PORT ANGELES — Four candidates in contested Clallam County and Olympic Medical Center commissioner races told Port Angeles Rotarians why they should be elected Nov. 8.
Only two had an opponent present in a short political forum at the Port Angeles Red Lion Hotel during the 90-year-old club’s regular Wednesday luncheon meeting.
Clallam County commissioner candidates Linda Barnfather and Jim McEntire, both of Sequim, opened with identical remarks they made in a Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce luncheon Monday.
Barnfather, 48, and McEntire, 60, met for a third time in four days Thursday night in a forum sponsored by the Peninsula Young Professionals Network and the Peninsula Daily News at Cedars at Dungeness Golf Course northwest of Sequim.
The Rotary forum also featured incumbent public hospital district Commissioners John Nutter and Dr. John Miles.
Nutter’s opponent, Jeanne M. LaBrecque, and Miles’ opponent, Jack Slowriver, were left out because of a scheduling snafu, Rotary members said.
All of the candidates are vying in the Nov. 8 all-mail election. Ballots will be distributed starting Oct. 19.
Legislative assistant
Barnfather, a Democrat, is a legislative assistant to state Rep. Van De Wege, D-Sequim.
“The campaign is about character, it’s about honesty, it’s about integrity, it’s about leadership,” Barnfather said.
McEntire, a Republican, is a current Port of Port Angeles commissioner.
“I think I am very well-equipped by background and experience to serve as one of your elected leaders in a different capacity over the next four years,” McEntire said.
McEntire said he would not vote to raise taxes, which would spur the local economy. He said the median household income has dropped by 26 percent, accounting for inflation, over the past eight years.
Barnfather said she would work to “find a really good balance between economic and environmental stability” to leave a positive legacy for the future.
Hospital candidates
Miles, 81, gave a brief summary of his qualifications, which include 35 years as a practicing physician in Los Angeles and later service as a medical director.
Nutter, 40, is a Port Angeles police officer who once served as OMC’s finance director.
“I can’t speak ill of my opponent because I don’t know her,” said Nutter, who wore his police uniform as he addressed the Rotary Club on his lunch break.
“But what I can say about myself is I know our local medical center. I know our local physicians. I know how our medical center works. I certainly understand the finances.”
Nutter said each of the seven OMC commissioners brings a specific perspective, his being finance and operations.
Asked why the public hospital is investing so much in capital improvements while money is running out, Nutter said: “Sometimes you have to spend money to make money.
“And that has been very much the focus of Olympic Medical Center.”
Nutter cited the $2 million linear accelerator that OMC recently purchased for its cancer center in Sequim.
“We have a world-class cancer center out in Sequim now,” Nutter said.
“But that is also something that is producing a positive bottom line that helps offset all the money-losing services. If we tried to be an inpatient hospital only, we’d be closed within a year. Guaranteed.
“Sometimes you have to go out and spend money to make money.”
Miles used a portion of his time to praise OMC Chief Executive Officer Eric Lewis.
“I’ve dealt with a lot of hospital CEOs in my life,” Miles said.
“He’s the best I’ve ever seen. He really cares about this community and his patients and the patients’ needs.”
McEntire described hospitals as “essential ingredients of any community’s economy.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.