Whatcom County Councilmember Jon Scanlon spent almost 12 hours listening and engaging with constituents in Whatcom County on May 13, 2026.
The county council is the main legislative body for Whatcom and is made up of seven members, including two at-large positions. Jon Scanlon has been an at-large representative for Whatcom County since January 2024.
The Front followed Scanlon for a day on May 13. Below is Scanlon's schedule.
9 a.m.-10 a.m.: Meeting with Lighthouse Mission & Councilmember Boyle at Liminal Coffee.
10 a.m.-12 p.m.: Calls with constituents at Whatcom County District Court.
12 p.m.-1 p.m.: Whatcom Democrats’ weekly coffee club in the Whatcom Democrats’ office.
3 p.m.-3:30 p.m.: Whatcom Council of Governments Board meeting at Whatcom Council of Governments offices.
3:30 p.m.-5 p.m.: Whatcom Transportation Policy Board meeting at Whatcom Council of Governments offices.
5:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m.: Sustainability Social Hour at Kulshan (K2) brewery.
7 p.m.-8:30 p.m.: Whatcom County Fire Commissioners meeting at South Whatcom Fire Station 21.
After his day spent out in the community, Scanlon sat down with The Front for a conversation about his service in Whatcom County. His answers have been trimmed for clarity and brevity.
Q: What is the most rewarding part of being a civil servant?
A: One of the most rewarding parts for me is meeting people like those we met tonight and throughout the day who are so involved in helping to improve their community. People, like we saw tonight with the fire chiefs and fire commissioners, who are trying to do the right thing for their community is rewarding. When I go and visit a food bank and meet all the volunteers, seeing people who invest so much in supporting their community gives me a lot of hope for what we can do in Whatcom County.
Q: What is your favorite part about serving Whatcom specifically?
A: One of my favorite parts is being able to get out of the office and out of the county council chambers to see things and see what's going on in our community. One example of that is that we've had this guy who has come to the county council a lot in the past year to talk about protecting a forest in Whatcom County. I saw him at a meeting a few weeks ago and I said, “Hey, can we go do a hike together in this part of the forest you want to protect? I like to hike, I'm a big hiker. But I've never hiked in this area before.” So we met up last weekend and went out for a hike. It was just neat to go out and see some big, old-growth forests in the county that I've never seen before. I've been hearing about this issue, but actually being able to go and see it and experience it is so helpful for me. I really like getting out and being able to do things like that and see the things that we're voting on in council meetings.
Q: What are you looking forward to as your term continues?
A: I've been really involved in public health issues in the county. This year, we are launching a community health assessment. Some of the things we look at is, what does our community need when it comes to public health and healthcare? Are we providing enough for our county? Just seeing more of that, learning more of that, is what I'm excited about.
After we dive in and figure out and we know the need for health in our community, the next part is how are we going to meet the need? So I'm really looking forward to that continued work over the next few years.
River Martinez (he/him) is a city news reporter for The Front this quarter. He is a first-year visual journalism and political science major. River spends his time doing model United Nations, climbing and tinkering on his film camera. You can reach him at marti722@wwu.edu.
