PORT TOWNSEND — Laurie Medlicott, one of four members of the Port Townsend City Council whose term expires this year, will not run for a third term.
“I’ve been here long enough,” she said.
“I want to give someone else a chance to serve.”
Three other Port Townsend City Council terms will expire Dec. 31. The incumbents filling those seats — David King, Kris Nelson and George Randels, who serves as deputy mayor — were not willing to announce their intentions Tuesday.
Medlicott said several people have encouraged her to run again because she often provides a dissenting voice in council discussions.
That isn’t something she does to be to be difficult, she said.
“I think it is my duty to speak out when I think something is not right,” she said.
She said her greatest accomplishment on the council was advocating for public safety, with her goal “to support the growth and steadfastness of the police department and the fire district.”
She also has pushed the council to be more succinct, often threatening to put on her flannel nightgown if a City Council meeting goes past 9:30 p.m.
“I’ll leave you to guess what I will wear at my last meeting,” she said.
Medlicott, 65, ran unopposed in 2003. In 2007, she won re-election, 59 percent to 41 percent, against opponent Richard L. Weiner.
“It’s a shame that many people won’t accept the responsibility of public office,” she said.
“But I can understand why because when you are elected, you lose all of your privacy.”
Medlicott said she also was surprised by the amount of reading required to get up to speed on a variety of issues.
A Missouri native, Medlicott had a career as a nurse and moved to Port Townsend in 1988 with her husband, Bill, an orthopedic surgeon who died in 2008.
The couple operated a bed-and-breakfast for several years until they discovered “it was nothing like retirement,” she said.
Both were immediately taken by Port Townsend. They decided it was up to them to adapt to the community rather than expecting it to change to suit their needs, Medlicott said.
She worked as a volunteer prior to first running for council, which she did “to provide a moderate voice in city government.”
Medlicott plans to do “whatever the hell I please” after leaving the council but said she “is not going to fade away.”
She said the current council is the best on which she has served.
“For the most part, we work well together, and everyone on the council is willing to put their personal feelings aside in order to decide the issues,” Medlicott said.
Sacrificing personal priorities is the hardest part of serving on the council, she said.
One example was her recent vote to approve the construction of a new hotel on the Port Townsend waterfront even though it would obscure her view of the Boat Haven.
“It killed my fanny to cast that vote, but it was the right thing to do,” she said.
Medlicott serves on the general services and special projects committees.
Candidate filing week begins June 6 and extends to June 10, though candidates can file by mail with the county Auditor’s Office beginning May 24.
A candidate must file a public disclosure statement with the state within two weeks of declaring intention to run for office, said Betty Johnson, voter registration coordinator in the Jefferson County Auditor’s Office.
Council members receive a $500 monthly stipend, while the mayor gets $750 a month.
Port Townsend has a “weak mayor” system, where the council selects a fellow council member to serve as mayor.
Mayor Michelle Sandoval’s term as mayor ends Dec. 31. Her council term ends at the end of 2013.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
