SEQUIM – It’s not broken, but fix it anyway, citizens told the Clallam County Charter Review Commission on Monday, and make the development director an appointed post again.
Counting e-mails that were read into the record and witnesses who testified at the Guy Cole Convention Center, people by a 17 to 7 margin preferred appointing someone to the job rather than electing a person.
Although they said the previous and present development directors had served the public well, they asked commissioners to help undo what voters decided in 2003 when they made the position an elected one – the only one of its kind in the country.
Their comments dominated the three-hour meeting, the first of four scheduled outside Port Angeles to solicit citizen opinion.
Marianne Grant of Sequim, speaking for the League of Women Voters, said electing a development director doesn’t guarantee the winning candidate will be qualified.
But Charter Commissioner Terry Roth said the same argument could be made for appointing all county officials.
Currently, voters choose the county assessor, auditor, prosecuting attorney, sheriff and treasurer besides the development director and three county commissioners.
