Pepper Fisher
SEQUIM — William Armacost, the Mayor of Sequim and Charlie Bush, the City Manager, issued a joint statement Wednesday that included an apology from the Mayor for recent statements made during a Coffee With the Mayor meeting.
During that meeting, which was broadcast live from the studios of public radio station KSQM, the mayor was asked about his belief in the conspiracy theories surrounding Q-anon. In Wednesday’s statement, Armacost wrote the following: “During our recent Coffee with the Mayor, I was asked about Qanon. While I believe that people should fight for truth and freedom, it was inappropriate to respond to this question as Mayor during a program designed to talk about City of Sequim issues.”
Charlie Bush added this: “The intent of the meeting is to discuss issues specific to the City of Sequim. Any responses to questions reflecting the personal opinion of the Mayor do not reflect policy positions of the Sequim City Council or the organization. This is the first time since I began working for the City in 2015 that a Mayor has commented on national politics that have nothing to do with the City of Sequim.”
Mayor Armacost has also faced a lot of criticism for attending this summer’s motorcycle rally in Sturgis, South Dakota, which hosted an estimated 400,000 people. In Wednesday’s statement he writes: “While there, I took proper precautions to protect my health, my family’s health, the health of my patrons upon my return, and the health of the Sequim community”.