PORT ANGELES — Phyllis E. Bernard was unanimously chosen to succeed the late Jim Waddell as Clallam County PUD District 3 commissioner.
Bernard, a current at-large commissioner for the Olympic Medical Center board, will be sworn in May 1 and serve the remainder of Waddell’s unexpired term, which runs until the certification of the November 2024 general election.
“Congratulations,” said Clallam PUD District 2 commissioner Jim Purvis upon announcing the decision following a 40-minute executive session.
Bernard has served as a commissioner-at-large for Olympic Medical Center since July 2023. Before that, she served on the board of directors of Southwest Power Pool Inc. of Little Rock, Ark., a nonprofit regional transmission organization, from 2003-2019. She also served as a commissioner for the Oklahoma Merit Protection Commission.
Bernard earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, a master’s degree in American history from Columbia University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and a juris doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School.
The other two candidates were Kenneth Simpson, son of former Clallam PUD commissioner Ted Simpson, and Kenneth P. Reandeau.
Simpson worked as an apprentice electrician at Power City Electric in Spokane from 1992-1993 and as an apprentice electrician at Angeles Electric from 1990-1995. He has worked as a journeyman electrician at Angeles Electric since 1995, an estimator since 1996 and president since 2012.
Reandeau graduated from Port Angles High School in 1970 and studied automotive technology at Peninsula College for a year. He worked in various roles at Crown Zellerbach and its successors, including lead operator and elected officer of his union local, from July 1971 to October 2006, when he retired.
Waddell, 70, died on Feb. 5 of pancreatic cancer. He had represented the Clallam PUD’s District 3 since 2019 after he defeated Simpson in the 2018 election. He also had served as board president in 2023 and 2024.
A Clallam PUD commissioner earns a monthly salary of $3,238, plus a per diem of $161 for meetings attended on the district’s behalf, to a maximum annual compensation of $61,396. Commissioners also are eligible for group insurance for themselves, their immediate family and dependents.
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Reporter Brian Gawley can be reached by email at brian.gawley@peninsuladailynews.com.
