SEQUIM — As Susan Lorenzen stepped down from the City Council seat she voluntarily left behind, she choked up and shed a few tears after four years in office.
Lorenzen on Monday made way for newly elected Councilwoman Candace Pratt, a retired teacher, who was sworn in along with re-elected council members Laura Dubois, Erik Erichsen and Ken Hays.
The seven-member council then unanimously reappointed Hays as Sequim mayor and gave Councilman Ted Miller, a retired lawyer serving his first term in office, the mayor pro tem position for the first time.
Miller succeeds Dubois, who also served two years as Sequim mayor.
“This is a bittersweet moment, and I knew it was coming,” an emotional Lorenzen said after accepting a plaque from council members thanking her for her service.
Hays called Lorenzen “one of the kindest people I know.
“We really appreciate all of your commitment,” he told her.
Miller nominated Hays, and Dubois seconded the motion in reappointing Hays, whom long-standing Councilman Don Hall complimented, saying, “I appreciate the job you have done in the last four years.”
Hays welcomed Pratt to the council.
“She’ll bring a lot to this council,” he said.
Pratt, a 72-year-old newcomer to city government, won the seat over challenger Eric Miller in the November general election.
Dubois, a 63-year-old bookkeeper, was elected to her second four-year term on the council in the November general election, handily defeating challenger John Miller.
Erichsen, 70, a retired manager with the federal Department of Energy, beat out challenger Pete Duncan.
Council seats are nonpartisan with compensation of $150 monthly for mayor and $150 monthly for other council members.
All are also paid $20 for up to four council-related meetings a month.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.
