Write-in would be youngest Conservation District Commissioner in Washington State history

Editorial by Dick Pilling

March 24, 2009

Clallam County, WA - Mike Wiley, Jr. intends to be the youngest Conservation District Supervisor ever elected in the State of Washington.

Wiley, 19 years old, easily defeated incumbent Don Hatler by a vote of 114 to 60 in the election to gain a seat on the Clallam Conservation District Board of Supervisors held on Thursday February 19, 2009.

Wiley’s surprising win has not been universally embraced, however, because he was not listed on the ballot but, instead, utilized a last minute write-in campaign to garner the necessary votes to gain the seat. Among others, incumbent Hatler has stated that Wiley ran “under the radar” and claimed that “It doesn’t take many friends or relatives to swing an election”.

Countering Hatler’s statement, Wiley remarks, “It wasn’t a huge secret”, he claimed, “I am very interested in politics and I wanted to run for something. I attended a meeting of the Clallam County Republican Party and found out that this post was open and that nobody appeared to be running for it. It was already well past the filing date and so I could not officially file, leaving a write-in campaign as my only option. Quite frankly though, had I had time to conduct a normal campaign, I am quite confident that I could have prevailed over Mr. Hatler.”

Nonetheless, Wiley’s election has not yet been certified because there is some question that he meets the qualifications to assume the seat. Specifically, the rules require that two of the three elected supervisors be either landowners or farmers or both. The seat at stake in this year’s election was one that had to be held by a landowner/farmer.

Wiley, a full-time college student studying forestry and conservation at Peninsula College and also a full-time employee at Armstrong Marine, lives with his family on a five acre holding west of Port Angeles in the community of Joyce. He raises vegetables, has a flock of chickens and sells the eggs, and harvests and sells timber, using the proceeds to put himself through college.

When Wiley decided to compete for the post, he thought he qualified as a farmer albeit a small one saying, “I sure work as hard as any other farmer I know.” However, his name was not on the deed for the property and, given that the “farm” was so small, the Conservation Commission appears to have some question as to whether he meets the letter of the law. Some members of the commission – including the unhappy Hatler – contend that a 5 acre holding is not truly a farm and, therefore, Wiley should be disqualified and Hatler should retain his seat.

Whether or not 5 acres constitutes a farm is no longer an issue, however, as Wiley’s parents have now quit-claimed a portion of the family property to him and now his name does appear on the deed, making him a landowner.

Now, of course, our unhappy Mr. Hatler is once again raising objections, stating that “It’s not in the spirit of what the commission originally intended as far as being a landowner is concerned. I think they had something more substantial in mind.” However, of course, it is not necessarily pertinent as to what Mr. Hatler “thinks” but, rather, what the commission “thinks” and, moreover, what the law “requires”.

It is now indisputable that Wiley is, in fact, a landowner and the commission must now either seat him or inform the voting public why they will not seat him.

Wiley remains confident that he will be seated and feels that he can do a good job as district supervisor. “Yes”, he says, “I am young. But that is a good thing… Many people my age want a say-so in any activity dealing with tax payer money. It’s our future. We want a voice in it”

Hello Conservation Commission… it’s your move….

(Dick Pilling is chair of the Clallam County Republican Party, and is owner/broker of Carroll Realty in Port Angeles, WA.)