“Trust” and “transparency” were the bywords of the night as candidates for the OPALCO board campaigned at an Orcas Island forum on April 22.

Four candidates are running for two open positions in District 3 (Lopez, Decatur, Center and Charles islands): incumbent Jim Lett; Brian Silverstein and Lauren Stephens, nominated by a committee of co-op members; and L. Dwight Lewis, nominated by petition. In District 4 (Shaw, Bell, Crane and Canoe islands) two candidates are running for one open position: incumbent Dr. Jerry Whitfield, nominated by committee; and Gabriel Jacobs, nominated by member petition.

Candidates voiced both confident support for OPALCO’s broadband efforts, as well as doubt and disapproval over the board’s recent financial decisions and level of accountability.

Lewis (www.affordableopalcopower.com) sported a jacket emblazoned with “Make OPALCO affordable again.” He said the co-op was founded on principles of reliability and affordability, commenting, “I personally feel that the thing has been kidnapped.” He said OPALCO’s broadband spending is being subsidized by members’ electric bills, voicing skepticism about whether recent expensive improvements to the grid are really needed and adding, “I think we’re getting taken to the cleaners.”

Lewis told attendees, “We’ve been conserving; we need OPALCO to tighten belts and run a tighter operation.” He added, “I’m a watchdog. I will make them accountable for their spending.”

On his website, Lewis says he will focus on providing efficient service at a competitive cost, encourage an audit of the past three years’ financial transactions, and work to promote a board attitude of trust and transparency toward co-op members by rescinding the current required confidentiality agreements.

Jacobs decries what he calls OPALCO’s “deplorable financial situation,” “overextended financial commitments and a poor credit rating.” He criticized “secret executive [board] sessions,” saying they have refused to adequately address member input.

“This behavior must be changed,” he said. “Make OPALCO a true co-op and involve members in major decisions.”

Jacobs said OPALCO has been placing cell towers on private land without obtaining the necessary permissions and permits. He said the financial line between Rock Island and OPALCO “is fuzzy, what gets charged to what.” Saying OPALCO has threatened legal action against a former board member who resigned, he added, “Threatening people with lawsuits because they want to speak about their experiences is not good faith.”

Whitfield spoke positively about OPALCO’s broadband investments and financial future, saying six new members are connected to LTE or fiber daily, and 2016 is booked solid for scheduled connections.

“Broadband is definitely under the purview of OPALCO,” he said. “The internet is a new utility; today we need to be and stay connected.” He said the recent grid improvements are “all necessary and it’s all planned for,” and that broadband profits will reduce members’ electric bills after 2018, “the break-even point.”

Whitfield said the biggest challenge now facing the co-op will be the successful separation of for-profit startup Rock Island from non-profit OPALCO.

“Trust and transparency are a difficult thing to manage,” he said, both because “the board is not able to share some things with the public” and because “There are seven of us and 12,000 of you.” Whitfield said that during negotiations for the purchase of Rock Island, the board didn’t ask members their opinion on the acquisition because “we couldn’t,” due to the customary confidentiality agreements then in effect for the sale. He encouraged attendees to visit the OPALCO website for reliable information, saying, “There’s a lot of misinformation out there.”

As for future goals, Whitfield said minimizing carbon emissions is a top priority. While BP-supplied power is mainly hydro, and thus low-carbon, he said encouraging islanders to convert from propane to ductless heaters, and from gasoline to electric vehicles, would both reduce carbon emissions and increase electricity sales volumes, helping the environment and OPALCO’s bottom line.

Stephens called broadband “an excellent choice the whole county will benefit from in the future,” adding, “Their rollout has been a little rocky, but I still think it’s a good idea in the long run.” She said CenturyLink is no longer providing new DSL connections on Lopez. But, she added, if first responders and small businesses are depending on Rock Island for connectivity, Rock Island must provide 24/7 broadband outage support for them.

Stephens also said OPALCO board’s communication and transparency “need work.”

“I trust the board has been acting in good faith,” she said, but “we need more communication to explain board decisions.” She said the board’s refusal to disclose cell tower locations on Lopez were a counterproductive “knee-jerk reaction … for no good reason.”

Stephens said rates have outpaced cost of living increases for years, hurting those on low and fixed incomes, and the board needs to commit to not raise rates beyond a certain point, instead asking, “What do we need to cut to keep rates down?”

Silverstein cited his experience managing 1,600 employees – overseeing rates, construction and maintenance. His stated goals are to manage costs to keep bills as low as possible; to consider innovative rate designs to keep OPALCO solvent despite declining electricity consumption; to complete the broadband buildout on budget and on time; to help struggling members to pay their bills (if necessary, using OPALCO revenues); and to restore members’ trust by being transparent and truly listening.

Silverstein called himself a “strong proponent of investment in backbone,” and advocated improvements that allow OPALCO to see and control voltage as well as load, and to avoid peak load charges from supplier Bonneville Power.

He said it was both necessary and visionary for OPALCO to see a need and lead the way on broadband, explaining, “We are too small. There are not enough customers [in the San Juans] for CenturyLink to enhance the infrastructure.”

But he also said there is a need for a very clear distinction between Rock Island Communications and OPALCO finances, partly to protect electric customers from the cost of broadband.

Also on the ballot is a member-initiated bylaw amendment that would both reapportion the number of directors’ seats based on the actual number of co-op members within each district; and periodically update the district boundaries in an attempt to maintain proportionate board representation of members for each district. The change would be effected “as soon as practicable” and every 10 years thereafter.

All ballots must be received, whether by mail or online, by 10 a.m. on April 29. The OPALCO annual meeting will be held Saturday, April 30 on the ferry. On Orcas Island, it’s a 7 a.m. registration at the ferry landing; 8:45 a.m. ferry departure; and return to Orcas at 11:50 a.m. Shaw: Ferry departs at 9 a.m. and returns at 12:40 p.m. Lopez: 8 a.m. registration at ferry landing; departs at 9:30 a.m.; returns to Lopez at 11:25 a.m. San Juan: (Via chartered boat) Registration at Spring Street landing at 6:45 a.m.; board chartered boat to Orcas at 7:20 a.m.; ferry departs from Orcas at 8:45 a.m.; ferry returns to Orcas landing at 11:50 a.m.; chartered boat leaves Orcas at noon and arrives back at Friday Harbor at 1 p.m.