SEQUIM — Retired California fire chief Keith Larkin has joined the Sequim City Council.
Larkin, 64, was appointed on Monday to fill the unexpired term of Troy Tenneson after he resigned in August. He will serve through November 2021.
“I’m really honored to serve,” said Larkin in a phone interview.
“I haven’t held a position like this in the past. It’s a bit exciting and apprehensive at the same time. There’s a lot to learn.”
Larkin, a full-time Sequim resident for over two years, was nominated by Mayor William Armacost.
Armacost voted for him along with Sarah Kincaid and Mike Pence. Deputy Mayor Tom Ferrell and Council member Dennis Smith voted against the nomination, and Brandon Janisse abstained because he knew Larkin through a property matter, he said.
A motion and vote came before any other nominations were made.
City Clerk Sara McMillon said the city’s council guidelines did not cite a specific process for choosing an appointee in regard to simple versus supermajority vote, so a motion and vote sufficed.
Council members did not discuss Larkin’s nomination before voting.
They met in an executive session on Oct. 12 after interviewing the six candidates in virtual calls and opted prior to the session to delay a decision two weeks due to the number of candidates and amount of information to consider.
Other candidates included Janine Bocciardi, Kathy Downer, Vicki Lowe, George Norris and Lowell Rathbun.
Larkin said in a phone interview that he feels things are going to go well and he’s leaning towards running for election in 2021.
Larkin said his previous exposure to government and working with boards has prepared him to serve Sequim.
“I look forward to the opportunities (with council),” he said. “I just hope as people recognize me in the future they find I’m approachable and willing to listen. I’m interested in meeting more and more people.”
He is the fifth city council member to start on the council as an appointee. Kincaid and Pence were appointed in April, and Armacost and Smith were elected following appointment.
Larkin said Tenneson had encouraged him to run for the council in 2019 but he declined.
After he learned of Tenneson’s resignation, he opted to apply for the appointed position.
Larkin said he’s served as his home’s general contractor and has devoted much of his time to projects related to it, he said.
“(As) I’ve come to that closure of my work, this is my opportunity to get more involved in and learn more about the issues for the city,” he said.
He retired in December 2015 after 36 years in California state service, including six years as fire chief for Fresno County Fire Protection District.
Larkin’s two grown daughters and his mother live in California, which he visits often.
Prior to his public interview, Larkin said he has no agenda but feels rapid growth in and around the city will have long-term effects on the city and its citizens.
“I feel like that does bring a fair amount of challenges, and I want to be a part of that process,” he said in a phone interview.
During interviews on Oct. 12, Larkin said he feels he can bring collaboration and good listening skills and he likes “to hear multiple opinions about certain situations facing the council (and) it’s in our best interest to listen.”
As for non-partisanship, he said the position requires him to put aside his political ideas and preferences and look “at any situation in an unbiased and open approach.”
“I look at it as an education process,” Larkin said.
In his questionnaire, Larkin said the “city Government must respond timely to issues, be unbiased in consideration of all matters, and be good stewards of the funds placed in our control.”
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Matthew Nash is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. Reach him at mnash@sequimgazette.com.
