With 1,400 votes from across the County, we may not have heard the last from Adrian Kilpatrick, the politician

Friday, August 9, 2024 @ 11:00 p.m.
by Jeff Noedel

With approximately 99 percent of ballots counted from Tuesday’s primary election, home-grown San Juan Island resident Adrian Kilpatrick, 39, came in third place in the County Council residency district 1 race, behind two well-known candidates who have long been in the public eye. The general election will go on without him…this time.

Adrian introduced himself at every election event as one of the very few residents in his age range who was born on the island. He is a Spring Street graduate. And he has lived on the island 26 of his 39 years.

He was new to politics (but is not anymore). He brought new ideas, perspectives, and priorities to the primary election, to the debate at the American Legion hosted by “The Group with No Name,” and the League of Women Voter’s forum at The Grange.

Adrian ran as the candidate for “generational change.” His priorities continue to be on the environment, as well as wildfire prevention and our readiness to fight a major wildfire here. He has a lot to say about affordable housing.

Speaking of affordable housing, Amanda Lynn of the San Juan Home Trust said of Adrian, “As a young person in the community who cares deeply about social and economic justice, I was thrilled about Adrian’s choice to funnel campaign donations to critical local organizations. It’s exciting to see a younger person leaning into an important leadership role, and I hope we will keep seeing that all over the community.”

On Wednesday Adrian told CNL2, “(There were) definitely some things I got right, and quite a few things I got wrong. Overall it was a good learning experience that has informed me on what it will take to lead a successful campaign in the future.”

When reached for a comment this week, candidate Kari McVeigh wrote, “Adrian is to be commended for putting his beliefs, values, and priorities into action by running his campaign for County Council. He often stated that his generation ought to be more involved in local government and lived his words by putting himself and his ideas out there for all to see and consider. He ran an honest campaign in which he was always his authentic self. My hope is that he continues to become more involved in our community and continue working to make a positive difference.” 

Stephanie O’Day, also a candidate for Council told CNL2, “Adrian genuinely cares about islanders and wants to protect their way of life.  We need to all work together so his generation and those who follow can actually live and work here in our community.”

To view CNL2’s one and only interview of Adrian — on May 22, 2024, click here.