I was raised on Orcas; my mother (Carol Clark) and my sister and brother-in-law (Susan and John Fleischer), all of whom still live on our farm near West Sound, are OPALCO members.

I was in the electric power industry for over 30 years before retiring. During 10 of those years, I was employed by OPALCO’s supplier, Bonneville Power Administration. Thus I’ve known Brian [Silverstein] since 1984. He and I worked closely together on a number of power and transmission projects, and I have the utmost respect for his knowledge, skills and abilities.

For 11 years after leaving BPA, I was the head of a trade association consisting of 114 public power utilities in the four state region (WA, OR, ID and MT). My organization’s job was to present, in a single voice, public power’s messages to BPA. The issues ranged from rates to conservation to saving fish and more. During those years, because he understood public power’s interests, I often sought Brian’s advice on matters such as transmission services for small utilities like OPALCO. He listened to our needs and offered solutions.

I also know that Brian has the temperament, long-range vision and sense of humor that will add a great deal of value to the board.

Jerry Leone

Orcas Island