where ... you know, get straight, and we’ll help you get a place to live. And it’s just not the way it works,” he said.

Candidates were also asked about the housing stock in Jefferson County.

Brotherton noted his support for leveraging technology, including new permitting software that he said would streamline the application process and allow online permits.

He also advocated for alternatives to traditional septic treatment systems, as well as creating stock plans for tiny houses, plus other policies that would lower the barriers to housing.

Kelbon said she wanted to remove barriers to reasonably priced housing.

“It breaks my heart to see our younger generations in Jefferson County not able to succeed based on their hard work; sometimes working three jobs and still not being able to afford a place to live,” she said.

“I’m talking ... rental housing, multifamily homes, starter homes,” Kelbon explained.

“And we also need to finally permit some real business development; jobs that pay true living wages in a way that does not hurt our environment, and still protects and recognizes our rural character.”

Cooke, in an answer to the question about his proposed changes to the state’s Growth Management Act that would make Jefferson County more affordable for businesses and homeowners, suggested a revision that would allow counties to escape its restrictions.

“Why isn’t there an option for us to get out of it?” Cooke said. “Our county and other rural counties are suffering from it. So why can’t we just back out?”

THREE-PARTY RACE

Brotherton, 49, is a former Quilcene businessman and school board member. He was elected to the District 3 position in 2018. 

Kelbon, 62, is a 40-year resident of the area and has worked as an engineer, patent attorney, and corporate executive.

Cooke, 63, is currently on the Quilcene School Board and has worked as a school teacher. He unsuccessfully ran against Brotherton for county commissioner in 2018.

During last week’s forum, candidates were also questioned about county spending, shared housing solutions, up-zoning areas for more dense housing development, and their youth outreach efforts.

EQUAL RIGHTS FOR ALL

They were also asked about their work with the LGBTQ+ community and what candidates would do to support and defend them on issues of marriage, adoption, parenting, and transition rights.

“Everybody is created equal,” Cooke answered. “And no group should get special rights, whether it’s a religious group, or LGBT, or whatever. Everybody is created equal. We need to judge people by their character.”

“I think that we have missed the science on this,” he added. “I’m a firm believer in science.

“Let’s say somebody, a guy, wanted to wear a dress. That’s fine; that’s good. But where it crosses the line for me is when he tells me I have to believe what he believes,” Cooke said. “So I just go back to: Everybody was created equal, and we treat people like they’re equals.”

Kelbon said she has family members who are LGBTQ.

“I wholly agree with the notion that love is love, and families are our families,” she said.

Kelbon said she was “horrified” to recently see a concurring opinion in a U.S. Supreme Court decision that could potentially eliminate gay marriage.

“I don’t agree with that. I think we should respect people, whatever their sexual or gender orientation.”

Kelbon added that young people should not be told to change themselves.

“Because who knows what they are in their teens or even early 20s. Most of us don’t; we’re still trying to find our place in the world,” she said.

Brotherton noted the county’s focus on equity and inclusion.

“I’m a huge supporter of body gender, sexual autonomy, and you know I’m proud to be a member of a party that supports those values as well,” he said.

He also found the recent Supreme Court decision scary.

“I have a young daughter right now going through a very different childhood than I did. And I think recognizing the different times are important and the different inputs and outputs that we have,” he said.

“There’s room for everyone at the table,” Brotherton said, adding that the county has sought diversity and lived experience to those who are appointed to advisory boards.