PORT TOWNSEND — Three people in their 30s have announced their intention to run in this year’s election for City Council positions.
Successful campaigns could change the concerns of the council, which currently has no member younger than 44, say the hopefuls.
“There are two separate worlds in Port Townsend,” said Paul Rice, who plans to file for the Position 6 seat now held by Mayor David King. King is not seeking re-election.
“There are the boomers that came here in the 1970s, saved the town and made it what it is today,” Rice said.
And then there are the younger people.
“Port Townsend isn’t always an accepting and supportive place for people between 19 and 45, and the government can play a role in increasing access to things like jobs and low-cost housing,” Rice said.
Tobi McEnerney, 35, who intends to file against incumbent Bob Gray, 67, for Position 4, said she is “interested in representing my demographic.
“I want to clear some of the hurdles in Port Townsend that are faced by young people and young families who want to live here.”
Both Rice and McEnerney announced their intention to run this week to the Peninsula Daily News.
Last month, 32-year-old David Faber, a Port Townsend attorney, announced his intention to run for the seat now held by Deputy Mayor Kris Nelson, 44.
Nelson, now the youngest person on the council, has decided not to seek re-election and has endorsed Faber.
At the time of the announcement, Faber said he would appeal to the younger, less active voter base but won’t campaign around his age.
“I do hope to give some voice to the young people in Port Townsend,” he said at the time.
Candidate filing week begins Monday and extends through next Friday, May 15. Candidates will file at the Jefferson County Auditor’s Office at the county courthouse, 1820 Jefferson St., Port Townsend.
If more than two candidates file for one office, one candidate will be eliminated in the Aug. 4 primary and the top two vote-getters will advance to the Nov. 3 general election.
Four council seats are open this year.
Incumbents Gray and Deborah Stinson, 59, each will seek another term.
The Gray-McEnerney race is the only one with declared opposition.
“I think that I represent the younger generation as much as anybody,” said Gray, who unseated incumbent George Randels in 2011.
“I welcome the opposition because it gives me more of an opportunity to discuss the issues and voice my concerns. If you are unopposed, you don’t get invited to the forums.”
Council members who are not up for election this year are Michelle Sandoval, 55; Catharine Robinson, 67; and Pamela Adams, 71.
Each of the three younger candidates said he or she will run separate campaigns.
“People need to get to know us as individuals. This isn’t some kind of young person’s slate,” Rice said.
“But the fact that three people who are all under 40 are running is exciting. This could be a new era in Port Townsend politics.”
McEnerney said she doesn’t expect the campaign to turn into an “us versus them” contest between the generations.
Rice was born in Seattle, where he attended high school. He earned a theater degree at Emerson College in Boston before returning to Seattle.
There, he worked as a journalist and in marketing before moving to Port Townsend in 2011 and opening a bar, Middletown Dreams, which is closing next month. He is engaged, with a daughter on the way.
McEnerney moved to Port Townsend with her family when she was 12 and attended Mar Vista Alternative High School, graduating in 1988.
She earned a political degree from the University of Washington in 2010.
She is married with a 3-year-old son and now works as a property manager.
Both candidates say they are committed to Port Townsend for life.
“I will stay in Port Townsend for the rest of my life, and hopefully every day will be an adventure the way it is now,” Rice said.
“I know that sounds cliched and stupid, but I feel free here in ways that I never was before.”
“I really believe in democracy,” McEnerney said.
“I believe in local governance and its ability to affect change and have our voices be heard.”
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
