PORT ANGELES — Clallam County Commissioner Steve Tharinger is considering a run for the state Legislature.
Should he decide to run for retiring House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler’s seat — and if he is elected — Tharinger would keep his spot on the Board of County Commissioners at least until his term expires at the end of 2011.
“I think I’d probably have a pretty good skill set for it,” Tharinger said of a possible run for 24th District representative.
“The one thing that’s a little bit interesting about it is the workload, Tharinger added.
“I think we’ve got a good thing going with the county, and I don’t want to break that up right now.
“So I’d probably keep my day job.”
Nov. 2 election
The 24th District, which encompasses Clallam and Jefferson counties and a portion of Grays Harbor County, will elect a new representative in the general election on Nov. 2.
The filing period ends in early June. Tharinger told the Peninsula Daily News that he will likely make a decision in mid-May.
The political landscape was shaken on Tuesday when Kessler, D-Hoquiam, announced that she is retiring at the end of this year.
Kessler, 69, cited fatigue, health issues and a desire to spend more time with her family as reasons for stepping down after what many consider a sparkling 18-year career.
Tharinger, a Democrat, expressed surprise and regret over the Kessler’s retirement. He said on Thursday that he was still trying to process the significance of the announcement.
“Lynn Kessler is my friend and is surely one of the most outstanding public officials to serve our communities during all my years of work on the [North Olympic] Peninsula,” Tharinger said in a prepared statement.
“I have come to know Lynn as a role model, a mentor and a leader. I wish her and husband Keith a wonderful retirement.”
Tharinger service
Tharinger is an 11th-year county commissioner. He represents Clallam County District No. 1, which covers the eastern third of the county.
In Olympia, Tharinger chairs the Salmon Recovery Funding Board, a state Recreation and Conservation Office entity that he has served on since 2002.
He is also the Strait of Juan de Fuca representative on the Puget Sound Partnership’s Ecosystem Coordination Board.
Through serving on various boards, Tharinger has worked with state lawmakers in Olympia, as well as U.S. Rep Norm Dicks, D-Belfair, and U.S. Sens. Patty Murray, D-Freeland, and Maria Cantwell, D-Mountlake Terrace, in Washington, D.C.
“[State] Senator Jim Hargrove [D-Hoquiam] and Representative Kevin Van de Wege [D-Sequim] are important to us and serve us well,” Tharinger said, “but over the last 18 years Lynn Kessler has been a powerful voice for our rural communities, our environmental concerns and our economic needs.”
Since Kessler’s announcement, local and state officials have urged Tharinger to run for Kessler’s seat, he said.
No decision yet
He said it’s too soon to make such an important decision.
“However, we need to have continuity of representation,” Tharinger added.
“We cannot afford to lose the momentum that Lynn’s leadership has fostered in Olympia. Governing the state of Washington at this time of economic crisis requires competence and experience.
“If I decide to run it will be, in part, because I know Olympia and I know our district.
“I couldn’t fill Lynn’s place,” Tharinger said. “No one can. But I sure could hit the ground running.”
State law prohibits a person for running for two paid elected offices on the same ballot. Tharinger’s county seat will not appear on the ballot until November 2011.
Tim Sheldon, D-Potlatch, is a state Senator who elected as a Mason County commissioner. Sheldon is the only representative serving simultaneously on state and county governments.
The state Legislature is a citizen’s legislature, which typically meets three months out of the year.
“I’d have to keep my day job,” Tharinger said.
“It just so happens my day job is a county commissioner. So I’d have to balance those two. I think, actually, it would be a good fit to bring a local government voice to Olympia.”
County commission duties
Tharinger noted that county’s busy budget period is in the fall, and the state Legislature meets in the winter and early spring.
Clallam County commissioners phone into meetings and vote by teleconference on a semi-regular basis.
When asked what he would set out to do as a state legislator, Tharinger said he would continue to champion natural resource issues, seek funding for infrastructure projects and stress education, job training and workforce development.
“I think that my experience for the last 11 years as a county commissioner and the work I’ve done on the Salmon Recovery Funding Board — and being involved in the Puget Sound Partnership and a number of other things I’ve been involved with at the state level — is pretty good experience and would serve the district well,” he said.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
