Port Townsend City Council member announces she will not run again

Ariel Speser will not seek re-election

Ariel Speser

PORT TOWNSEND — Ariel Speser will not seek re-election for a second term on the Port Townsend City Council, she announced last week.

“It’s bittersweet to be making this decision,” said Speser, who is expecting her second child in September. “Serving as a Port Townsend Council member has been a truly transformative and rewarding experience.”

Elected in 2018, Speser is particularly proud of her work on the Behavioral Health Advisory Board (BHAC), which helps fund substance abuse and mental health services in Jefferson County.

She said in a press release issued Friday that the BHAC was first to provide part-time funding for the city’s behavioral health navigator — a full-time case worker, specially trained in de-escalation, who works with the Port Townsend Police Department.

Speser said she became involved in local politics “to help ensure Port Townsend remains a livable, vibrant, and inclusive community for working families and all those who call Port Townsend home.

“Growing up here instilled strong values of social and environmental justice, a commitment to serving those who are the most vulnerable, and a true appreciation for the beauty around us,” she said.

Speser, who was 35 in January 2020 when her first child was born, said that as part of a younger generation of civic leaders, she is optimistic about Port Townsend’s future. She cited as an example the council’s Ad Hoc Committee on Public Safety recommendations, which she said will make Port Townsend Police practices more transparent, evidence-based and focused on harm reduction.

With three council seats up for election this year, Speser said she hopes to see a diverse set of candidates running for elected office.

She recommended interested people visit the Jefferson County League of Women Voters website, where there is an educational YouTube video on running for and serving on Port Townsend’s City Council found here. Another resource is the state Public Disclosure Commission located here.

“I hope we have a vibrant election season where new voices can put forth their ideas for making our community more inclusive and more livable for working families,” she said.

Speser works for the state Attorney General’s Office in both Jefferson and Clallam counties.

She plans to continue living in Port Townsend with her husband, 16-month-old daughter, the second child she is expecting and the family’s terrier.

More in News

White House tells federal agencies prepare for shutdown

Deadlock in Congress could mean funding runs out Oct. 1

KEITH THORPE/PENINSULA DAILY NEWS
A vehicle makes its way across the Elwha River Bridge west of Port Angeles on Friday morning as a plume of wildfire smoke filters down the river valley. The smoke, which originated from seven named wildfires near the center of Olympic National Park, settled through the Elwha drainage to lower elevations, creating hazardous air in lower portions of the valley and unhealthy conditions in surrounding areas.
Smoke pools into Port Angeles area; begins to disperse late Friday

Rain expected to help clear air this weekend

PA council hopeful’s STR in an unpermitted zone

Property no longer rented short-term, candidate says

Complaints of STRs soar in wake of PA moratorium

Police enforce code on short-term rentals with limited staff

Town halls set on Peninsula tourism

The Olympic Peninsula Visitor Bureau will conduct four town… Continue reading

DOT truck breakdown causes backup east of Sequim

A broken down state Department of Transportation construction truck backed… Continue reading

Port Angeles firefighters and a Clallam County technical rescue team place a litter onto a ladder track after pulling a person from a water tank at the site of the former Rayonier pulp mill on Thursday morning in Port Angeles. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
Man rescued from abandoned water tank

Unknown how or why he got there

Most Read