By Jeff Noedel

Journal contributor

A lot has happened in the five days since the San Juan County Council gave Chair Jane Fuller the nod to directly appeal to Governor Jay Inslee over what the council called “a state of emergency” for Washington State Ferry service in the San Juans.

On Monday, July 22, after a year of patient diplomacy through legislative and administrative channels at WSDOT and WSF, Fuller’s patience ran out. Fuller explained what changed.

“Getting a phone call from a single mom, telling me that she got stranded on Orcas and her mom was fortunately up for the day from Seattle … she couldn’t get home to her child,” said Fuller.

Having the owners of a popular restaurant in the county reach out and say, “We might not renew our lease next year. It’s not sustainable for us to function.”

An island hardware store screaming please help in bold letters in a Facebook post.

“It’s everything,” she continued. “It’s my own kid being stranded, her friend being stranded. It’s a cascade of painful moments.”

In a council workshop last Monday, Fuller surprised longtime observers with two uncharacteristic moves. First, she labeled the current situation an emergency. Just two months prior, she helped organize an appearance by the Governor in Friday Harbor in which he assured local leaders the department was in re-build mode with some recruiting success and a bid request about to be published for construction of five new vessels. Breaking with the Governor’s narrative was unexpected of Fuller, who was once a diplomat for the Canadian government, serving four years in Indonesia.

As Inslee and WSF chief Steve Nevey have been trying to push the word “crisis” out of the public discourse, Fuller took the conversation in the opposite direction. In the Monday meeting, the word “emergency” was uttered 10 times.

Fuller proposed to her “seatmates” that the County bypass both WSDOT/WSF leadership as well as the 40th District State Legislative delegation and go straight to the Governor with the appeal for emergency help.

Council rep Cindy Wolf said the reason for bypassing the legislative district with a request for emergency declaration is that this request will be a function of the Council’s executive role, not legislative.

By Thursday, Fuller was easing back from asking the Governor to declare a state of ferry emergency in the San Juans, and instead was intending to ask the Governor to take action in the form of one or more executive orders.

“We would be calling on him to consider an executive order that would enable him to reappropriate certain funds that are being committed already, perhaps in the last legislative session.

Fuller said that she has already had a discussion with a transportation policy advisor with the governor’s office. And she is hopeful discussions with the policy advisor are a precursor to a conversation with the Governor.

“We need some funding to be able to fill the gaps that have been created due to Washington State Ferry service unreliability,” she said.

Fuller has been consulting with Justin Paulsen, who is the chair of the local WSF Ferry Advisory Committee, as well as being a member of the local Community Water Taxi group based on Orcas Island.

“We need to pinpoint our ask,” said Fuller. “…as focused and specific as we can. And we also need to think through the mechanics of it. So, it’s one thing to ask for some funding from the state, but how will those funds be utilized? What will they be utilized for? That is the stage we are at.”

In the Monday Council meeting, Fuller said one part of the ask might include securing seed funding from the State to stand-up an inter-island passenger-only service now, “something more than Tom Bridge can do on his own.”

In the days since Monday, the need for a barge service that could move trucks between the islands has been added to the conversation. Small barges could be used to move sanitation trucks, utility trucks, and delivery trucks to keep essential services and local supply chains working during periods when WSF service in the San Juans is canceled.

In the San Juans, the name “Tom Bridge” has become synonymous with water taxi, and has become a symbol for island resourcefulness.

Starting 11 months ago, in response to service cancelations on County Fair weekend, Bridge has used his personal six-seat motor boat to move people between islands 680 times. Almost all of the trips were when ferry service was canceled.

“I’m happy to see San Juan County government speaking with conviction for the citizens of the County concerning growing WSF service failures and our unique transportation needs. I support our council in their efforts to provide the community with better solutions to our unfulfilled critical transportation needs,” Bridge said.