Incumbent Kathy Kershner faces 2 challengers in bid for third Whatcom County Council term

County Councilwoman Kathy Kershner is facing a challenge from Mark Stremler and Katherine Orlowski as she seeks re-election in the 4th District, which includes Lynden and rural Whatcom County south to just north of Bellingham.

Its is a four-year term, and the job pays $77,915 annually.

This year’s city and county races are nonpartisan, but Kershner and Stremler have been endorsed by the Republican Party.

All voting is by mail only in Washington state.

Ballots must be postmarked — not simply placed in the mail — by 8 p.m. Aug. 1 to be counted. Ballots can also be placed in official ballot drop boxes that will be locked when polling closes.

Here’s how the candidates responded to a Bellingham Herald questionnaire that asked them to list their qualifications, the top three issues facing the county, and how they would solve one of those priorities. Candidates are listed in the order that they appear on the ballot:

Mark Stremler

Mark Stremler, who lives in the Laurel area of Whatcom County, graduated from Lynden Christian and is a senior road maintenance employee in the Whatcom County Public Works Department.

A former dairy farmer and general contractor, Stremler is also a licensed foster parent.

He said he’s running for County Council to help with a new county jail, lower taxes and solve issues related to flooding on the Nooksack River, where heavy rain in 2020 and 2021 killed one man, cost more than $200 million in damages and displaced hundreds of residents.

“I will be the trusted voice for district 4 while listening to all perspectives to come up with common sense solutions,” Stremler told The Herald.

“Get the new jail built. (It) can’t be kicked down the road any longer. Recent increases are adding to the already high tax burden,” Stremler said, citing the child care property tax measure that voters narrowly passed in November 2022.

In addition, Stemler said the council must address affordable housing and the housing supply.

“I believe county government can be more transparent and efficient with property tax. Codes, building regulations and permitting should be streamlined, which will bring housing costs down. With all the new taxes — the 50 cent per gallon carbon tax on gas, the long-term care payroll tax, capital gains tax, and the critical need for a sales tax increase to fund a new jail, the County Council needs to reconsider the wisdom of the Proposition 5 taxes recently enacted,” he said.

Stremler is endorsed by the Whatcom Republicans and has raised $24,997 for his council bid, according to the state Public Disclosure Commission.

Kathy Kershner

Kathy Kershner is seeking her third term on the Whatcom County Council, where she represents an area known as the “farmland district.”

Kershner was elected to the council in 2009, serving until 2013 and elected again in 2019.

She retired from the U.S. Navy as a lieutenant after 22 years, rising from enlisted ranks as an anti-submarine warfare specialist and operations officer. She earned a bachelor of science degree in family resources from the University of Hawaii and is a small business owner and an advocate for people with developmental disabilities.

Now, she is officer for programs serving adults with developmental disabilities through her business Advocations.

“We need a new jail and behavioral health center, we need to solve our housing crisis, and we need to stop fentanyl from taking our loved ones,” Kershner told The Herald.

“We all realize that the current jail is in desperate need of replacement and is an embarrassment to Whatcom County. We can and should do better,” she said.

“I have also been working on the County Council to bring a reasonable proposal to the voters to help us build a new jail and provide an array of services that we currently cannot offer due to insufficient space and abominable conditions in the current jail,” Kershner said.

Kershner is endorsed by the Whatcom Republicans, the Whatcom Housing Alliance, the Whatcom County Association of Realtors, the Bellingham-Whatcom Firefighters Local 106, and elected representatives such as Lynden Mayor Scott Korthuis, Port Commissioner Ken Bell, Sheriff Bill Elfo.

She has raised $67,322 for her re-election bid, according to the state Public Disclosure Commission.

Katherine Orlowski

Katherine Orlowski of north Bellingham is a self-employed truck driver.

She studied at the University of Bridgeport’s Fones School of Dental Hygiene, and earned a commercial driver’s license through the Pegasus Trucking School.

Orlowski is a member of the Whatcom County Council’s Child and Family Well-Being Taskforce and a former member of the board at HomesNow and the Bellingham Food Bank Board

She’s a recipient of the Whatcom Dispute Resolution Center’s Peacebuilder Award and has served on dental and medical marijuana advisory committees in Missoula County, Montana.

Public safety — including the jail, fentanyl, and housing — are among her priorities, along with issues surrounding water, such as agriculture, salmon and flooding, Orlowski told The Herald.

“We obviously need a new jail, but building only a small part of the public safety solution without services and housing makes me wonder how long until we need to expand this jail again,” Orlowski said.

“With so many (people) needing health services, supportive living, and housing, the current government is neglecting general welfare and causing extensive government waste in triage mode. I have the foresight to get ahead of the curve because I understand our public safety crisis,” she said.

Orlowski lists no endorsements and has not reported any fundraising to the state Public Disclosure Commission.