Port Townsend — The Port Townsend City Council conducted interviews of four candidates vying to fill position 2 of the council, vacant since Aislinnn Palmer’s resignation in late May.
Fred Obee, Heidi Haney, Neil Nelson and Theodore Howard were interviewed by Deputy Mayor Amy Howard and Councilmembers Owen Rowe, Monica MickHager and Libby Urner Wennstrom.
Wennstrom attended via zoom. Mayor David Faber and Councilmember Ben Thomas had recused themselves from the process on July 15, citing shared business interests with candidates.
When chosen, the replacement council member will serve out the remainder of Palmer’s term.
Fred Obee, now retired, was a career journalist. Obee spent six years reporting for the Port Townsend Leader in the ’90s, and later served as general manager from 2003 to 2015.
Explaining his general interest in the role of council member, Obee said “As a journalist covering local government for decades, I developed an interest in the mechanism of government, how decisions get made, what the process is and what influences come into play. I’ve just always been a student of that. I know it will be a challenge and I’m up for that.”
Answering a question about the sometimes fast pace of decisions in city council, Obee said, “How do I make a quick decision? There’s not one answer to that, because you have to know the consequences of a bad decision. I would take different routes depending on what it was, but I’m pretty skilled at digesting the basic idea of things. I’ve always had to do that. When you’re a reporter, for example, you don’t always have much time. I’m pretty quick at getting at what the underlying issue is, but of course, decision by decision, some things are extremely complex.”
Candidate Heidi Haney is a local business owner.
When asked what interests her in ongoing council work, Haney brought up the lodging tax advisory commitee (LTAC). “Because I’m in the hospitality industry, that really speaks to my heart because I know for example with my company, doing a wedding brings 120 people in for one event,” Haney said. “So I really like exploring different ways that we can feed tourism and have it be beneficial to our community, as well as for all the business owners.”
Another issue of interest for Haney is afforable housing.
“I am probably one of the only ones [candidates] who is not a homeowner — I’ve lived here for eight years. I’m a renter. So I understand the struggle people go through with paying for rent. I come from an angle a little bit different than other people who are homeowners, looking at those situations.”
Neil Nelson is a general contractor who serves on the planning commission.
Asked about core interests he would bring to being a council member, Nelson said, “My background leads me to affordable housing, through construction, which has also led me to have an interest in infrastructure. I have an interest in budget, because budget drives everything. Mental health and behavioral health are in my background. These are probably the areas of the most interest to me.”
On his experience on the planning commission Nelson said “I didn’t know what I was doing when I got here at all. I came here thinking I was going to be involved with changing things really quick, because I had ideas, and it doesn’t work that way. I’ve learned to slow down and to listen, and realize that all the greatest ideas in the world don’t do diddly if you can’t have patience to see all sides of the story and how you get there.”
Theodore Howard is the Executive Director of the Olympic Housing Trust. His interest in the position arose in response to Palmer’s resignation. Attending via Zoom, he said that he is not necessarily interested in continuing on in the role when the current term is up, though he is open to it.
Asked how he might approach a vote where his position was in the clear minority, Howard responded, “I would try to make it clear to myself internally exactly why I disagree with the main decision and try to concisely formulate that, and express the reasons for my dissent. If you look at the history of the supreme court, sometimes a well formulated dissent can become the new consensus 50 to 100 years later. I would try to express that to the council and the community, while trying to remain as polite and respectful as possible.”
When asked how he would separate his work in activism and advocacy from his work on the council, Howard responded “I don’t think of governing as ever being completely divorcable from advocacy, even when someone in a governing role is aiming to make decisions that represent the broadest consensus possible. I think they still are, in some way, advocating for the public good.”
The Port Townsend City Council will deliberate on the interviews and is slated to make a decision during their next open meeting on Aug. 5. The new council member, once chosen, will be sworn in and assume their role on Aug. 12.
