We just voted for Joe Ulatoski to serve on the board that governs Vashon Island Fire & Rescue. It’s a vote-by-mail election, so please find your own ballot and join us.

For this job as commissioner — helping to set policy, working crucial funding and road issues on the mainland, dealing with the effects of our tough economy, planning for the evolving needs of our Island community — there could be no better person. Joe has decades of track record in inspiring people, bringing grant money home to the Island, planning for the big picture and doing the heavy lifting required to accomplish community goals.

At the candidates’ debate night, only one of the candidates emphasized the need for a long-range business plan for the future. That was Joe.

There’s only so much money to go around. For example, exactly what will it take to improve response times when a house is on fire, a car goes off the road, a heart attack strikes? What are our options to accomplish the goal? What are all of us willing to pay to achieve the option we choose? A detailed business road map — that’s the thoughtful, methodical work we need from our fire commissioners to help us make the right choices for the future of our community.

For fighting fires, we have a chief and assistant chief with six decades of experience in the fire service. They’re backed by a highly qualified team of career and volunteer firefighters, many of them with their own decades of experience.

As fire commissioner, we believe Joe Ulatoski will do a superb job of supporting that team now and for the future.

— Rick Wallace and Karen Baer