Candidates clash over affordability at Clinton forum

Affordability dominated a July 10 candidate forum in Clinton as Clyde Shavers, Dave Paul and Tim Hazelo laid out sharply different answers to Island County’s rising cost pressures. The exchange put housing, ferry dependence, groceries, childcare and utilities at the center of a campaign conversation that many Whidbey voters will judge by one test: what changes in a household budget within a year.

The candidates’ debate landed in a county already under strain. Island County’s 2025 proposed budget totaled $140.2 million, and county officials said inflation was outpacing revenue growth while medical insurance costs kept climbing. The same budget presentation said the county has 25 departments and 50 active funds, with current expense, roads and solid waste among the largest. Those pressures have kept spending and taxes at the center of local government, including a special session on the 2026 Island County budget on Dec. 1, 2025.

Housing remains the most visible piece of the affordability problem. Island County draft comprehensive plan materials said the county’s median home sales price topped $600,000 in 2024, about 50% higher than in 2017. County housing planning materials and the Housing Authority of Island County have pointed to continued pressure on affordable supply, while the county’s draft 2025-2030 homeless housing plan shows local officials and service providers still trying to coordinate responses.

Transportation costs carry the same weight on South Whidbey and beyond. Washington State ferries are a daily necessity for many Island County residents, and a June 2025 Washington State Department of Transportation study focused on passenger-only ferries. Western Washington University’s December 2024 study on the economic impact of the Washington State Ferry system underscored how closely the service is tied to the island economy. In Clinton, that meant any claim about affordability quickly ran into the cost of commuting, hauling goods and keeping island businesses supplied.

The forum offered voters a direct comparison of priorities rather than campaign slogans. With state budget choices filtering down into rent, school bills, utility rates and insurance premiums, the candidates were pressed on how much to tax, what to trim and where to invest. For Island County, the Clinton forum reflected a campaign shaped less by abstract ideology than by the monthly arithmetic of life on Whidbey.