Vashon voters to decide health, fire seats
Published 9:30 am Wednesday, October 15, 2025
In the upcoming Nov. 4 King County General Election, several local offices on Vashon will be contested, giving voters a say in the future of the island’s health care and emergency services.
Three Vashon-area races feature multiple candidates this year: Public Hospital District No. 5 Commissioner Position No. 4, Public Hospital District No. 5 Commissioner Position No. 3 and Vashon Island Fire & Rescue Commissioner Position No. 2.
Ballots will be mailed Oct. 15, with drop boxes opening Oct. 16 and voters will have until 8 p.m. on Election Day to return their ballots.
Public Hospital District No. 5, Commissioner Position No. 4
Kelly Wright and Rebecca Chavez are vying for the six-year seat on the Vashon Health Care District board. The position, held by Wendy Noble since 2019, is open after Noble chose not to seek re-election.
Chavez, a licensed clinical psychologist for over two decades, was unanimously appointed to Position No. 3 in April after Commissioner Alan Aman stepped down. She is now running for Position No. 4 to serve a longer term and continue her work improving local health care access.
Mental health access would be one of her top priorities on the board, she said
“We don’t have any crisis response on the island,” Chavez said. “… That’s actually one of the reasons why I went to see if I would be appointed to this position on the board, because there isn’t anyone who’s representing behavioral health.”
She said her priorities include building on recent progress, such as the district’s partnership with DispatchHealth and Vashon Island Fire & Rescue’s Mobile Integrated Health program, while addressing ongoing gaps.
“It’s nice to be able to look at the community needs, look at the resources that are here on the island, and be able to identify strengths and weaknesses,” Chavez said. “… When people feel better, things get better … being able to talk about that has been a gift.”
Chavez, who has lived on Vashon since 2017 and raised three children — two of whom attended local schools — said that in her few months on the board, she’s learned the importance of listening across viewpoints.
“There are valid points across the board,” she said. “Being able to not just hold tightly to what I believe in, but also listen and hear where other people may be coming from — that’s been good, too.”
Chavez said her experience running a private practice and working in public health settings has given her a well-rounded understanding of the health care system’s complexities — perspective she hopes to continue bringing to the board.
Wright, a lifelong Vashon resident and physician who has operated Vashon Natural Medicine for nearly 30 years, is running on a platform of fiscal restraint and district accountability. She said her decades managing an independent medical practice have given her a close view of the difficult economics of health care in small communities.
Wright was also an applicant for the position that Chavez was appointed to in April but withdrew due to a family emergency.
A longtime participant in local health care discussions, Wright previously opposed the health care district’s possible formation in 2019, expressing concern that it would not be financially sustainable for the island’s small population.
“With Vashon’s small population, and access on three sides to world-class health care, it was obvious there was no large facility that would agree to come to Vashon because it is not financially sustainable,” Wright said in an email.
She pointed to the district’s $575,000 retainer agreement with the mobile urgent care provider DispatchHealth — and a potential additional payment if visit quotas aren’t met — as an example of spending she considers unsustainable.
“The argument in 2019 was that low-income seniors and people who couldn’t travel off-island needed the care, but creating VHCD drove up taxes which in turn actually drove the people they wanted to help off the island,” she said.
Wright said she supports Vashon Island Fire & Rescue’s Mobile Integrated Health program and believes it makes sense for Vashon — but that DispatchHealth is too limited and doesn’t take all insurances.
While she is a “strong supporter” of DOVE and other social services, she said that funding of these services isn’t what residents were promised with the formation of the health care district. “Instead of looking for places to spend tax money, I think we should re-evaluate what is possible given the original intention of a new taxation district.”
If elected, Wright said she would review district expenditures with an eye toward streamlining operations and preparing for anticipated cuts to Medicaid and Medicare. Her focus, she said, would be ensuring that VHCD supports both the island’s health and its financial well-being.
Public Hospital District No. 5, Commissioner Position No. 3
Collin Hennessey, a retired pharmacist and former Group Health administrator, previously served on the Michigan Board of Pharmacy before moving to Vashon in 2013. He said his four decades in health-care management — including work with federally qualified health entities — give him perspective on how national funding shifts could impact local providers.
“I’ve had experience with the federal programs that are in jeopardy,” Hennessey said.
He said his focus is on coordinating services and using tax dollars more efficiently, particularly as the district balances contracts with DispatchHealth and the fire department’s Mobile Integrated Health unit.
“We need to be cautious with our resources and not duplicate services,” he said. “[Mobile] Integrated Health is going to basically offer the same types of services that DispatchHealth is doing now. We have two taxable entities offering the same service, and that’s just not a good use of resources.”
