SEQUIM — Sequim City Manager Charlie Bush has resigned.
Bush announced in a letter to the Sequim City Council that he will leave his position at the close of business April 17, City of Sequim officials said in a press release issued late Monday.
“As a result of significant events in my life over the past year, I gradually came to the conclusion that stepping away from this position was the best option,” Bush wrote in the release.
Bush, who took the reins as the city’s lead administrator on Aug. 15, 2015, will be “taking a mid-career break and pursuing a life goal of hiking the Appalachian Trail before exploring options for the second half of his career,” city officials said in the press release.
“Life is too short; those who have a bucket list need to discover the wisdom of a to do list,” Sequim Mayor William Armacost said in the press release.
“The key to a full life is discovering the 18-inch highway from your head to your heart. Follow your passion. I want to wish Charlie all the best as he pursues his dream and future endeavors.”
Bush cited numerous accomplishments by the city council, city staff and the community in the past four-plus years, including adoption of the 2015 comprehensive plan and associated zoning changes; a partnership that brought the Olympic Peninsula YMCA to Sequim in the Sequim Aquatic Recreation Center (SARC) building; advocacy to further U.S. Highway 101 corridor improvements; establishing a Rainy Day Fund to bolster the City of Sequim’s financial standing and improvements to the city’s emergency operations capabilities.
City officials said that Bush worked with staff to implement the High Performance Organization (HPO) model, developed the GREASE Team of trained facilitators to assist internal departments and external community engagement, engaged with the Drucker Institute to develop mission, vision and values for each department and with the Kettering Foundation for enhanced community engagement.
The City of Sequim was recognized on state and national levels for innovation, partnerships and creative problem-solving under Bush’s leadership, they said.
“My experience working with our employees was the highlight of my 22-year municipal career,” Bush said in his letter. “They are engaged, dedicated, caring and highly capable professionals working cohesively as a team. They are the embodiment of the HPO we sought to create when I joined the City in 2015 and my love for working with them was the hardest part of this decision.”
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Michael Dashiell is the editor of the Sequim Gazette of the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which also is composed of other Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News and Forks Forum. Reach him at editor@sequimgazette.com.
