School board and mayoral candidate forums
Published 1:30 am Wednesday, October 15, 2025
Though the crowd was smaller than the previous mayoral forum held by the League of Women Voters, it was still a full house at the Grange on Oct. 9, as islanders turned out to listen to the two school board contenders, as well as the two mayoral candidates. Both positions are non-partisan.
School board forum
The school board race between Levi Wolf and Melanie Hess has been slightly under the radar for many, until recently. This was the first time the two had come together in a forum.
“My experience as a parent and a community volunteer has given me a very clear perspective. Public education is the backbone of our thriving community,” Hess told attendees in her opening statement. “Having the opportunity to champion the needs of the students, education and families of this district is a privilege, and that is why I want to serve another four years.”
Hess continued to say that she has admired the way the district has embraced the needs of all students. She pointed to programs like Griffin Bay Career and Technical Education, which serve the needs of every type of learner.
Public education is foundational to democracy, Hess said, and by educating the youth about diverse perspectives and the importance of civic engagement, they become informed, active citizens who think critically and value participation and responsibility. “Public education is far more than just a classroom experience. It is the future of every community, providing knowledge, job skills and values that create long-term success for students,” she said. “I believe wholeheartedly in public education. I’d be honored to contribute my skills, experience and leadership to the families, students and education of the district.”
Wolf grew up on the island and said his experience in a variety of educational settings, from public and private schools as well as homeschooling, gives him a unique perspective. “I’ve seen the pluses and minuses of many different teaching techniques,” Wolf said, adding that, “I helped create a homeschool co-op to bring homeschool families together and give them assistance in teaching their kids. I have a fresh and unique lens on the strengths and weaknesses of the school because I am younger and more attuned to the current student experience than anyone else on the board.”
Wolf told the crowd he would like to integrate and teach students to use new technology like artificial intelligence rather than prohibit their use. He also mentioned concerns about drug use, and proposed having some sports program that was not reliant on grades for participation, and creating more hands-on learning and trade skill development.
“This will improve scores for students as well as teach them real-world applicable skills that will make them productive citizens and give them different options for their path in life,” Wolf explained, “I want school to be a place where kids are excited to go and where they will love to learn and not see it as an obstacle to get through.”
He also said he wants to make sure parents have a say in ther children’s education.
The question of supporting parental rights was brought up.
Hess replied “As a parent, yes, of course I support parental rights. Choice in education is really important and that is what I think the district has really tried to provied through all these different programs…We need to give parents options for different learning experineces for different kinds of learners and this district has done an outstanding job so far doing that.”
Wolf responded “Parents should have a say in their children’s education. With public schools, there are lots of different views and ways people might want their children taught.” He added that parents should have a say in some of the curriculum.
When asked what the role of the school board was, Wolf looked primarily to creating an educational space where the students can learn and thrive. Hess brought up funding, and the balance between state law and policy and local need.
Finances dovetailed into the second question: What is the most crucial issue facing the school district?
“We have a lot of unfunded mandates by the state, things that the state requires our district to do. That money needs to come from somewhere, so there are a lot of decisions that need to be made. It’s a really tough place for a rural district like ours,” Hess said, and continued bringing up regionalization.The local districts have banded together to attempt to get a highter regionalization percentage, which is currently the same as Mount Vernon, when the island cost of living is more on par with Seattle. Learn more here https://supportislandschools.org/
“I have the same concerns,” Wolf said when it was his turn to answer the question. “Budgeting is one of the hardest things, and getting money from the state to do everything that we need to do. Also, all the regulations and rules. They just come out with more and more for the school. It just creates another obstacle to succeed in the education of our kids.”
Obstacles in raising scholastic scores were another question.
Wolf mentioned the educational system itself, saying, “The big obstacle for raising scores is the way kids are taught. It’s part of the system that marks it harder. We have a lot of great teachers, and they can provide for the kids and help them learn, but the core learning environment is one of the biggest obstacles.”
Hess brought up recovery from COVID. Students across the nation have been struggling since the epidemic. “It’s taking years to overcome,” she said. “Luckily, we have really amazing administrators and they are doing a great job identifying the [students’] needs.”
To the question “What improvements would you promote as a member of the school district?” Wolf reiterated the need for more hands-on learning, particularly in science and trade skills.
“We need more hands-on in the classrooms when it comes to science, more experiments or marine biology. We have a great place to have a course in that,” Wolf said.
Hess talked about improvement plans overall, saying, “One of the things I love about the way the administration thinks about test scores. It isn’t about the score; it’s about the destination, it’s about the improvement year over year over year. Helping our students make that one percent step forward every year so that by the time they graduate, they feel fully armed to enter either the workforce or go on to post-secondary or college education.”
In closing, Wolf reiterated his unique perspective on the different educational models, experience with the homeschool co-op and his production business. “I manage our home school, and my job is to execute the efficient production of tens of thousands of manufactured parts. These are skills that I will bring to oversee our district’s resources wisely. I have the experience, passion and knowledge to effectively run and bring positive change to our school district.”
