Sequim Gazette Editorial and Letters to the Editor
A new era
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The afterglow of the 2007 elections is fading and now comes the hard but important part - keeping campaign promises.
For the newly elected now taking office, a sense of commitment and accomplishment is in the air. That boils down to creating strong connections with their constituents - the people for whom they work. Us. The new Sequim city councilors have jumped in quickly. Rather than wait for the first regularly scheduled city council meeting of the new year, the four - Erik Erichsen, Susan Lorenzen, Laura Dubois and Ken Hays - were all sworn in by last week ("because we could," Dubois said) and then called for a special meeting on Jan. 4 so that they could have power of authority at the Jan. 14 meeting.
It was a smart move and shows the councilors are interested in getting down to work as soon as possible.
We have a new mayor as well. Laura Dubois was elected by her peers to lead the council. Ken Hays was elected mayor pro tem.
As a point of reference, Sequim has a council-manager government, meaning we have an elected city council responsible for making policy, passing ordinances, voting appropriations and having overall supervisory authority in the city government. The council-manager form of government also means Sequim has a city manager who is responsible for supervising government operating and implementing the policies adopted by the council.
The mayor is a member and presiding officer of the council.
That four challengers are taking office is amazing and historic. The previous council had been fairly unchanged for a number of years. Elections were unchallenged. That says, in some ways, we had only ourselves to blame if we didn't like the direction the council had taken, since no one bothered to step up. Until now, that is.
Our four new councilors ran a clean and consistent campaign. One of the reasons they were elected by such a large margin is they worked on the connection between the people and the government of Sequim. They door-belled, stood on city corners handing out pamphlets and made themselves available at debates and candidate forums.
If the incumbents were stunned by the outcome, it might have been as simple as being "out there."
Sequim is in the mood for change and change is what we heard from the new councilors. However, change can only come when a community works for it. Complacency has been alive and well in Sequim. Now we have four people who we hope will continue to explore different directions for the city.
Slowing down the speeding train of growth and development running through Sequim needs to be a priority. It's not an impossible mission even though we've heard otherwise for years.
Our elected officials do have the power to just say no to runaway growth and they need to use that power.
These four councilors have not been secretive about their goals: preserving the small-town feeling of Sequim; redefining the permitting process so that it is consistent and straightforward; being accessible leaders and revisiting the idea of imposing impact fees on developers.
Challenging goals, but certainly feasible, especially if all seven of our councilors work as one body, not as a four-against-three council.
To the four new councilors, now that you have enjoyed the rush of the win, it's time to go to work. Remember to keep the promises you made, leave the politics behind, be honest, be real and do something good.
To the three veteran councilors, now that we have a fresh start, it's time to go to work. Remember what the voters said, leave the politics behind, be honest, be real and do something good - together.
As council member Ken Hays puts it, "Good luck to us all."
Roll up your sleeve ...
And donate some blood.
Western Washington's (that includes Sequim) blood supply is low, so low that the Puget Sound Blood Center calls it an emergency level.
According to the blood center, the number of people donating blood dropped significantly during the holidays. In addition, a large number of patients in hospitals required blood transfusions during this time.
Anyone who is in good health, is at least 18 years old (those 16 or 17 years old may donate with a parent or guardian's consent), and weighs at least 110 pounds can donate blood every 56 days. It's easy, quick and makes you feel good to do something that costs absolutely nothing and helps someone in need.
The next blood draw in Sequim is on Monday, Jan. 21, at the Sequim Elks Lodge and the Gazette is issuing a challenge.
Let's see which community organization - Rotary, Soroptimist, Kiwanis, you get the idea - can donate the most blood that day. Maybe even bank against bank, or store against store.
The winning organization, company, store, gets a front-page photo and story. Call the Gazette if you think your organization is bringing the most people to the draw on the 21st, and our photographer will be ready with the camera.
As an extra incentive, the blood center has the best cookies to feed you after you give blood.
Have fun and don't faint. Just kidding.
