It’s fine that Rep. Barbara Bailey is running for State Senate, but it’s not fine that her old seat in the state House of Representatives will now go to a Stanwood area resident.

Whidbey Island has enjoyed an impressive run in holding both 10th District House seats going back to 1993. The election of November 1992 put two Oak Harborites in power, Democrat Sue Karahalios and Republican Barry Sehlin. One of the seats had been held by Camano Island Democrat Mary Margaret Haugen since 1983, but she ran and won the Senate seat in 1992. The other seat from 1981 through 1992 was held by Sim Wilson, a Marysville Republican. Another way to look at it is that from 1981 to 1993, no Whidbey Islander represented Whidbey Island in the state House in Olympia.

Since the election of 1992, however, Whidbey Islanders began to think both House seats belonged to them. Nobody from Camano, Stanwood or the outskirts of Mount Vernon could manage a win. Islanders who held the two House seats during that period included Karahalios, Sehlin, Barney Beeksma, Dave Anderson, Kelly Barlean, Bailey, Chris Strow and Norma Smith. All but Karahalios and Anderson were Republicans. Respectively, the two Democrats managed to hold onto their seats for one and two terms before being bounced by a Republican.

Now, however, Whidbey Island’s 20-year grip on both House seats has been broken. We still have Norma Smith, whose tenure began as an appointee in 2008, but no islander filed for Bailey’s seat when she decided to run for Senate against Democrat Haugen. Regardless of how Bailey does, Whidbey Island will have one House representative from off the island.

Competing for the Position 2 seat being vacated by Bailey are Democrat Tom Riggs and Republican Dave Hayes, both of Stanwood. Whoever wins will no doubt establish an outpost on Whidbey Island, but it won’t be the same as having one of our own in office. The winner won’t have any long-term memories of living on Whidbey or any deep knowledge of our history, social structure or geographic makeup. We won’t be seeing the winner at church or in the grocery store, we’ll just have to email him, call his  toll-free number in Olympia, “friend” him on Facebook, or wait for his occasional visits to Whidbey.

It just won’t be the same as having one of our own representing us in Olympia.