Hess said, “I am committed to the real work of being a part of this wonderful school district and the school board … I aim to ensure that our educators are valued, our culture is preserved and equal opportunities are provided so that every student in our district can reach their full potential.”
Town of Friday Harbor mayoral forum
There were only a handful of questions for the mayoral candidates, Emilio Santiago and Evan Perrollaz.
“My goal as mayor is to make sure that this island maintains the balance and the beauty that exists today,” Perrollaz told the audience in his opening. “There are some rocky waters that are going to be coming up. We will talk a little bit tonight about budgets … but at the end of the day, I really appreciate the beauty of this island and I want to make sure this is here for the long run. I want to make sure we are building a community where people can afford to live, where people can find housing, where people can keep jobs and earn living wages, and also support our business … It really is not about politics. Thankfully, this is a nonpartisan position that has nothing to do with politics. It is about compassion, about intelligence and it’s about experience.”
Santiago opened with “Hello, Friday Harbor! You won! You voted for two people that really care about this community. I think after the Nov. 4 election, I am optimistic about our future.”
He continued adding that it isn’t about either candidate, but about the taxpayers and what islanders need from their Town government. “I’ve been talking to a lot of you … I’ve learned a lot about your dreams, desires for the future and some of the things that aren’t working right right now. I’m excited to implement those things and welcome you to participate in democracy.”
Division between the Town and County came up in a number of questions.
“We are the only incorporated town in the county; we are the county seat,” Santiago said. “We have a lot of amazing opportunities to work with the county.”
Santiago also encouraged Town Council and County Council members to attend each other’s meetings and have a Town Council member on the County’s affordable housing committee, suggesting these would be two ways to be engaged with one another and more collaborative.
“I would love to move forward into a new future of collaboration,” Santiago told attendees.
Perrollaz responded, “It’s a great question. You know what I think the root cause of this is? Does the Town want a good relationship with the County? I don’t know that. I have not seen that so much recently.”
There are people who want the relationship to work, he continued, but it will take work. “The Town does not run without the County, and the County does not run without the Town. Our Town Council has some incredible people on it. We need a mayor that can bring that Council together, be the partner that they really need. ”
Affordable housing projects, HolliWalk and the Argyle lots also came up. Both candidates expressed disappointment that the HolliWalk issue has not been resolved.
“Folks need to own their own units in HolliWalk, and the Town has the opportunity to record the binding site plan as written. The Home Trust has made some good gestures with the vegetation requirements.”
Santiago also pointed out that the mayor sets the agenda for the Council and that under his tenure, he would advocate for getting both projects on the agenda so they could be expediently addressed.
“[HolliWalk] has been built, people live there. We need to approve it. It just needs to be done,” Perrollaz said. “The last statistics I saw indicate they have lost $10,000 in equity while they are waiting for the Town to figure out how to approve the project … Right now we have a mayor that is not supportive of these projects. We need a mayor who can support these projects and can at least work and collaborate with our Council.”
Emergency situations such as the COVID pandemic arose. Both candidates discussed their experience in emergency situations.
Santiago discussed fighting the Dixie fire in California, the largest fire in the state’s history, burning some 900,000 acres.
Sanitiago was part of a team that wrapped structures to protect them from the fire. The team had to work quickly in extreme heat, deciding what building to save, what areas were safe to work in and when to abandon it all.
“We accomplished a mission that I was really proud of. We continued to the top of this ridge, the temperature rose, the humidity rose, and I pulled the crew out. We did not accomplish that mission. The whole area was burned over in two hours. We had to make the decision when people matter more than the mission.”
For Perrollaz, it was COVID. “If you want the joys of COVID, try running an assisted living community … For two and a half years, it was probably the most stressful thing I’ve ever done in my life. It tested every fiber of my being,” he said, explaining that he had to navigate keeping seniors and employees safe, while many wanted to go out to dinner. One employee wanted to go off-island to a casino. “I didn’t even know that was possible, but apparently casinos were still open,” Perrollaz said. He also had to work with both the state and local health departments, which did not always agree with one another, balancing the needs of the residents, staff and safety.
“It helped me understand my limitations. It helped me understand my capabilities much better and made me a tougher person going forward,” Perrollaz said.
Although only town residents are able to vote for mayor, Santiago asked in his closing statement how many in the audience lived in town. A few attendees raised their hands. He then asked how many lived in the county and a majority raised their hands.
“That shows you the gravity of the situation. The entire island is affected by the town. This is where the ferry is. This is where the two grocery stores are. This is where the hospital is. The town really does matter. What happens here affects the rest of the island,” Santiago said. “We want this collaboration between the Town and the County.”
Perrollaz also expressed surprise at the high number of county residents.
“We need to get past the turmoil of the last four years and the terrible Council meetings. We need leadership. I have the experience and leadership to bring clarity and peaceful negotiations and collaboration back to Friday Harbor.”
A recording of the full forum can be found on the League of Women Voters website, https://www.lwvwa.org/san-juan.
