Fair Fares Fundraiser: A Smashing Success

The fundraising and music event, featuring the Haul Outs and graciously hosted by Michael and Micki Brown at their beautiful home on June 8, 2025, was a resounding success on two fronts. First, presentations by Fair Fares LLC Board members Steve Orsini, Cindy Kamp, Michael Brown, and Chip Bogosian updated attendees on the status of the legal appeal and provided a platform for audience questions. Second, the appeal for donations exceeded expectations, raising over $10,000 for Fair Fares LLC’s legal war chest. The message from Guemes Islanders was clear: they are frustrated with ever-increasing ferry fares and, following the dissolution of the Ferry Committee, feel trapped in an autocratic system of taxation without representation. Skagit County’s monopoly on their sole lifeline to the mainland has left them demanding change.

Board members explained that the legal appeal hinges on the “Record” presented to the Board of County Commissioners. Both parties must agree on the Record’s content before it is submitted to a judge. This process has been unnecessarily delayed, with the County taking no action for nearly eight weeks after the appeal was filed on February 10, 2025. The brief, to be written by our Seattle-based attorney Carl Marquardt, is now due July 8, 2025.

Attendees expressed particular frustration with the new E-ticketing system, which cost the County $84,000 in setup fees—procured through a single bid—and siphons 7% of ticket sales, approximately $120,000 annually, for five years. Despite repeated objections from islanders, who warned that the system would be difficult to use, slow ferry loading, and replace a functional, low-cost system, the County proceeded. Unforeseen was the need for an additional full-time purser in the ticket office to assist new users or those unable to navigate the phone-based app, forcing many to line up for paper tickets.

During the Q&A session, attendees shared multiple instances of E-ticketing failures, including QR codes not transferring to mobile phones and 25-trip convenience passes being fully depleted in a single scan. These issues have left passengers stranded, trying to prove payment while the ferry departs without them. Confusion also surrounds non-expiry punch cards, with one passenger reportedly told their card was invalid despite being valid through December 31, 2025. Many questioned how long the County will continue pouring money into a flawed system to justify its implementation.

The mood lifted as the Haul Outs took the stage, filling the air with music and energy. Fair Fares LLC Board members feel honored to represent the islanders and extend heartfelt thanks to every contributor who keeps this legal appeal moving forward.