Hennessey said he’s generally aligned with the district’s direction in expanding access to primary care services. While behavioral health isn’t his main area of expertise, he said agencies such as Vashon Youth & Family Services are already addressing key gaps — and that the district should focus on supporting their ability to continue that work.
Cugudda, who holds a degree in public health, works for the Puget Sound Educational Service District, doing substance use prevention work at Vashon High School and said she hopes to bring a family and youth-focused perspective to the board.
She previously coordinated youth prevention and health education programs for DOVE and has served on the boards of the Harbor School and Dance Vashon.
“I want everyone to have what they need in their lives to feel safe, happy and healthy,” Cugudda said. “That’s why I’m doing this work. I think it’s so important that people have what they need and it’s harder to get that on-island.”
Having lived on and off Vashon since 1993, and now raising young children on the island, Cugudda said she understands the challenges residents face — from limited providers to transportation barriers — and believes collaboration and creativity are key to improving care.
“I enjoy the people on the board and think they all are great,” she said. “I’m more of an advocate — I enjoy working for the underdog or looking for interesting solutions to problems.”
Vashon Island Fire & Rescue, Commissioner Position No. 2
Amy Drayer, the incumbent, faces challenger Daniel Luechtefeld.
Drayer, a 1995 Vashon High School graduate, is the executive director of Vashon HouseHold and the director of Islanders for Ferry Action. She has served on the board for the past year and is now running for re-election.
She said the district has regained financial stability and staffing strength in recent years, crediting the department’s leadership for building a strong foundation. She also worked on the levy to “appropriately fund the district.”
“We are in a really healthy space right now,” Drayer said. “ … I feel like I’ve helped bring great community leadership and a thorough understanding of how the district works and I’m excited to be a part of continuing to move our district forward on a really positive track.”
She described the commission’s role as one of rigorous oversight — reviewing every expenditure, ensuring transparency and maintaining accountability to taxpayers.
“We look through every single penny that leaves the district,” she said. “We’re the representatives for taxpayers, making sure the district is financially healthy, responsible and thriving.”
Luechtefeld is a telecommunications engineer and 13-year VIFR volunteer, serving until 2022 as a support volunteer, rather than as a firefighter/EMT.
He said his campaign grew out of concern for what he views as gaps in communication and transparency.
Having started with the department in 2006 and later serving in fire support — assisting on calls without entering active fire zones — he said his experience showed him both the department’s strengths and its blind spots.
“I saw a number of areas that aren’t being addressed, and that was my motivation for running,” he said. “I’m passionate about making sure that my neighbors and my community are cared for.”
While Luechtefeld has not been a volunteer since 2022, he said he regularly attends VIFR board meetings and stays up to date on the department’s operations. He said he is encouraged by the recent hire of Fire Chief Bill McLaughlin, saying the commissioners “possibly hit a home run” in hiring him.
Still, Luechtefeld believes the department could better communicate with the public by publishing more performance data — such as response times, call volumes and staffing levels — to give residents a clearer picture of how their tax dollars are being used.
While VIFR produces an annual report with this data and presents it at regular board meetings, Luechtefeld said there should be more and pointed to Seattle as an example.
The Seattle Fire Department publishes calls to the public as they happen, showing the location, type of call and time through apps such as PulsePoint. VIFR does not provide this kind of live data. He said he understands that Vashon is not Seattle and may not be able to reach that level of data transparency but would like to explore ways to improve it.
“These sorts of metrics are important to building transparency,” he said. “People should know exactly what they’re paying for.”
Luechtefeld said he is also concerned about the decline in volunteer participation and wants to work with district leadership to understand and address the causes — though he acknowledges it might be inevitable.
Uncontested local races
Vashon Island School District No. 402: Jessica Adams (Position 2); River E. Branch (Position 4)
Vashon Sewer District: Marta Medcalf (Position 2); Chris DeGarmo (Position 3)
Vashon-Maury Island Park & Recreation District: Sarah George (Position 2); Abby Leigh Antonelis (Position 4)
Public Hospital District No. 5: Tom Langland (Position 5)
King County Airport District: Kaye Pierson (Position 1); Truman O’Brien (Position 2); Lauren Chase (Position 3)
How to vote
Ballots will be mailed Oct. 15 and drop boxes open Oct. 16. Vashon’s ballot drop box is located at the Vashon Library, 17210 Vashon Highway SW.
Register to vote anytime online at voter.votewa.gov. Mail registrations must be received by Oct. 27, and ballots must be postmarked by Nov. 4 or returned to a drop box by 8 p.m. on Election Day. King County Elections recommends mailing ballots no later than the Friday before Election Day.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this article used “Dr.” before Rebecca Chavez’s name but omitted the title before Kelly Wright’s. This was a copy editing error. We regret the mistake. The title has been removed from Chavez’s name to reflect how both candidates are identified on the ballot.
