Six candidates are vying for the top elected position in Whatcom County.
The county executive position — a nonpartisan, four-year term position that represents the region at the state and federal level — will be a significant primary race to watch this election. Incumbent Satpal Sidhu, 73, faces challenges from local Democrats and Republicans, current city and state-level politicos, business leaders and an activist.
Sidhu’s first term was marked by significant crises, including the November 2021 floods and subsequent recovery efforts, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic, rising homelessness, and an ongoing fight against fentanyl. That experience, he said, has primed him to be an even stronger executive in a second term.
“We got over $100 million of aid during COVID, in different forms, and that $100 million was over and above our typical budget,” he said. “We deployed every [dollar]. We listened to the public. We put money in affordable housing, in child care, in COVID care.”
Sidhu, a Sikh, made the move from India to Canada before landing in Bellingham more than three decades ago, and worked as an engineer on multimillion-dollar projects. Managing those projects, he said, is a lot like leading a county.
“It’s about people management, more than money,” Sidhu said. “You have to put a good team together. That’s leadership.”
He added he’s now looking to the future and listening to experts’ opinions on county challenges, like the impending water rights adjudication and jail construction, through a nonpartisan lens.
Other candidates also compared running the county to running a business.
Dan Purdy — a longtime entrepreneur, management consultant and leader at several mid-to-large size companies like BP — said he intends to lead the county with more fiscal responsibility.
His platform, which spells PACE, targets public safety, accountability and responsibility, the cost of living in Whatcom, and environmental stewardship.
Public safety is a broad umbrella term that includes several key issues, Purdy said, including homelessness and supporting the construction of a new jail. Purdy, 50, also included flood recovery and stressed the importance of emergency response preparedness at the county level.
One of Purdy’s priorities includes preparing for future problems instead of responding to them.
“Before we throw more money and more bodies at a problem, we should understand what that problem is, and what it is that we’re trying to solve,” he said. “If we’re trying to solve for X but the problem is Z, then we’re not managing your tax dollars at that point.”
Several other elected officials are vying for the executive role, including Democrats Barry Buchanan — current chair of the Whatcom County Council — and state representative Alicia Rule.
Buchanan, a Navy veteran and former member of the Bellingham City Council and chair of the Whatcom Democrats, is ready to represent community members across the political spectrum as the county approaches criminal justice and a new jail — which Buchanan has worked on for years — and the impending adjudication process, health care, child care and environmental issues.
Buchanan, who was elected to serve as chair of the county council five times throughout his tenure, said his goal is to foster relationships between conservative and liberal members of the community because solutions to issues like homelessness, mental health and addiction challenges and environmental remediation require cooperation and teamwork.
On his first day in office, Buchanan, 68, said his plan is to meet with county employees and understand the needs of the workers trying to better the region.
“My policy is that I’m here for you, and my door is always open,” he said. “We have such societal issues, and it just keeps compounding and compounding and compounding, and we need leadership that can be bold.”
Rule, a Blaine resident and social worker who is halfway through her second term as a state representative said she is running because the county needs a social worker in charge.
“When I think about what comes next, with the intersection between homelessness, behavioral health, addiction and public safety, the place to do the work most powerfully right now is here at home,” Rule said. “A social worker is the right choice for this moment.”
Rule, 47, said she hopes to take her successes at the state level and implement them now in a local role. Those successes, she said, include securing funds for behavioral health facilities and social services like the 988 system.
Proper oversight of the budget is also high on Rule’s list of priorities.
“Our budget is where our values lie, and we need to make sure it’s being managed well,” she said. “But we’ve got to make sure that our bills are paid and our staff is taken care of properly.”
Like Sidhu and Buchanan, Rule is running as a Democrat with plans to build bipartisan support. For Rule, the position is less about identity and more about meeting the needs of people not just in Bellingham, but in the small cities and beyond.
“People are counting on me to deliver solutions to the problems they face every day, whether it be safety issues or environmental issues,” Rule said. “That’s what they care about.”
One candidate is running for the position because she doesn’t feel represented by local leadership.
Misty Flowers, a 42-year-old grassroots activist, has spent years pushing for more accountability from the council, but doesn’t feel heard.
Flowers acknowledged that some of the ideas she’s shared in the past, particularly those related to COVID-19 restrictions and last year’s Prop 5 initiative, are typically associated with conservative views — sometimes even seen as conspiracy theories — and may not be popular among all voters. Even so, she said, her goal is to listen to all voices and push for individual liberty for each resident.
“Anybody in a position of authority, especially in regards to local government, should be able to sit down and have an open mind about people’s concerns, and treat them with respect,” Flowers said. “We may not agree, but I’m willing to engage with anybody and willing to represent everybody.”
Flowers said her priorities are to increase accountability and trust in local leadership by addressing ongoing challenges with fentanyl and public safety, homelessness, and the impending jail tax initiative.
Part of the challenge, she said, is that different groups need different resources and existing systems aren’t working for them. Flowers said the current policy is “a disservice” across the board, “particularly because we’re clumping crime in with mental illness and with drug addiction, and they’re not one and the same.”
Flowers said common-sense solutions can be implemented immediately to prevent people from dying on the street, like increasing education about CPR.
The final candidate for the executive position, Sukhwant Gill, is a longtime Whatcom County resident and former member of Blaine City Council.
Gill, 69, did not respond to Cascadia Daily News’ interview requests but mentioned leadership experience in his candidate profile on the Whatcom County election guide.
Gill emphasized using taxpayer funds wisely, and taking a close look at the county’s budget to “ensure services are running well.” Those services, he indicated, must support a productive economy, housing security and reducing crime.
Prior to serving on the Blaine City Council, Gill spent 18 years as a paymaster and union leader for a municipal electricity department, and 25 years managing “large budgets and economic development” in Whatcom and beyond.
Of the six candidates, Sidhu has reported the highest amount of campaign contributions as of Tuesday, July 11. His campaign reported $76,426.78 while Gill’s reported $10,793.64. Rule’s campaign reported $11,307, Buchanan’s reported $7,533.19, Purdy’s reported $3,192.64 and Flowers’ reported $835.29.
Ballots will be mailed Wednesday, July 12 for the Tuesday, Aug. 1 primary election. Washington residents may register to vote online or by mail until July 24 for the primary election. Voter registration is available in person until 8 p.m. Aug. 1 The general election is Nov. 7.
A previous version of this story identified Dan Purdy as a 53-year-old Western Washington University professor. He is not a professor, though there is another Dan Purdy who teaches at Western. This story was updated to reflect this change Wednesday, July 12 at 11 a.m. Cascadia Daily News regrets the error.
