PORT ANGELES — Mary Ellen Winborn says she will be more restrictive on recreational marijuana businesses in rural Clallam County than the current community development director.
The director-elect said the legalized pot industry has “turned people’s lives upside-down,” adding that she will “proceed with caution” as the county develops permanent zoning regulations for state-licensed marijuana businesses.
“I’ll probably be a lot more conservative as far as putting them into rural areas,” said Winborn, who leads incumbent director Sheila Roark Miller by a commanding 9,642 votes, or 61.82 percent, to Roark Miller’s 5,955 votes, or 38.18 percent, after Tuesday’s initial ballot count.
“If I can pull back at all, I’m going to try to do that,” Winborn said.
Marijuana became a hot-button campaign issue as the county struggled to implement the voter-approved state law that legalized pot for adults 21 and older.
Cast by some as a marijuana proponent, Roark Miller said she opposed the 2012-approved Initiative 502 but tried to incorporate the law after
55 percent of Clallam County voters supported it.
“It’s legal,” Roark Miller said.
“I think there were a few haters that used [the campaign] as an opportunity to offset what they felt was an injustice with the results of I-502.”
Roark Miller conceded that she would not make up a 61.8 percent-to-38.2 percent deficit in a second count of ballots Friday.
Last month, the three commissioners unanimously approved interim marijuana zoning that will keep future growers and processors out of rural neighborhoods unless they have a 15-acre parcel and a 200-foot setback.
Winborn said she would attend county Planning Commission meetings on the marijuana issue prior to taking office in early January.
“I appreciate what they’ve done because they made it much better than it was before,” Winborn said of the land-use advisory panel.
“That’s a very smart, thoughtful group, and they should be used as a resource.”
Commissioner Mike Doherty has hammered Roark Miller in recent months for a “laissez-faire” attitude on marijuana as well as demanding more be done on a costly investigation into a backdated building permit and employee complaints against her.
“I think a lot of what happened [in the election] was based on one of the commissioners bringing up the investigation week after week,” Roark Miller said.
“It was a political issue on behalf of him, and maybe even the Democratic Party, as a way to project their candidate forward.”
Roark Miller said it was a “shame” that “politics and mudslinging” became the focus of a nonpartisan race.
“I don’t think that’s what the citizens had in mind when they made it an elected position,” she said.
Clallam is the only county in the nation that elects a community development director.
Roark Miller said the employees who took aim at her were political supporters of her predecessor, John Miller (no relation).
“That’s life,” said Roark Miller, who hopes to work for another government agency.
“I ran not because I was a politician four years ago; I ran because I thought it was a way to provide a service to voters.”
A 24-year employee of the department, Roark Miller also serves as the county building official and fire marshal.
Winborn, a political newcomer, is the president and owner of Port Angeles-based Winborn Architects.
She intends to keep her business licence and certifications but will focus entirely on the DCD directorship, she said.
Winborn, who outspent Roark Miller $18,494 to $9,314 in the campaign, said marijuana “absolutely” influenced the election.
She added that she was flooded with phone calls from people saying they were mistreated by her opponent.
“People felt like they had to hire an attorney to get their elected official to do the right thing,” Winborn said.
Roark Miller claimed that Winborn repeatedly refused to shake her hand.
“I’d hate to see the citizens treated the way I was during the campaign,” Roark Miller said.
Looking ahead, Winborn said she is ready to put her differences with Roark Miller in the past.
“We don’t have to go there any more,” she said of the 2013 investigative report.
“We’re just moving on from here.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
