When voters get their ballots and see Evergreen Hospital Commissioner Position 4, many will vote for a name they know or just skip it altogether. But with the potential changes in the medical and insurance industries, the position is crucial enough that two longtime friends are vying for the seat that’s been opposed since 1996.

Incumbent Rex H. Lindquist, EFO and Charles A. Pilcher, M.D. have been friends for more than 30 years.

“We taught EMT classes together at Harborview 25 or 30 years ago,” said Pilcher, a retired doctor who served as the medical director of Evergreen Hospital’s emergency room for 25 years. “I have no quarrels with Rex. But I have had a lot of people, who are not physicians, want to see someone else on the board and they urged me to run.”

For the two men, their friendship won’t get in the way of their quest to help patients and the community. Lindquist said that this is the first time he has had an opponent for the position since being elected in 1996.

“I like Chuck,” said Lindquist, a retired Kirkland Fire chief. “I was surprised when he told me he was running.”

The board, which meets twice a week, is made up of five community members and makes decisions on everything from the hospital’s budget, to establishing hospital policy and hiring the CEO.

“The board has done really well with public dollars and improved the hospital for the future,” said Lindquist. “We continue to grow and not fall behind. We are not doing layoffs cause we have been conservative over the years. We have made $200 million in improvements.”

Lindquist said that with health care reform on the horizon the board has to be able to think outside the box.

“We (Evergreen) have $30 million in bad debt each year,” said Lindquist. “There are tough decisions to be made. Believe it or not we have a lot of uninsured, even in Kirkland.”

Pilcher said that he has worked with the board for nearly 30 years and that his learning curve would not be very steep.

“We need to make sure we are building things that we need and don’t just look good,” said Pilcher, adding that he is a doctor and knows what doctors need and don’t need. “We will face some critical decisions for the budget in the future. People want a care giver on their side and someone who has been their doctor.”

Pilcher estimated that he has treated more than 100,000 people in the area.

One of the biggest reasons Pilcher gives for running is the lack of physicians on the board. In fact, the board has not had a physician in more than 30 years, according to both candidates.

However, Lindquist says “It is somewhat of a conflict of interest to have a physician on the board. It is a citizen board and it is hard to get an outside perspective from the inside.”

Pilcher agreed but insists that he has knowledge that others don’t.

“It is a valid concern,” said Pilcher. “But my interests go far beyond the staff. The staff might be surprised at what they get with me.”

Pilcher said that he will make decisions that are in the best interest of the hospital, the patients and the community.

“Rex gets most of his support from the firefighters,” said Pilcher. “But I have the endorsement of the Redmond and Bothell firefighters. Kirkland stays neutral for obvious reasons. And I was endorsed by the Kirkland police department.”

Lindquist was a firefighter for 33 years and served as Kirkland’s battalion fire chief from 1988-1998 and fire chief of the North County Fire and EMS from 2002-2007.

The only other position on the board up for election this year is Al D. Young, who represents Redmond and is running unopposed.

Evergreen hospital is the second-largest child birth hospital in the Puget Sound region and has an annual operating budget of $750 million. The hospital receives $13 million annually from tax payers in the King County Public Hospital District No. 2 tax district, which includes Kirkland, Bothell, Kenmore, Redmond, Woodinville, Duvall, part of Sammamish and parts of unincorporated northeast King County.