Affordability and ferry service drive District 10 race on Whidbey Island

Three candidates are running for Washington’s District 10 House seat, and affordability and ferry service have become the issues shaping the Aug. 4 primary on Whidbey Island. The field includes Democratic incumbent Dave Paul, Republican Tim Hazelo and Democrat Carrie Kennedy, putting daily costs and transportation reliability at the center of a race that reaches deep into Island County households.

Affordability is not being discussed in the abstract. At a July 9 candidate forum in Clinton, affordability, electric ferries and housing drove the conversation, and the debate over state budget challenges quickly emerged as a major fault line. For island families, that fight reaches beyond campaign talking points and into rent, mortgage payments, utility bills, insurance, groceries and fuel costs that can rise faster than wages. Hazelo, a 21-year Navy veteran and North Whidbey farmer, is running from a background that speaks to rural and military experience, while Paul is asking voters to return the Democratic incumbent to Olympia.

The ferry issue carries its own consequences. Washington State Ferries says the Mukilteo/Clinton route has been affected by planned service interruptions and cancellations tied to terminal work and schedule changes in 2026. The route is also among those subject to low-tide warnings and travel restrictions, and the state tracks on-time performance and completed sailings route by route. For commuters, that means lost time. For ferry riders who are workers, students or parents juggling school and childcare, it can mean missed appointments and longer days. For businesses, it can mean delayed deliveries and fewer visitors crossing to South Whidbey.

The Clinton Community Council tried to give voters more direct access to the candidates by scheduling two nonpartisan forums in July at Clinton Community Hall, 6411 Central Avenue, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Those forums gave South Whidbey residents a place to press the candidates on the state’s role in housing costs, transportation funding and the future of the Mukilteo-Clinton crossing.

That is why this race matters beyond partisan labels. District 10 does not just send a lawmaker to Olympia; it sends someone who will help shape the state decisions that determine whether Whidbey remains affordable and whether the ferry schedule can hold together for the people who depend on it every day.