Editor,

I’ve worked with Melanie Bacon (District 1 commissioner) for three years on the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee that distributes funds from the 2% hotel/motel taxes that tourists pay when staying overnight on Whidbey and Camano. She chairs the committee and works cooperatively with its members. She respectfully handles any disagreements among the committee members without any ensuing drama.

Her administrative skills are evident as well as her commonsense approach to this challenging process. Some years we have more dollar requests than we have in available funds. She encourages the committee members in their efforts to even handedly support the many community institutions and citizen sponsored festivals that are in this yearly competition for the LTAC funds.

Regarding Melanie’s opponent, Marie Shimada, I urge everyone to review the June 5 and July 26 issues of the Whidbey News-Times that indicate to me a very disturbing story of Marie Shimada’s work history at the Edmond’s Community College where she was fired and recently at the Ebey’s Landing National Historic Reserve where she resigned.

While Marie presents a very positive public image, her on-the-job work performance is described as one of creating dissension among her colleagues, inability to perform her basic job responsibilities, inability to work cooperatively with others, making unfounded accusations against her superiors, and generally causing chaos in her work environment. I have read the independent personnel report from Edmonds Community College as well as documents from Ebey’s Reserve, all publicly available records, that described her behavior.

I shudder to think of the chaos that she might bring to the Board of Commissioners. Both of the articles describing her previous job performances clearly indicate to me that Marie Shimada is not a candidate that I can support for the important position of Island County commissioner.

Melanie Bacon’s previous work experience and background in the issues important to our county, her gentle, hardworking approach to her colleagues as well as responsibilities as a commissioner, have won my respect and I am happy to support her.

Michael Ferri

Coupeville