PORT ANGELES — One Port Angeles City Council race is too close to call after initial ballot returns Tuesday night.
Challenger James Taylor was leading Position 1 incumbent LaTrisha Suggs with 50.3 percent (1,313 votes) to 49.5 percent (1,292 votes).
“It’s just way too close,” Taylor said on Wednesday. “That’s 21 votes. I’m looking at we’re in a dead heat.”
If Taylor maintains the lead and wins the election, he said he first plans on getting settled in, building alliances and learning more about the inner workings of the city.
“I just don’t see being able to or wanting to accomplish a lot just going in cold,” Taylor said.
This was the first time Taylor has run for public office. He said there were about 10 things he knows now he should have done differently.
“It shouldn’t have been close, knowing what I know now,” Taylor said. “Campaigning sucks. I don’t really have a personality that is good for campaigning. I think I have a good personality for doing the job, but the actual — we call it ‘baby kissing’ in my house — that part is not something that I’m adept at.”
Whether he wins or not, Taylor said he plans to remain active in the Port Angeles community where he attends many public meetings, is the vice president of the Port Angeles Business Association, volunteers and is a Rotary member.
“I won’t change anything from what I’m doing in terms of my engagement with the community,” he said.
Suggs was not available for comment by press time Wednesday.
In the council’s other contested race, Mayor Kate Dexter was leading challenger Marolee “Mimi” Smith Dvorak at 61.7 percent (1,587 votes). Dvorak garnered 37.9 percent (973 votes) for Position 4.
“I feel really good about the early returns,” Dexter said. “I was not sure. I really appreciate Mimi running. I think we had a good campaign season, and I’m really pleased about the outcome so far.”
The city council has a lot of work to accomplish, Dexter said.
“We are working on the Joint Public Safety Facility, I really want to see that done in the next four years,” she said. “I want to keep updating the municipal code, and I think one of the things we talked about during the campaign was the uncertainty at the state level and the daily changes at the federal level, so we’re going to have to work on our budget more closely.”
The state’s budget and cutbacks at the federal level have begun to affect the local level, Dexter said.
“I have already heard from a number of people who have lost their SNAP benefits, so I think where we can be helpful the council is going to want to pay attention to what’s happening in the community, and we’re going to need to be very nimble and try to help in ways that we can,” she said.
During her time on the council — she began her first term in January 2018 — she has worked to bring in more housing, Dexter said.
“I think while we haven’t seen as much building as we were hoping, I feel really good about the work we’ve done on housing and our planning department and city were recognized at the state level for forward-thinking on housing, and I felt really good about that,” she said. “We’re really thinking innovatively in the housing realm and we know housing is really critical for everybody, so I feel really good about that and hope that we continue to make progress.”
It’s very humbling to be re-elected, Dexter said.
“It’s a responsibility I don’t take lightly and will certainly do my best over the next four years to serve my best and keep us moving forward as a community,” she said.
For the Position 2 race, incumbent Drew Schwab had an opponent, Tyler Slater, but Slater dropped out of the race too late to be removed from the ballot. As of Tuesday night, Schwab had 69.9 percent (1,745 votes) compared to Slater’s 29.9 percent (745 votes).
“I’m glad that the citizens of Port Angeles chose to re-elect me,” Schwab said. “I believe it shows that my platforms of affordable housing, economic development and public safety are important.”
Schwab plans to continue focusing on economic development during his first full term. He was chosen to fill a vacant seat after Mike French left the council because French was elected to the Clallam County commission.
“As a small business owner, economic development is one of my primary concerns and focus points,” Schwab said. “But affordable housing is important. Without affordable housing, we’re not going to be able to have economic growth.”
One thing Schwab said he was proud of during his two years on the council is the implementation of business licenses for downtown Port Angeles.
“I have been in my store since 2010 and I did not have a standard business license because I was not required to have one,” he said. “The issue is two-fold: It’s difficult to have an economic development conversation if we don’t know how many businesses have opened or closed.”
The money brought in by licenses goes toward law enforcement downtown, so there is now a downtown officer and a code enforcement officer.
“I felt those are both important because downtown businesses in the past have been asked to donate for downtown law enforcement,” Schwab said. “By being able to use the funds we collect for business licenses for downtown law enforcement, I feel that will be a boon for businesses and downtown in general.”
For Position 3, Mark Hodgson ran unopposed. He had 97 percent (1,791 votes) on Tuesday night.
“I’m excited to enter this new chapter of public service,” Hodgson said. “I’ve been on boards and commissions at the city and county level, and I view this as the next level of public service.”
He said he plans to focus on economic development and affordable housing.
“The two go hand-in-hand, so I’d really like to see an increased focus on economic development and doing what we can to bring in high-wage jobs so we can make housing more affordable for our community members,” Hodgson said.
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Reporter Emily Hanson can be reached by email at emily.hanson@peninsuladailynews.com.
