PORT ANGELES — The two City Council Position 5 frontrunners for the Nov. 3 general election plan on running quiet campaigns in their bids to succeed Mayor Dan Di Guilio, who is not running for re-election.
It will be so quiet, in fact, that Michael Merideth, 42 by Nov. 3 and a self-loading log truck driver for Bruch & Bruch Construction of Port Angeles, won’t spend a dime between now and Election Night, he said after leading the three-person primary election pack Tuesday.
And Marolee Smith, 60 by Nov. 3 and an author and researcher, said Wednesday she won’t solicit contributions in her own self-financed campaign and will not be putting up yard signs.
Merideth had 822 votes, or 46.65 percent after Tuesday’s count.
“My intention is to run a zero-budget campaign,” he said Tuesday night.
Smith had 618 votes, or 35.07 percent.
Shan Pak, a software engineer-consultant, had 322 votes, or 18.27 percent.
“It’s great,” Smith said Wednesday of advancing to the general election.
“I really didn’t know what to expect.”
Unnecessary ties
Donations create unnecessary ties, she said, pledging to self-finance her election efforts.
“You have to feel obligated, and I don’t like that,” Smith said.
As for yard signs, “everyone I’ve talked to says they’re a pain, and there are a lot of questions on whether they are effective in any campaign,” she said.
The City Council position “is a job that essentially pays $6,000 a year,” Merideth said Tuesday night.
“I don’t believe in throwing a lot of money at it.”
The mayor, elected by council members, makes $650 a year; the deputy mayor makes $600 a year; and the other members make $550 a year.
“It does not pay enough to quit your job,” Merideth added Wednesday.
He added that the City Council has ended up being dominated by retired and self-employed business people.
“I don’t think that covers the entire voting population of Port Angeles,” he said.
“I want to add another parameter to that.”
Adjust work schedule
Merideth, who is married and raising four children, said he has made arrangements with his employer to adjust his work schedule around council duties if he wins the post.
Smith, a 20-year resident, acknowledged Merideth “is more in tune with the history of the town.”
But she said she has something he doesn’t.
“If someone has to make a choice, the thing I have is a lot more time,” she said.
“I have a lot more energy to devote to this.”
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5060, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
