PORT TOWNSEND — Candidates for two open seats on the Port Townsend City Council faced off at a forum Wednesday night, taking a first stab at addressing some of the issues facing the voters and the city.
About 60 people attended the forum in the Masonic Hall for the candidates, who are vying in the Nov. 8 all-mail election. Ballots will be distributed starting Oct. 19.
For Position No. 3, which is now occupied by the retiring Laurie Medlicott, Jack Range is running against Deborah Stinson, while in Position No. 4, incumbent George Randels is challenged by Robert Gray.
Stinson and Range were up first — and seemed to have more points of agreement than argument.
Both said they would support the fire levy also on the Nov. 8 ballot and stressed the importance of council cooperation and collaboration.
Responding to a question that referred to council members who stepped down when they determined they did not have the time for the job, both committed to serving a full four-year term.
“I think there is a demographic crisis in our town because the median age is in the 50s [age group],” Range said.
“A healthy community is a diverse community, and we need to rally the retired members of our community to provide career knowledge and volunteer hours that focus on core areas that can be used to train young people.”
“I currently apply a lot of my time to projects that support the diversity of the community,” Stinson said.
“These programs have benefited the community that have improved our diversity and improved our safety that have not cost the taxpayers any money.”
Both Stinson and Range called for collaborative, inclusive leadership that represents all part of the population.
Range lamented: “The argument that has pitted people against each other in Port Townsend forever is whether you are for smokestacks or for cappuccinos.”
Range is an investigator for the Jefferson County public defender while Stinson is a member of the Local Investment Opportunity Network.
Gray said he is challenging Randels because he is the longest-serving council member up for re-election this year.
Gray, a 10-year resident of Port Townsend, is active at the Port Townsend Senior Center.
Randels, a retired attorney, worked in Washington, D.C., before moving to Port Townsend.
The discussion between Randels and Gray took on a different tone as Gray criticized the City Council for recent missteps.
This criticism was directed at Randels because he serves as deputy mayor and is the only incumbent facing an election contest this year.
Gray said the city should not have spent money on traffic roundabouts and downtown landscaping at the expense of social services and suggested that money could be saved if the library renovation was halted and the newly renovated Cotton Building was turned into an auxiliary branch of the library.
Randels countered that such a move would cost the city more because “it is often more expensive to operate two staffs in two locations than one staff in a much larger facility.”
“We need to somehow get on track,” Gray said.
“I think the city should sell some of the assets that the city hasn’t used for many years to pay for some of the programs we need.”
Randels disagreed.
“This economic crisis was created globally; it was not created locally,” he said.
“Values are very low, so it would not be a good decision to sell our real estate assets at this time.”
Gray criticized the city’s new sign ordinance, saying that so-called sandwich boards, which have been replaced by small billboards on Upper Sims Way, should be brought back since the new signs are inadequate.
Gray said he knew of at least one business that lost a large percentage of customers when the sandwich boards were removed.
Another topic discussed in both candidate segments was the consolidation of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and the Port Townsend Police Department.
Range said such a move should be considered because it could save money but advocated more discussion about the topic.
Randels said the idea could be a good one but that the departments’ differences should be considered.
“By nature, a county sheriff and an urban police department are different from each other,” he said.
“A sheriff traditionally uses a small number of deputies to patrol a larger area while a police department’s enforcement efforts are more concentrated.”
Wednesday’s forum was sponsored by the American Association of University Women, the League of Women Voters of Jefferson County and the weekly newspaper Port Townsend-Jefferson County Leader.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
