About the GIFC
Current GIFC Board
- Chairperson: Gabe Murphy
- GIFC Board Member Since 2022
- Term: April 2022 – March 2025
- Vice-Chairperson: Andy Leech
- GIFC Board Member Since 2022
- Term: April 2022 – March 2025
- Treasurer: Allen Bush
- GIFC Board Member Since 1990
- Term: March 2023 – March 2026
- Communications: Becca Fong
- GIFC Board Member Since 2023
- Term: March 2023 – March 2026
- Board Member: Molly Urlacher
- GIFC Board Member Appointed Since 2025
- Term: March 2024 – March 2027
Purpose
The members of the GIFC board have changed over the years, just like the Skagit County Commissioners and the Ferry Operations personnel have changed, but there is one thing that remains constant, the community of Guemes Island. Our community is strong, diverse, and adaptable. Our community includes people from all walks of life and all economic backgrounds. Our community comes from all over the world, and one thing we all have in common is that we all ended up here. We all rely on the Guemes Ferry as our lifeline to Anacortes and the rest of the world, and for that reason, the GIFC exists. We exist as an all volunteer organization to serve our community, to advocate for our community, and to provide information and insight into the workings of the Guemes Island Ferry System.
Representation
We aim to represent the interests of all Guemes Island Ferry ridership including but not limited to: full-time and part-time residents, property owners, guests and visitors, contractors, and business owners. All who ride the Guemes Island Ferry are encouraged to reach out to the GIFC with questions or concerns about the Ferry. We do not have all of the answers, but we are here to help and will do our best to get you the information you are looking for. We also encourage all ferry riders to engage directly with Skagit County Public Works and the Skagit County Board of County Commissioners. They are ultimately the ones in charge of the ferry budget, they set the fares that you pay, they set the sailing schedule, and they are responsible for providing the ferry service to Guemes Island.
Elections and Charter
According to our GIFC Charter, board positions may be held by individuals who are registered voters of Washington State. This allows property owners (or guests) who are not full time residents of Guemes Island to hold positions on the board.
Our elections are held by printed ballot and are open to electors who are registered voters of the Guemes Island precinct. This method utilizes the official voter roles, held by and verified by the Skagit County Auditor, the same voter roles that are used to elect our Board of County Commissioners. The GIFC is not in the business of creating or maintaining a list of voters verified to our own privately determined voter eligibility criteria, therefore we depend on our county officials to maintain that list for us.
For GIFC board positions that are up for election but are uncontested, elections will be considered unanimous. For contested elections, the GIFC, although not required to, typically chooses to hold their elections by mail out ballot because they believe that this is the most inclusive way to hold elections. Historically using mail out ballots, the GIFC has had 1.5 to 2.5 times the voter turnout of other Guemes Island Organizations. The State of Washington also utilizes mail balloting.
Please review the GIFC charter below for additional details.
Guemesferry.org 