Sequim City Council candidate conduct vigorous debate over growth, other issues
By Diane Urbani de la Paz, Peninsula Daily News
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In a vigorous debate, eight Sequim City Council candidates looked into the city's future, and asked for voters' support in the Nov. 6 all-mail election.
Ballots were mailed to registered voters Wednesday.
About 70 people attended Wednesday night's League of Women Voters forum at the Senior Activities Center, which illustrated how times have changed since 2005.
That year, Sequim had just three City Council candidates - who all ran unopposed.
In the rainstorm of words this week, the six would-be newcomers spoke of how they'd shake up the City Council, control growth and, amid the big-box stores, somehow preserve Sequim's rural feeling.
More than 3,300 dwelling units are in various stages of construction, said Susan Lorenzen, the city planning commissioner hoping to unseat incumbent Don Hall.
"Our Planning Department's been overworked for a long time," replied Hall.
"I get frustrated" when city staffers take months and years to update the Sequim Municipal Code and finish public facilities.
But Sequim will upgrade its sewer and water systems within the decade, he said.
Not against growth
"A lot of people have said the challengers are against growth. We're not," said Laura DuBois, a retired business analyst seeking to defeat incumbent Ron Farquhar, a retired department store manager.
The would-be newcomers to the council are together on one point: Make developers pay impact fees.
When big-box stores first came to town, "we could have asked for a lot more . . . to pay for infrastructure," DuBois said.
Farquhar said he's running for re-election because he has "burning issues," including the building of a new City Hall.
Sequim's city staff has been unable to find a suitable location, and some residents wonder whether they'll be saddled with a tax bill to fund it.
"We have $2 million in reserve for a new City Hall," said Farquhar.
"Our No. 1 goal is to have no taxes raised [to pay for it]."
Trouble is, the project is expected to cost $10 million, DuBois said.
"The citizens will have to pay the interest," she said.
When asked how the City Council can support elderly residents and the Senior Activities Center, DuBois acknowledged that it had provided $100,000 in funding for the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Olympic Peninsula.
That expenditure was part of the police budget for crime prevention, she said.
"So we seniors should get out there and get more rowdy," DuBois deadpanned.
Farquhar's response: "As far as seniors, I need you to talk to us."
Running for election
Bob Anundson, who was appointed to replace council member Patricia Kasovia-Schmitt when she resigned earlier this year, is running to keep his seat.
The retired high-technology manager from Portland, Ore., portrayed himself as both "code enforcer" and a consensus builder.
"I'm not interested in fights. I'm interested in bringing people together," he said.
Erik Erichsen is a retired physicist hoping to defeat Anundson.
When he moved from Richland to Sequim five years ago, he "became alarmed by the uncontrolled, haphazard development," and found the City Council as "arrogant [and] rude."
"Call me," was Anundson's rebuttal. He gave his phone number, 360-582-1295.
All seven council members' numbers are listed at www.ci.Sequim.wa.us, and the candidates' phone numbers are included in the Peninsula Daily News' 2007 General Election Voter Guide, included in this edition.
Accessibility question
A question card from the audience challenged the candidates to talk about accessibility in Sequim.
Anundson didn't immediately know the meaning of the word.
When he was told it refers to access to public facilities for disabled people, he said the Clallam County Master Gardeners plan to plant an accessible public garden near Carrie Blake Park.
"We need to have inspectors" to ensure that the city complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act, Erichsen said.
Architect Ken Hays, whose name appears alone on the ballot for the council seat soon to be vacated by John Beitzel, offered a new phrase that's part of his vision for Sequim.
"We can be rural by design," Hays said.
He would later trigger a rush of applause - including hoots of approval - with his closing statement.
Marge Williams is the former city planning commissioner who became a declared write-in opponent to Hays on Sept. 28.
She highlighted her experience as a community planner at Utah's Hill Air Force Base, and said she wants to allow "calm" development in Sequim.
Williams has said she's running against Hays because he's too quarrelsome to be an effective councilor.
"I don't disrupt . . . I don't lash out. I build compromise," she said slowly during Wednesday night's debate.
Write-in candidates can continue to file until Nov. 5, the day before the general election ends.
Sequim's future
In his rebuttal, Hays continued to focus on Sequim's future.
"We have a long way to go and a lot of work to do" to make this town the jewel of the Olympic Peninsula, he said, adding that he wants "open forums throughout the community," to allow more public discussions of city issues.
One way to fund better streets and parks would be to collect impact fees from developers, he added.
"In this case I agree with Ken," said Williams. She also said Sequim's big-box stores "have a vital role to play": providing sales-tax revenue.
At the forum's end, Hays told a quick story about a hike with his 10-year-old. It was a gorgeous autumn day, but his son said, "These are kind of the dark times, aren't they?"
"Why do you say that?" Dad asked.
The youngster's reply: The war in Iraq, global warming, and all the development in Sequim are three big gloom-producers.
"If the seven men on the City Council can't see that," Hays finished, "it's time for a change."
At that, much of the crowd cheered.
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Sequim Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-681-2391 or diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.
Last modified: October 18. 2007 9:00PM