The Island County Republican Party has announced the selection process that will narrow the pool of candidates for the county commissioner seat that Mike Shelton will vacate at the end of August to take a job in Olympia.
The Republican Party will nominate three candidates for the partisan position. The final selection will be made by commissioners Mac McDowell and John Dean.
To date, state Rep. Chris Strow, county Auditor Suzanne Sinclair and former commissioner candidate Reece Rose have announced their intention to seek the District 1 position, which covers South and Central Whidbey.
Prospective applicants can find information at www.islandcountygop.org.
Applicant letters will be accepted until 6 p.m. Aug. 3, at which point the executive board will meet and a list of applicants will be compiled.
On Aug. 6, the applicant list will be made available, along with the list of those considered eligible by the board. The applicants under consideration will be advised and the list will be made public in a press release.
The board will then hold three regional gatherings – on North and South Whidbey, and on Camano Island – between Aug. 8 and Aug. 29. The gatherings will be by invitation and afford an opportunity for the “voting members of the Island County Republican Part central committee” and the applicants to meet. The applicants will be able to present themselves and to ask and answer questions.
The pool will be narrowed to three qualified applicants during an Aug. 30 special central committee meeting.
The following day, the executive board will hand deliver a letter to the Board of Island County Commissioners containing the names of the three applicants. Commissioners Dean and McDowell will ultimately decide on the appointment.
Dean said the job of commissioners is about bipartisan teamwork and good, solid management.
“I am hoping we will have the opportunity to choose an applicant who brings good management and people skills, someone who comes without an agenda and can make decisions that are good for the county, good for the people who live here, good for taxpayers,” he said. “We need a certain amount of teamwork and political independence as well.”
