Four of the five seats up for election on the seven-member board that oversees Hospital District 2 — Olympic Medical Center — are uncontested, held by incumbents Arlene Engel, Jim Cammack and Jim Leskinovitch.
The fifth position was opened by the resignation of former commissioner Gary Smith and is being sought by Dr. John Miles and Phil Edin, one of whom will win a six-year term that supervises the flagship hospital in Port Angeles and its clinics and centers in P.A. and Sequim.
Phil Edin
I have a record of contributing to my community through elected and volunteer activities. I would like to leave this Earth a better place. That includes serving the citizens of Clallam County.
I moved to Clallam County in 2006. During my working career, I worked and lived in the Portland, Ore., area.
Trained as an accountant at the University of Oregon, I have worked in financial management, real estate sales and general business management.
During my career, I invested considerable time and effort as a leader in local government and civic organizations. I served as a city councilor, fire district commissioner, community hospital commissioner and Little League president.
Since moving to Port Angeles, I have become a leader in my church and I serve as a financial advisor to a disabled senior citizen.
I see this position as a volunteer activity and I am volunteering to serve. Second, I have experience. I understand the role of a board member and how the board interacts with the administrator, staff, medical community and patients.
A major responsibility of the board is financial oversight and budgeting. Having been a chief financial officer, I have experience preparing, reviewing and managing budgets. I have had training in health care management and the art of board member relationships.
My philosophy of governance is that the hospital must operate in a businesslike manner. It has customers it must please (both doctors and patients). Its staff deserves good working conditions. And it has an accountability to the taxpayers.
John Miles
My wife and I moved to Port Angeles 11 years ago and have been involved in various volunteer efforts. I served on the boards of the Port Angeles Fine Art Center and Friends of the Port Angeles Library and was president of the board of the Clallam County Humane Society. I received the Clallam County Community Service Award in 2006.
I practiced medicine and served in administration for over 35 years at the Southern California Permanente Medical Group in Los Angeles. I was a family practice physician before acquiring specialty training in ear, nose and throat, where I was chief of the department.
I also served as an elected member of the board of directors of SCPMG for 12 years, and as the Los Angeles Area Medical Director for six years, I was responsible for the management of a $260,000,000 budget, as well as being chief of staff of our hospital.
I have always loved medicine and have had the good fortune of many years of experience in both the practice of medicine and the management of a successful health care system. As medical director, I managed hundreds of employees, administrators and physicians.
I was responsible for the delivery of quality medical care, financial management of a large budget and solving problems of practice, delivery and medical-legal issues.
I believe my lifelong commitment to the successful delivery of quality health care gives me the knowledge and skills to help our community achieve and maintain the care it deserves.
