Sequim City Council candidate Hays' style sparks strong feelings, write-in foe
By Diane Urbani de la Paz, Peninsula Daily News
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Hays is running unopposed - with a declared write-in challenge - in the Nov. 6 election for Sequim City Council's position 7.
"Hays is not the type of person who should be holding public office," said Larry Freedman, chairman of the Sequim Planning Commission, who, with fellow developer Allen Grant, has funded campaign fliers for Marge Williams' write-in campaign.
"He'll be nothing but disruptive on the City Council," Freedman said.
Patsy Mattingley, the Sequim City Band organizer who's worked with Hays for five years, said Hays is not only qualified for city leadership, but well-suited to it.
"He is very deliberate and very thoughtful. I've never found him to be one who raises his voice."
Hays said that when it comes to getting work done, he's no hothead.
He couldn't have made a living as an architect in Sequim for 20 years, he said, if he couldn't get along with people.
"The nature of some projects is contentious," Hays said.
"You've got construction firms trying to get along, you've got egos involved."
On such jobs, Hays said his role is to listen to the various viewpoints and help the parties move together toward a finished product that works.
"I'm running because I care," he said.
Cedar Ridge
Freedman and Grant are building the 233-unit Cedar Ridge subdivision in eastern Sequim.
Hays, an architect who's worked in Sequim for 20 years, has long been an opponent of Cedar Ridge.
"It assaulted my design sensibilities," he said.
The subdivision also abuts Hays' property, the old farmstead that belongs to his wife Joanna's family.
On June 8, the day Hays declared his candidacy for City Council, he was arrested for investigation of pushing a woman construction worker - a member of the paving crew helping to build a road that will serve Cedar Ridge.
Hays was charged with fourth-degree assault.
On Aug. 17, he signed a diversion agreement he said included community service and an anger management program.
"It'll be a learning experience," Hays said of the program.
Only name on ballot
Hays' name will be the only name listed for the position - which will be vacated by Councilman John Beitzel, who is running for a seat on the Olympic Medical Center Hospital Commission - on the Nov. 6 ballot.
On Sept. 28, Williams declared herself a write-in candidate for the position.
She filed under her full name - Margaret Williams - as an official write-in candidate, and paid an $18 fee to the Clallam County Auditor's Office.
Write-in candidates can declare up to the day before an election - which would be on Nov. 5 for the general election.
Grant and Freedman paid for some 20,000 newspaper inserts highlighting Williams' experience as a Sequim planning commissioner and an Air Force community planner - and saying that Hays has disrupted public meetings by shouting and repeatedly challenging city officials.
The flier also emphasizes Hays' arrest.
Hays said that the Williams' flier's content was "an insult" to him and his family.
"It's just mudslinging," said Hays' wife Joanna.
"It's a shame Marge feels she has to take these tactics."
Two views
Freedman said that when Hays served on Sequim's affordable housing committee last year, he differed repeatedly with other members.
After Hays left the panel, "we got a lot done," he said.
Yet, Mattingley said that her experiences with Hays have been consistently productive.
Hays is the architect who donated his time to design of the Sequim City Band's venue, the James Center outdoor stage near Carrie Blake Park.
He's also the pro bono designer of the center's second phase, which includes a 500-seat indoor auditorium.
When "tensions got a little high," during a recent meeting with the group planning the auditorium and a nearby Clallam County Master Gardeners' demonstration park, Mattingley said, "Ken was the one who calmed everything down.
"He defused the situation with ease - and with his knowledge."
Hays has donated his time to design many other facilities in Clallam County, including the Boys & Girls Club in Sequim.
"I would vote for him because he has so much knowledge. He does know the city, and knows how the city works," Mattingley said.
"He likes the small town. That's why he's here."
Similar views
When Williams and Hays participated in a candidates' debate recently, their stances were alike on many city issues.
Both want developers to pay impact fees to help fund parks, trails and roads, and both believe Sequim can stay rural even as it grows.
Williams, however, said recently that she's had no conversations with her opponent.
"I don't think the adversarial part of the campaign is my style," she said, adding that she was "extremely" nervous during the debate and found it a slightly scary experience.
She plans no more public appearances before Election Day on Nov. 6.
Hays, meanwhile, grows intense when speaking to any audience, be it at City Council meetings, candidates forums or having lunch at Sequim's Alder Wood Bistro.
Passionate about opinions
Among his passionately held opinions: Developers won't balk at funding city improvements, provided they're asked to do so; city leaders should set higher design standards for big-box store builders; and the City Council needs his design expertise.
"All of the incumbents are fine individuals," he said. "They're just not getting the job done."
The council should demand the construction of homes and commercial buildings that fit Sequim's rural character, Hays added.
"We can expect more from developers, and they will give it."
Many other Washington cities collect impact fees for parks, emergency services and other needs, he said.
The council members "want Sequim to grow and prosper. We all do.
"To me, it's about finding ways to work together, to sit down together and work it all out."
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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 25. 2007 9:00PM