By Pepper Fisher
SEQUIM – The 9 applicants vying for the open seat on the Sequim City Council were notified Thursday that the Council has decided to schedule a special Council meeting via Zoom for Tuesday, February 16, starting at 6 p.m.
After the candidates are interviewed by Councilmembers, the Council will likely go into executive session to discuss their qualifications. If they decide to nominate their choices and choose one by voting, it will be done in open public meeting, after which the City Clerk will administer the oath of office to the new Councilor.
It should be noted that the special meeting announced yesterday is scheduled to take place at the same time that the group Sequim Good Governance League had previously scheduled their second ‘Meet the Applicants’ event, the first of which was Tuesday the 9th.
We reached out to Mayor Armacost in an effort to head off any speculation as to whether the scheduling conflict was a coincidence, by design or otherwise, and here’s what he told us.
“You know, we really have a sense of urgency to have an opportunity to interview and select a new candidate for a vacant City Council seat. In scheduling this special meeting, Tuesday was actually selected by councilor Janisse. I reached out to him after our council meeting on Monday, trying to find a date that would be compatible, and that was the date that he selected. I honestly did not have any calendar in front of me to know of the coincidence that it was of that same time that the Sequim Good Governance League had planned to do their interview as well. So it was…I’m just not sure if Counselor Janisse had that in mind, but I did not, and we are excited to pick a new person that will represent the City of Sequim.”
We asked the Mayor if he supported the efforts of the Sequim Good Governance League to give citizens a chance to ask the candidates their own questions ahead of the selection process.
“You know, I think whenever we have an engagement with the public, it’s positive. When we’re selecting a appointed seat in City Council, I think that is something that our legal duty as councilors, it becomes a matter of city government and that does not include that component of a separate form done by a public entity. But I encourage those who choose to get engaged in their community, because we have an opportunity to improve communication and, at the end of the day, our number-one concern is how well we conserve the safety and the welfare of our citizens in Sequim.”
The Sequim Good Governance League is working to reschedule their candidate forum for Monday night, but are waiting to hear back from candidates to make a decision.
Staff photo: Mayor Armacost.