PORT ANGELES — Candidates for director of the Clallam County Department of Community Development — which oversees zoning and building permits — discussed issues related to the lack of affordable housing for median-income workers before a packed room at Joshua’s Restaurant.
The Tuesday morning candidate forum was hosted by the Port Angeles Business Association.
The state’s primary election is Aug. 2, and election ballots have already been sent to voters. Ballots must be postmarked by 8 p.m., Aug. 2, in order to qualify. The top-two primary election will cull the field from four candidates to two for the Nov. 8 general election.
The four candidates — Cherie Kidd, Kevin Russell, Jesse Major and Bruce Emery — in the nonpartisan election, were in agreement that the county’s approach to zoning and development was in desperate need of change, and all said that additional building regulations coming out of the state legislature were adding costs.
The current director of DCD, Mary Ellen Winborn, is not seeking re-election and has moved to Mississippi where she said she is directing the department remotely, Peninsula Daily News previously reported. Winborn wasn’t mentioned by name at the meeting, but candidates referred to a lack of leadership at the department.
“Right now we have a void of leadership. I’m here to bring that leadership,” Kidd said during her opening statement.
Kidd was a Port Angeles City Council member from 2008-2019 and served as mayor and deputy mayor. As a business owner, she said she’s personally dealt with high permitting costs in the county.
She and other candidates called local zoning and permitting rules “onerous” and criticized laws coming out of Olympia. Kidd suggested allowing more leniency with building codes and extending the amount of time permitting applications are accepted.
A former code enforcement officer for DCD, Jesse Major, said he was made to enforce regulations he didn’t believe were in the best interest of the community.
“I saw firsthand where our policies are not working,” Major said. “I found myself enforcing a law that causes homelessness.”
Major said he had to tell a person living in an recreational vehicle on private property that the dwelling was a criminal violation.
Before working for DCD, Major, a Port Angeles native, was a reporter for Peninsula Daily News where he covered Clallam County government. That experience, he said, allowed him to develop a strong working relationship with people in local government and an understanding of the department.
Emery told the audience he’s worked “on both sides of the counter,” having worked for the Clallam County Planning Division for 14 years and spending 15 years working for a private construction company.
“We have an energy code that every three years gets more and more onerous,” Emery said. “Now I still think buildings should be efficient, but when you look at what the code is requiring, we’re getting to the point where the changes can’t be monitored.”
Russell, who described the forum as like a job interview with the public, said he bought property in the county in 1997 and moved to the area in 2003, spent 20 years in the construction industry, from which he said he would retire if elected.
Russell has served twice as president of the North Peninsula Building Association (NPBA), led the Building Industry Association of Washington and served on the board of the National Association of Home Builders.
There is no panacea to the housing issue, Russell said, but local zoning laws needed to be reworked to allow development closer to infrastructure, which would lower the cost of construction.
A retired deputy of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Russell said he wants to work to see more development in Clallam County while at the same time preserving the area’s rural culture.
“I bring you balance, respect and a desire for community partnership,” Russell said, suggesting there be an open house every six weeks to take public feedback.
None of the candidates rejected housing regulations outright — Kidd and Major both suggested a need to create policies regarding online rentals through websites like Airbnb — but all agreed regulations needed to be lessened and clarified.
Of the four candidates, only Kidd has experience in elected public office, though Emery and Russell both cited leadership positions in the private sector. Emery said he’s served on eight homeowners association boards, and is currently the elected secretary for three. Russell cited his sheriff’s department experience and leadership in corporate roles. Major, the youngest of the candidates, cited his experience as a journalist and code enforcer for DCD.
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Reporter Peter Segall can be reached at psegall@soundpublishing.com.