Mary Powell can be reached at editor@sequimgazette.com or at 683-3311.
For the newly elected now taking office, a sense of commitment and accomplishment is in the air. That boils down to creating strong connections with their constituents - the people for whom they work. Us. The new Sequim city councilors have jumped in quickly. Rather than wait for the first regularly scheduled city council meeting of the new year, the four - Erik Erichsen, Susan Lorenzen, Laura Dubois and Ken Hays - were all sworn in by last week ("because we could," Dubois said) and then called for a special meeting on Jan. 4 so that they could have power of authority at the Jan. 14 meeting.
It was a smart move and shows the councilors are interested in getting down to work as soon as possible.
We have a new mayor as well. Laura Dubois was elected by her peers to lead the council. Ken Hays was elected mayor pro tem.
As a point of reference, Sequim has a council-manager government, meaning we have an elected city council responsible for making policy, passing ordinances, voting appropriations and having overall supervisory authority in the city government. The council-manager form of government also means Sequim has a city manager who is responsible for supervising government operating and implementing the policies adopted by the council.
The mayor is a member and presiding officer of the council.
That four challengers are taking office is amazing and historic. The previous council had been fairly unchanged for a number of years. Elections were unchallenged. That says, in some ways, we had only ourselves to blame if we didn't like the direction the council had taken, since no one bothered to step up. Until now, that is.
Our four new councilors ran a clean and consistent campaign. One of the reasons they were elected by such a large margin is they worked on the connection between the people and the government of Sequim. They door-belled, stood on city corners handing out pamphlets and made themselves available at debates and candidate forums.
If the incumbents were stunned by the outcome, it might have been as simple as being "out there."
Sequim is in the mood for change and change is what we heard from the new councilors. However, change can only come when a community works for it. Complacency has been alive and well in Sequim. Now we have four people who we hope will continue to explore different directions for the city.
Slowing down the speeding train of growth and development running through Sequim needs to be a priority. It's not an impossible mission even though we've heard otherwise for years.
Our elected officials do have the power to just say no to runaway growth and they need to use that power.
These four councilors have not been secretive about their goals: preserving the small-town feeling of Sequim; redefining the permitting process so that it is consistent and straightforward; being accessible leaders and revisiting the idea of imposing impact fees on developers.
Challenging goals, but certainly feasible, especially if all seven of our councilors work as one body, not as a four-against-three council.
To the four new councilors, now that you have enjoyed the rush of the win, it's time to go to work. Remember to keep the promises you made, leave the politics behind, be honest, be real and do something good.
To the three veteran councilors, now that we have a fresh start, it's time to go to work. Remember what the voters said, leave the politics behind, be honest, be real and do something good - together.
As council member Ken Hays puts it, "Good luck to us all."
Roll up your sleeve ...
And donate some blood.
Western Washington's (that includes Sequim) blood supply is low, so low that the Puget Sound Blood Center calls it an emergency level.
According to the blood center, the number of people donating blood dropped significantly during the holidays. In addition, a large number of patients in hospitals required blood transfusions during this time.
Anyone who is in good health, is at least 18 years old (those 16 or 17 years old may donate with a parent or guardian's consent), and weighs at least 110 pounds can donate blood every 56 days. It's easy, quick and makes you feel good to do something that costs absolutely nothing and helps someone in need.
The next blood draw in Sequim is on Monday, Jan. 21, at the Sequim Elks Lodge and the Gazette is issuing a challenge.
Let's see which community organization - Rotary, Soroptimist, Kiwanis, you get the idea - can donate the most blood that day. Maybe even bank against bank, or store against store.
The winning organization, company, store, gets a front-page photo and story. Call the Gazette if you think your organization is bringing the most people to the draw on the 21st, and our photographer will be ready with the camera.
As an extra incentive, the blood center has the best cookies to feed you after you give blood.
Have fun and don't faint. Just kidding.
Mary Powell can be reached at editor@sequimgazette.com or at 683-3311.
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