The economy, health care and immigration enforcement took center stage at a candidates’ night hosted by the Point Roberts Voters Association on Oct. 1 at the Point Roberts Community Center.
Candidates were given time to speak freely and introduce themselves before the crowd of about 50 people, as well as time to address Point Roberts-specific questions. Candidates resoundingly focused on affordability and the effect of trade war tariffs on the local economy.
U.S. House
Democratic Rep. Rick Larsen, currently representing District 2 in the U.S. House and running for reelection said, “Affordability is about gas prices, it’s about ending the war in Iran to bring some certainty back to the global market.” Rep. Larsen also cited lowering health care costs and “ending the tariff war to bring down grocery prices.” Adding, “Tariffs are keeping prices strictly high, especially in places like Whatcom County, where we’ve seen a 40% decrease in Canadian traffic into Point Roberts and the rest of Whatcom County.”
When given a chance to address Point-specific issues, Rep. Larsen discussed his recent bill, the Exclave Act, saying, “The purpose of this bill is to require federal agencies to take into account your concerns as well as the concerns of Hyder, Alaska, and the Northwest Angle in Minnesota, the three pene-exclaves that exist in the United States.” He continued to say, “That when the federal agencies make decisions that impact you all. That there's a requirement for consultation, requirement to listen to you, requirement to reach out to you. This not something exists right now, and there are plenty of examples of actions taken by any member of agencies that totally ignore your needs.”
Republican candidate Edwin Feller, running against Larsen, discussed federal issues, including the Veterans Administration and insider trading. He called for an increase in ICE activity, stating, “No more sanctuary cities and chained migration needs to stop.” He continued: “I would like to have more ICE agents to track down these 1000s of children that came across the border.”
When given time to address the issues that affect Point Roberts, Feller said, “I'm not in Congress, so I don't know exactly what all the problems are at Point Roberts. But the last time I was here before the primary, you brought up from three different people about the money they have to pay to hire somebody down in Blaine or Ferndale to come across over here to do service work.”
State Senate
Republican Erika Creydt, a psychologist and director on the Blaine School Board, is seeking the state Senate seat in the 42nd District. She discussed Medicaid and other state systems, saying, “Every year those programs have become increasingly dysfunctional and hard to work with.” She continued to say, “We are spending a significant amount of money on those programs and they should work.”
“We really need more healthcare providers at the table in Olympia impacting the way that our state programs are executed for the greater good so that people can actually access services that we’re paying for as a taxpayer,” Creydt said.
Later in the meeting, when given time to address the needs of the Point, Creydt said, “The problems that folks in Point Roberts have raised to me personally are issues with you know being able to access basic things like a doctor when they need to or getting medication when they need to.” Creydt continued, “I know infrastructure is a big need, and making sure that there's money for those things out here is of high importance for everybody.”
Democrat Michael Shepard, a Port of Bellingham commissioner running against Creydt, said, “Folks are very concerned about the impacts of the Trump administration on our daily lives. They’re concerned about costs going up, that our communities have become less safe, and that we’ve seen a dramatic drop in Canadian cross-border traffic.”
Shepard, when addressing issues specific to the Point, pointed to the results of a 2025 economic development study, and referred to “public ownership of the marina, greater investment in infrastructure for sewer and broadband internet, building the resiliency hub here, and just greater government investment to spur the local economy.”
State House
State Rep. Alicia Rule (D-Blaine), running for reelection to the state House for District 42, Pos. 1, opened up her introduction discussing affordability.
Rule said, “I live in Blaine, so Blaine and Point Roberts are sisters and joint communities and it’s really important to me that we continue to not only survive, which is really a question, but to thrive.” Rule continued to say, “It is top of mind to make sure you have what you need and that things are getting harder and harder here, not easier.”
