PORT ANGELES — Rob Robertsen, who prevailed in a sometimes rough-and-tumble contest to become Clallam County’s — and the nation’s — first elected director of community development, says he is ready to lead the department.
His opponent, defeated director Bob Martin, recently asked his staff to welcome their new boss.
“I spent three days talking to the staff last Friday, Monday and Tuesday, and I feel real good about it and I really had a warm reception,” said Robertsen, 66, who worked for Martin, 58, as the county’s building official and fire marshal before he retired in 2000.
“Bob plowed the road for me” by asking his staff to give Robertsen their cooperation, he said.
“I believe that I will grow on them quite quickly because I believe in letting people do their job because they are all hard-working people and dedicated to the issues.”
He said he would back his employees “100 percent, as long as they work within the intent of the law.”
Robertsen’s new job involves reviewing and implementing county planning programs, including land-use and environmental programs.
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The rest of the story appears in the Friday/Saturday Peninsula Daily News Clallam County edition.
