NEWS-TIMES WHIDBEY
Sports: Wildcats make mark at state. A9
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2011 | Vol. 120, No. 90 | WWW.WHIDBEYNEWSTIMES.COM | 75¢
“Occupy doesn’t really have any demands. It’s more of knowledge is power; you can’t take that away.” -- Matthew DiAngelo, Occupy Whidbey
Pool wins, Slowik loses Hizon, Munns and Almberg ahead in count By JESSIE STENSLAND Staff reporter
Justin Burnett / Whidbey News-Times
Che Gilliland, a Coupeville resident, makes up a sign at the corner of Main Street and Highway 20 in Coupeville. About 50 people representing three groups spent hours Saturday protesting big banks and multinational corporations.
Occupy Whidbey occupies Coupeville By JUSTIN BURNETT Staff reporter
For the second time in as many weeks, nearly 50 people from across Island County converged in Coupeville Saturday to participate in an evergrowing protest of big banks and multinational corporations. Donning everything from homemade signs that read, “I’m mad as hell” to U.S. flags with peace signs, demonstrators manned the four corners of Highway 20 and Main Street and protested for several hours. “I think what we’re doing here today is significant,” said Marshall Goldberg, an Oak Harbor resident. “It’s one of many, many things we need to do to raise awareness in the American people as to what’s happening in this country.” Wearing a jacket that looked like a U.S. flag, Goldberg, a retired physician and a former chairman of the Island County Democratic Party, said he took to the street because he feels there is undue corporate influence in the country’s political and economic system
and that it must be stopped. Last weekend’s demonstration in Coupeville is one of the latest spinoffs of Occupy Wall Street, a protest that started in New York this past September and has mushroomed into an international movement. According to Occupy Wall Street’s website, it has spread to “over 100 cities in the U.S. and actions in over 1,500 cities globally.” The organization’s mission is to fight “the corrosive power of major banks and multinational corporations over the democratic process, and the role of Wall Street in creating an economic collapse that has caused the greatest recession in generations.” “The movement is inspired by popular uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, and aims to expose how the richest 1 percent of people are writing the rules of an unfair global economy that is foreclosing on our future,” the website says. Here on Central Whidbey, at least three groups with similar messages were represented Saturday. According
to Che Gilliland, a Coupeville resident and elementary school teacher, they include Occupy Whidbey, Move Your Money and Move On. Matthew DiAngelo, also of Coupeville, has been involved in Occupy Whidbey. Its mission is geared toward education and “waking people up” who are unfamiliar with the problems on Wall Street, he said. “Occupy doesn’t really have any demands,” DiAngelo said. “It’s more of knowledge is power; you can’t take that away.” Saturday’s protestors seemed to come from all walks of life and from all over the county. And while their messages had varying themes, they all largely focused on taking power, influence and wealth away from big banks and businesses and putting it back in the hands of the majority. For example, while Camano Island residents David and Kathy Eichert waved signs urging people to move their money from large banks to SEE OCCUPY, A4
North Whidbey voters passed a renewal levy that will allow the North Whidbey Parks and Recreation District to keep the Oak Harbor pool open, according to the first count of ballots in the Nov. 8 election. The results posted Tuesday night showed that the renewal levy received more than the 60 percent supermajority needed to pass. A total of 4,751 voters, or 62 percent, cast ballots in support of the measure, while 2,914 people voted against it. The renewal levy will bring in approximately $550,000 a year. Property owners will pay 17 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value. Craig Carlson, the director of the district, was thankful to voters, especially after the levy failed in the primary election. “We also have to thank the campaign committee that went out and really educated the community and helped them to better understand what the district is all about,” he said. Oak Harbor also elected a new mayor. Incumbent Mayor Jim Slowik is trailing far behind challenger Scott Dudley in the initial ballot count. Dudley, currently a councilman, received 2,025 votes, or 56.5 percent. Slowik garnered 1,558 votes, which is 43.5 percent. Dudley stressed that his success in the election is really a win for the citizens of Oak Harbor. “The old ways of doing business in the city are over,” he said. “A new day is upon us, no doubt.” Dudley added that he’s looking forward to rolling
up his sleeves and getting to work. “We have both opportunities and challenges,” he said. In the race for the only open council seat, newcomer Tara Hizon is ahead of political veteran Paul Brewer. Hizon has 1,942 votes, or 56 percent, while Brewer has 1,543, or 44 percent. It appears that incumbents will hold onto their seats in the other two council races. Councilwoman Beth Munns is ahead of Larry Eaton by 1,866 to 1,469 votes, which is 56 to 44 percent. Councilman Rick Almberg has an even greater lead over his challenger, Mel Vance. Almberg has 1,972 votes, or 62 percent, and Vance has 1,224. In the only contested position on the Oak Harbor School Board, Christine Abbott is far ahead of John Worthington. Abbott has 3,359 ballots cast in her favor, which is 59 percent, while Worthington has 2,359. As for Fire District 2, Larry Wall is ahead of incumbent Commissioner T.J. Lamont by 1,923 to 1,672 votes. In the race for a seat on the Port of Coupeville commission, Laura Blankenship is ahead of Mike Diamanti. Blankenship has 60 percent of the vote with 1,725 ballots cast in her favor. Diamanti has 1,128 votes. The Island County Auditor’s Office estimates that there’s 1,400 ballots left to count.