Arnett announces bid for county council

Jaime Arnett, who was appointed to Blaine City Council on January 28, has announced her bid for the district 5 seat on Whatcom County Council.

Arnett confirmed that she will not be running for Blaine City Council in November’s election. She was one of six individuals who had applied for city council’s vacant ward 2 seat in January, and city council had voted unanimously to appoint her.

The ward 2 position is one of three city council positions that are up for election in 2019, and according to county records, Steven Tojek and David Gallion have filed for this office. Tojek and Gallion were among the six individuals who had applied for the vacant ward 2 seat back in January.

Arnett said that Whatcom County Council would offer a larger platform for her to address the environmental issues she cares about. “I can tackle the larger environmental issues on the county level,” she said. “I work in commercial fishing, and I really want to keep the jobs that we have here in fishing and reinvigorate that industry through sustainable practices.”

In a May 14 press release, Arnett announced her candidacy for district 5, which is also referred to as the coastal district and includes Lummi Island, Ferndale, Birch Bay, Blaine, Custer, Point Roberts and land west of I-5 outside of Bellingham. Currently, there is no county council member representing this area due to the 2016 redistricting, she said.

“Whatcom County residents are facing a variety of significant issues: affordable housing, homelessness, lack of behavioral health resources, a far reaching opioid crisis, climate change and struggling fishing and agricultural industries,” said Arnett. “I am running for county council district 5 because I want to take on these issues for the people of my district.”

Arnett is the administrative executive for Boundary Fish Company and also works as a grant writer for Bellingham-based Animals as Natural Therapy. She is a graduate of Blaine High School and was elected Miss Blaine in 1997. She earned a BA from Western Washington University and worked as a housing advocate for Habitat for Humanity in central Oregon and Whatcom County. She has also coached Little League, volunteered as a youth mentor in the Blaine school district and served as a religious educator at her church.

Other candidates for district 5 include Ben Elenbaas, a farmer and oil refinery worker, and Natalie McClendon, a Whatcom County planning commissioner and small business owner.

“As a candidate I will be running a strong and bold campaign focused on better stewardship of the Salish Sea and our people,” said Arnett. “The health of our people is a reflection of the health of our natural world and we must take better care of both. I have been personally impacted by loss and the helplessness felt during crisis with a mentally ill loved one unable to access resources in Whatcom County. I will advocate for solutions that honor our heritage and traditional values and speak to our optimism for our future.”

For more information about Arnett’s campaign, visit jaimearnett.com.