Breaking News: Who Wants to Be A City Council Member
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Clockwise from upper left: Fred Obee, Heidi Haney, Neil Nelson, and Theo Howard [/caption]
Four people applied for the open Port Townsend City Council position seeking to complete the term of Aislinn Palmer, who resigned in May. The four hopefuls, listed here in order of their application date, are as follows;
Fred Obee worked as general manager for the Port Townsend Leader and subsequently served as executive director of the Washington Newspaper Publisher’s Association.
Heidi Haney is a service industry professional who owns a mobile bar cart. She is also the sommelier at Port Townsend Vineyards.
Theo Howard is an attorney with the Clallam-Jefferson County Pro Bono Lawyers Housing Justice Project and has worked in environmental law. He is also a KPTZ DJ.
Neil Nelson is a local contractor who is familiar with small, affordable home building requirements. He is a member of the Port Townsend Planning Commission.
These are cursory descriptions of the candidates. For the full text of their applications, go to https://cityofpt.us/citycouncil
The council will meet in executive session on July 15 to select the finalists. Following this, public interview sessions will take place from 3 pm to 6 pm on Tuesday, July 23, at a location to be announced.
The public is part of the process, and citizens can express support for or opposition to any one of those selected. To comment, go to https://publiccomment.fillout.com/cityofpt.
The council will select a finalist on August 5 and seat the new member for the first time at the August 12 business meeting. If it fails to reach a consensus, the decision will fall to the Jefferson Board of County Commissioners. If the commissioners fail to select, it will be up to the governor to decide.
Another potential city council vacancy could occur at the end of 2024. Council Member Ben Thomas is running for the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners District 1 seat, but that replacement will only happen if he is elected.
Thomas is the winemaker at Port Townsend Vineyards, where applicant Haney is his co-worker. He texted me that recusing himself from the process would represent “the most ethical path.”
“When the Council gets together to go over this we would all communicate these connections.. In a small town there will be overlaps with multiple members of Council. In any case I won’t do anything to unfairly compromise the process.”
There are now six members on the city council, setting up a potential deadlock. However, if Thomas recuses himself, this would not be an issue.
The person selected to fill the vacancy will serve until the end of 2025. Should they decide to run for a full term, they would need to file by May 8, 2025.
City Council members earn $8,400 annually. The mayor earns $12,300.
