From left, Port Townsend City Council members David Faber, Amy Howard, Monica MickHager and Owen Rowe simultaneously take the oath of office Monday night. Faber and Howard were re-elected in November, while MickHager and Rowe began their first four-year terms. (Brian McLean/Peninsula Daily News)

From left, Port Townsend City Council members David Faber, Amy Howard, Monica MickHager and Owen Rowe simultaneously take the oath of office Monday night. Faber and Howard were re-elected in November, while MickHager and Rowe began their first four-year terms. (Brian McLean/Peninsula Daily News)

Port Townsend City Council swears in new members

MickHager, Rowe join municipal body

PORT TOWNSEND — The Port Townsend City Council welcomed two new faces and a familiar mayor during its first meeting of the year.

Monica MickHager and Owen Rowe, both of whom were elected in November, took the oath of office Monday night along with David Faber and Amy Howard, sitting council members who were re-elected to four-year terms.

The council also elected Michelle Sandoval to her third two-year term as mayor in an unanimous vote following a nomination by Faber.

MickHager and Rowe replace Deborah Stinson and Bob Gray, respectively.

MickHager, who has served in the city planning commission for more than a decade, said she is looking forward to working with the council for the next four years.

“It is a huge responsibility that our community gives us by their vote, and I am deeply honored and slightly terrified,” she said.

“This job takes a great amount of time if one reads all the documents given to us in our packets, asks questions of city staff to understand the issues before the council and remains open and considerate to the other members.”

Rowe, a former chair of the city arts commission, currently is the president of the board for The Food Co-op. He ran unopposed when Gray, a proponent of term limits, stepped down after two four-year stints.

The vote for mayor comes from within the seven-member council and determines the presiding officer.

City Clerk Joanna Sanders opened the process, which included Rowe’s nomination of Howard for mayor, although Howard declined to be included in a vote.

Sandoval was the only council member to receive a nomination.

Faber was re-elected to the deputy mayor position in a 5-2 paper vote.

Council member Ariel Speser, who participated by phone after she gave birth to a baby girl on Saturday, nominated Faber. MickHager nominated Rowe, who received the other two votes.

The council also authorized Speser to call in to a workshop meeting next Monday and a business meeting Jan. 21. The council will meet on Tuesday that week because city offices will be closed for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

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Jefferson County Managing Editor Brian McLean can be reached at 360-385-2335, ext. 6, or at bmclean@peninsuladailynews.com.

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