After serving 14 years on the Friday Harbor Town Council, I am asking you to cast your ballot for my opponent. My decision to concede comes under a growing possibility that as your Fire District #3 Assistant Chief I may be named Interim Fire Chief beginning this November. This appointment, even if temporary, will require my full attention with all that faces it.

Please join me in my vote for Richard Geffen for Town Council Seat #2. Knowing our Fire District would soon be going through change, I met with Mr. Geffen this summer over a cold pint and had an open discussion about where his heart is, why he wants to hold office, and to share our personal perspectives on what is important to our Town. Mr. Geffen cares about our Town, is excited to civically engage, and provides a youthful perspective. Mr. Geffen has attended nearly every meeting of the Town Council over the past year or so. We can be confident that he is sufficiently informed of the current list of complexities facing our Town.

Holding elected office is a privilege. Serving among servants is an honor. It has been an honor to serve with Mayor David Jones (decd.), Mayor Carrie Lacher, Mayor Farhad Ghatan, and now Mayor Raymond Jackson. Doubly goes for current and previous fellow council members, particularly Anna Maria de Freitas, Barbara Starr, and Steve Hushebeck who have been selflessly serving alongside me for many years. And while tenure has been short, Mason Turnage so far is a real gem who deeply cares about our community. Each of you have held high standards for public office and have contributed to a consistent and deliberative governing body which I am proud to have served amongst.

Most importantly, thank you community for allowing me to serve you since spring of 2009 when I was appointed to finish a vacated #2 seat. Since then, my terms have been an invaluable experience full of highs, lows, and just plain dedication. Serving on the Redistricting Committee, Law and Justice Committee, Solid Waste Advisory Committee, Housing Advisory Committee, Board of Health, the Arts Commission, the Watershed Committee, and the Town Planning Commission have all been incredibly enlightening and humbling. I am confident my tenacity for consistency, equity, transparency, straightforwardness, value, and sustainability made a difference throughout my tenure. I was not perfect in my office and admittedly I took a couple positions that I would like to take back, but I did my best to stand by these principles, stay wary of precedence and unintended consequences, and maintain light on the past for clarity in the present.

Thank you, Friday Harbor, it has been a privilege and an honor, and while my attention may soon focus toward a particular area of expertise away from Town Hall, I hope my services will continue for years to come…

Noel Monin, Town of Friday Harbor Council Seat #2