Two apply for vacant Sequim City Council seat so far

By Matthew Nash • July 4, 2018 1:30 am
On May 14, Pam Leonard-Ray, right, announced her resignation from the Sequim City Council. Now, applications for her position are open through 9 a.m. Friday, July 13. Applicants will be interviewed on July 23 by city councilors with an appointee possibly selected and sworn in that night. Sequim Gazette file photo by Matthew Nash
On May 14, Pam Leonard-Ray, right, announced her resignation from the Sequim City Council. Now, applications for her position are open through 9 a.m. Friday, July 13. Applicants will be interviewed on July 23 by city councilors with an appointee possibly selected and sworn in that night. Sequim Gazette file photo by Matthew Nash

So far, two candidates filed for Pam Leonard-Ray’s vacant Sequim City Council seat.

Tom Ferrell, a Sequim Planning Commissioner board member, and Richard Fleck, a previous candidate for deceased councilor John Miller’s position, applied in recent weeks after Leonard-Ray officially left her position at the end of May.

Leonard-Ray resigned on May 14 with the intent to move to Carson City, Nev. and help her aging parents, she said.

Applications from city residents for her council seat are due no later than 9 a.m. Friday, July 13, to City Clerk Karen Kuznek-Reese.

Leonard-Ray was apologetic to fellow city councilors for stepping down in May saying when she ran for election in Nov. 2015, she didn’t see anything hindering her from serving her full term.

An appointee would serve the term through Dec. 31, 2019, and receive $250 per month.

Some requirements do apply though as you must be a registered voter in the city, hold a one-year continuous period living in the city, and hold no other public office or employment under the city government.

State Law gives the City Council 90 days to appoint a replacement for Leonard-Ray, similarly to the appointment of Jennifer States in January to replace John Miller who passed away last November.

City Councilors will interview candidates at 5 p.m. prior to their regular meeting on Monday, July 23, in the Sequim Civic Center, 152 W. Cedar St.

An interviewee might be appointed and sworn in that night.

For an application and/or more information on the vacant council seat, contact City Clerk Karen Kuznek-Reese at kkuznek@sequimwa.gov or 360-681-3428 or visit the City website at www.sequimwa.gov.

Leonard-Ray, a Washington-native, and her husband moved to Sequim in 2013 from Charleston, South Carolina where she lived for more than 30 years and retired as an academic dean in the tutoring and remedial areas at Trident Technical College. In Sequim, she became active in the community serving as Executive Director of Dungeness Valley Health & Wellness Clinic in Sequim, and as Volunteer Coordinator for the City of Sequim.

Reach Matthew Nash at mnash@sequimgazette.com.