One more week remains for voting in a one-race election that again this year is being conducted entirely online, for King Conservation District Supervisor. Three people are running for one position . The Duwamish Alive! Coalition, a community organization that works on activities such as habitat restoration, sent the candidates eight questions, and in partnership with Duwamish Alive! we are publishing their questions and the candidates’ replies. The candidates are Brittney Bush Bollay, Aaron Ellig, and Erik Goheen (each name is linked to their candidate statement on the KCD website, which is the source of the photos below).

What follows are the eight questions, each one followed by the candidates’ answers in rotating order (as we would do in a “live” candidate forum), unedited, and then a reminder of how to vote:

1. Why do you want to be a KCD board member?

BUSH BOLLAY: I was elected to King Conservation District in 2021, and my love for the organization and the work have only grown over the past three years. I’m excited to serve another term on the Board, helping to support and grow the District. Environmental action and local government both impact every person, every day, and that’s why they’re my twin passions.

ELLIG: My purpose for running for this seat is not politically motivated and I have no financial incentives to gain from any of the programs offered. I enjoy the programs the King Conservation District offers and regularly volunteer at restoration events they offer. I fully believe in improving and advancing existing programs that align with KCD core values of supporting local food, clean water, healthy forests, better soil, and accessible open spaces. My combination of education and practical experience planning and implementing a wide range of environmental restoration projects makes me an ideal candidate to supplement the existing board. I am uniquely qualified to provide science-based solutions for complex issues around conservation of natural resources, sustainable food production, and long-term planning.

GOHEEN: At the request of the farming community. Dairyman Bill Knutsen is retiring and we need farmers on the board. To help build a local, institutional food supply where local food is served in our schools and cafeterias. To help prevent a big fire in King County. Smoke season isn’t normal. We can do better to restore the salmon run here with infrastructure jobs, I’d like to see more of that work getting done. I want to empower local champions of the environment to succeed at their goals and I can make a leadership improvement with regards to the board.

2. What are your qualifications for this position?

ELLIG: I have a master’s degree in environmental science and am a certified professional wetland scientist (PWS) that specializes in ecological restoration of riparian and aquatic habitats. For the past 10 years, I have worked as a private consultant and public sector biologist as a subject matter expert for wetland and stream restoration. I have been involved in projects big and small and understand the actual effort and costs associated with getting things off the ground. We need a candidate that understands the process of starting with a conceptual idea, permitting, design, and project development. I have proven experience working effectively with local cities and counties as a third-party consultant to ensure projects are code compliant and conducted in environmentally responsible ways. My current position with Sound Transit focuses on environmental mitigation that aims to maximize environmental benefits for communities we operate in.

GOHEEN: B.A. Political Science, Western Washington University. Farm owner/operator the last 7 years. I am a user of KCD services: plant sale customer, conservation planned, conference presenting, riparian planting, pea-patch volunteering, habitat building participant in the programs. Former site and stormwater researcher with Building Code Innovations database. Trained Firefighter Type 2 (wildland) and Eagle Scout, former IAMAW machinist in Alaska salmon industry. My background spans a wide breadth of KCD’s suite of services, programs and policy areas.

BUSH BOLLAY: In addition to my three years of on-the-job experience, including serving as Board Vice Chair and Auditor this year, I have nearly a decade of local and state environmental work to my name. I understand not only the science of conservation and climate change, but the political and economic forces that influence our environmental work in King County. I’ve also spent these years carefully listening to and developing relationships with community members, elected officials, and other conservation partners, which strengthens my work on the Board.

3. What are your priorities if you are elected?

GOHEEN: Vote NO, big westside fire. There are simple and holistic remedies to prevent fires, good science. Smoke season isn’t normal. King County should lead on this work.

Support a local food system. Farms have been swept aside by the KCD at the exact wrong moment. A workforce of young and aspiring farmers, but grants designed to support them aren’t moving the needle.

Clean Water Now. I like the Duwamish River’s wet weather treatment station and there are jobs to be had boosting salmon success in this field. The Duwamish river and the ship canal should be viable habitat, too.

BUSH BOLLAY: My top priorities are:
-Fixing our election process to make it easier for people to vote and to run
-Removing barriers that make it harder for small organizations, new organizations, and people not fluent in English to use our programs
-Finding new partnerships and funding opportunities and cutting red tape so we can do more conservation work, faster
-Protecting farmland by fighting climate change and our farms’ number one enemy, urban sprawl

ELLIG: As a certified professional wetland scientist (PWS), my priorities are supporting and advancing programs that focus on riparian restorations, wetland enhancement, and stream buffer enhancement across the county. The benefits gained from the relatively small investment are huge. This will involve partnering with local agencies, local community organizations, and private land owners through voluntary or subsidized conservation and restoration. Some projects will come to the board through grant applications, but others require outreach and partnership.

4. What would you like to accomplish?

BUSH BOLLAY: In my successful second term I’ll bring more cities into the Conservation District, so we can help more people in a wider area. I’ll bring our farmers and local food vendors a fairer, more effective grant process and greater economic growth. I’ll double and triple down on outreach so more King County residents will be familiar with the Conservation District and our work and will participate in our elections by either running or voting. Finally, I’ll address the number one concern of my constituents and bring our elections to the modern era — first by moving our three elected positions to districts, then to a paper ballot like every other election in Washington State.

ELLIG: The King Conservation District has many wonderful programs and services designed to benefit people and the environment, but many of these are underutilized. Raising awareness of KCD programs by providing public education and technical assistance will be a primary goal of mine. The election should also be more recognized by being on the standard election ballot held in November. This has been an ongoing objective many KCD board members have tried to initiate, and I intend to fully support that effort to receive legislative approval.

GOHEEN: Empower emerging leaders. Building trust with the non-regulatory, voluntary services offered for more meaningful projects. Speeding up Seattle’s clean water plan and infrastructure. Lots of jobs to be had in Clean Water Now. Seeing the local farmers scale up to send fresh food home with 10,000+ food-insecure kids in Seattle Public Schools every week. There are many aspiring farmers, and land to be worked sustainably.

Read More