Candidates Byrd and Lewis differ on water rights, housing in Whatcom Council District 3
Councilman Tyler Byrd of Sudden Valley is seeking his second four-year term in District 3, which encompasses the rural Whatcom County cities of Everson, Nooksack and Sumas, along with the foothill communities of Kendall, Maple Falls and Glacier, the South Fork Valley communities of Acme and Van Zandt and the community of Sudden Valley. Only registered voters in District 3 can vote in this race.
Byrd and Rebecca Lewis of Deming were the top two finishers in the Aug. 3 primary.
Ballots were mailed Wednesday, Oct. 13, and must be postmarked — not simply mailed — or placed in ballot drop boxes by 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 2.
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Byrd is CEO of Red Rokk, a digital marketing company in Bellingham, and has spent 18 years in financial services and business management.
“This experience has helped me work with all community members, regardless of political ideology, to introduce creative solutions to many of our issues. If re-elected, I will continue to engage our community openly, bring innovative solutions to our problems, and manage our tax money responsibly,” Byrd told The Bellingham Herald in response to a questionnaire.
Byrd said Whatcom County should be proactive with water rights, investing in projects that increase water availability and rights.
“Several groups, such as the Department of Ecology, have successfully developed solutions to this problem — such as off-channel water storage. Combining flood mitigation with off-channel storage will allow us to generate better results while lowering our costs. This type of project will increase water-storage capacity, improve fish habitat, acquire new water rights, and improve overall water management,” Byrd said.
Steps that local government can take to reduce climate change include expanded recycling programs to limit dependency on landfills, investing in improvements to water quantity and quality, offering incentives for sustainable energy, and carbon-offset projects, he said.
“Measurable improvements in these areas can create long-term sustainable solutions with real impacts,” he said.
He said that the housing crisis is linked to other problems such as homelessness, job growth and income.
“We can significantly improve this problem in several ways,” Byrd said. “Streamlining our building code and permitting process will allow builders to build new homes faster while saving money on permitting costs and project time. Buyers will see these savings passed through as increased inventory and lower building costs stabilize the market. We should establish a program that encourages property owners to transfer development rights from environmentally sensitive locations, such as the Lake Whatcom watershed, to alternative building sites. Utilizing better-building sites and increasing housing density will allow us to build more affordable homes with less of an impact on the environment. Increasing the number of middle-income homes, investing in infrastructure, and incorporating urban growth areas are a few more ways we can work together to tackle this problem.”
Byrd raised nearly $31,890 for his campaign through Oct. 21, according to the state Public Disclosure Commission.
About two-thirds came from individual donors, and about $11,000 from business interests including the Whatcom County Affordable Housing Council, Mills Electric, Andgar and Birch Equipment.
He’s endorsed by the Whatcom Republicans, former state Rep. Luanne Van Werven, Whatcom County Councilwoman Kathy Kershner — along with his Aug. 3 primary opponents Kathy Sabel and Fred Rinnard.
Lewis has a master’s degree in education from Western Washington University and teaches at Cascade Middle School in Sedro-Woolley, where she is president of the teachers union.
“I’m running to support labor in Whatcom County,” Lewis told The Herald in response to a questionnaire. “Labor and unions are the backbones to a strong economy. This area is in desperate need of infrastructure improvements and unionized labor is the way to achieve that. We know that affordable housing continues to be a challenge here and one way to help resolve it is to bring in good-paying union jobs to build affordable housing.”
She supports the state Department of Ecology’s push for a court ruling on water rights in the Nooksack River Basin, along with the county’s Climate Action Plan and measures to improve water quality in Lake Whatcom.
Lewis said the homelessness issue and the housing crisis are connected and linked to other issues, such as unemployment, drug addiction and mass transit.
“The first priority should be reactive to the people experiencing homelessness crisis,” Lewis said. “We should be using existing infrastructure, like unoccupied hotels, to provide safe areas for people to sleep and be clean. In these places, there needs to be systems to help people who need to find a job, may be struggling with drugs or alcohol, need access to mental health or other health services, and are experiencing domestic violence or abuse. The top priorities for proactive steps toward housing affordability and housing our growing population should include increasing high-density zoning and mixed-use zoning (industrial and commercial), increasing transit stops for areas and homes that are still affordable in east Whatcom County, and enforcement of fair market rental costs.”
Lewis has raised more than $56,527 through Oct. 21, according to the state PDC. About two-thirds of her support is from individual contributions. She also has about $10,000 from unions, including the Washington Education Association, the Teamsters, and Bellingham/Whatcom Firefighters IAFF Local 106.
She’s endorsed by the Whatcom Democrats, the 40th and 42nd District Democrats; the Riveters Collective; U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene; state Reps. Debra Lekanoff, Sharon Shewmake, Alicia Rule and Alex Ramel, along with state Sen. Liz Lovelett. She has further endorsements from County Executive Satpal Sidhu; County Council members Todd Donovan and Carol Frazey; Lummi Nation and the Nooksack Indian Tribe; the Sierra Club; Bellingham/Whatcom County Firefighters Local 106; WEA Fourth Corner (teachers); NARAL Pro-Choice Washington, Planned Parenthood and others.