State Rep. Joe Timmons (D-Bellingham), who is running for reelection to state House for District 42, Pos. 2, could not attend the event, but sent campaign manager Alex Woodall, who said, “Joe sees protecting this community’s local economy as the biggest issue.” Continuing to say, “President Trump’s war against Canada and his tariffs are hitting communities like Point Roberts especially hard. And when our Canadian neighbors stop coming across the border to shop, to eat, to visit, the local businesses and the jobs they create are put at risk.” Woodall mentioned local priorities such as a stronger future for the marina, and reliable high speed internet for residents.
Republican Justin Pike is running against Timmons for the seat. Pike, who has a varied military and law enforcement career, also pointed to affordability in Whatcom County as a focal issue. Pike described being a fourth generation Whatcom County resident with adult children facing the choice to move somewhere more affordable, “Do I stay here and fight to make sure that all of us can have a family and raise families and give opportunities to our kids or do I turn around and decided to move to be closer to them?” Pike continued, “And for me, that decision was to step out of the shadows.”
Later in the meeting, Pike stated, “if elected, when elected, you be in the forefront, linking the governments together – county governments, city governments, state governments, Point Roberts community groups – so that before a law can even be passed, they have to already have taken into consideration of the impact for your opinion.”
County prosecutor
Jesse Corkern, running for Whatcom County prosecutor said, “Whatcom County has grown over the years, and the challenges to Whatcom County have grown with it.” Corkern continued to say, “There are changes we need to bring to our office to make our office leaner, to make it more efficient, to move our cases along faster, to better support our attorneys, give them training and mentorship so they can be the good, qualified attorneys that we need in our office.”
Ryan Swinburnson, who is also running for Whatcom County prosecutor, said, “We've heard other candidates talk about community input. Communities don't feel as safe as they should. That's a direct reflection on our prosecutor's office, and it's a direct reflection on leadership in our prosecutor's office.” Swinburnson continued, “That office does need strong leadership, but it is not an entry-level leadership position. This isn't where you learn to lead. You need to come in with a leadership resume. I have that resume.”
Port commission
Paul Burrell, a longtime commercial fisherman, business owner and chairman of the Marina Advisory Committee, is running for Port of Bellingham commissioner 4. Burrell said, “The main thing we need to do as an elected official is to listen to the community because not everybody lives here for a reason. Everybody's probably different, but to come in from the Lower 48 and say, ‘Hey, this is what we're going to do for you.’ It might not be what you want here.”
Chris Elder, who has a background in county and regional planning as well as farming, and is running against Burnell in the race for position 4 on the newly expanded board, said, “I think recognizing that the port has the ability to actually invest in communities in a way that we haven't necessarily fully seen the port engage in. That's where I'm hoping to take some of my experience and expertise to help move that forward.”
County PUD
Eddy Ury, who was elected to the Public Utility District 1 as a commissioner in a special election for a partial term two years ago and is seeking reelection, said the PUD is “Making steps with expanding infrastructure to be able to serve new customers.” Ury continued to say, “The Pacific Northwest economy relies on our system never failing ever, and our pipes are aging. They're more than 50-60 plus years old. We need to rebuild our whole system.” Ury went on to say, “But what drew me to want to serve, right, rather than just you know taking care of the leaks, is is more the opportunities for growth in what public utility can provide”
Speaking to a room of Point residents regarding the fiber optic situation on the Point, Yuri said, “Open access, public fiber for affordable, reliable, adequate internet [...] I'm here to just accept that Whacom PUD, we failed to deliver this to you, failed to deliver on promises, and I understand that's incredibly disappointing and frustrating, especially to those of you that continue to be underserved.” Yuri continued to say, “I owe it to you to just apologize, and I do believe we're going to eventually overcome these hurdles.”
Ballots for the Nov. 3 election will be mailed to registered voters on Oct. 14. Ballots must be returned to an official drop box by 8 p.m. on Nov. 3 or, if mailing, the U.S. Postal Service recommends mailing by Oct. 27 to ensure a Nov. 3 postmark. Register or update your address at voteWA.gov or in person at the Whatcom County Auditor’s Office, 311 Grand Ave, #103 in Bellingham.
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