PORT TOWNSEND — The process to find a successor for Jefferson County Assessor Jack Westerman III began in earnest earlier this week when the two candidates were interviewed in an open session by precinct committee officers of the county Democratic Party.
Interviewed were Jeff Chapman, 62, who left the Assessor’s Office in 1998 after developing its geographic information system, and Judy Maves-Klatt, 51, a former attorney who owns and operates an appraisal service based in Jefferson County.
“We have two really good candidates here,” Westerman said after the interviews Tuesday night as he spoke to the candidates. “Both of you did really well.”
Westerman, 62, who was first elected in 1978 and is both the longest-serving Jefferson County elected official and the longest-serving county assessor in Washington state, announced his retirement in September, leaving one year left of his latest four-year term.
His current annual salary is $71,092.
Since Westerman is a Democrat, the law requires that the county Democratic Party selects three candidates and submits the names to the county commissioners, who make the final decision.
That person will serve the remainder of Westerman’s term. The election for a four-year term will be in November 2014.
About 30 people attended the interviews at the Port Townsend Recreation Center. They were made up of precinct committee officers and members of the public, which included Westerman and Superior Court Clerk Ruth Gordon.
Three people applied for the opening, but one was disqualified because he does not live in Jefferson County.
To fill the three-name requirement, the party put forward Gary Felder, who had not completed an application packet and didn’t address the group.
The application packets were forwarded to the three county commissioners and will be reviewed.
Commissioner candidate interviews most likely will be within the framework of the regular commissioners’ meeting at 9 a.m. Dec. 2 in commissioners’ chambers at the Jefferson County Courthouse at 1820 Jefferson St.
The new assessor is expected to be in place sometime in December in advance of Westerman’s Dec. 31 retirement to allow for a smooth transition.
None of the county commissioners was in attendance, saying they had previous commitments, but they plan to review material from the meeting, according to Commissioner John Austin.
Jim Fritz, who was a candidate for freeholder in the recent failed county charter vote, was commissioned by the Republican Party to videotape the meeting and supply a copy to the commissioners, but Austin said he did not know whether the video would be used in the decision-making process.
Chapman and Maves-Klatt each was given 10 minutes to give a presentation while the other candidate was not in the room.
Chapman stressed his local roots.
“There is not a square foot of Jefferson County that I have not scrutinized in one way or another,” he said.
“Your ethics have to be of the highest standard when you are in the Assessor’s Office.
“You need to treat all of the taxpayers the same.”
Maves-Klatt outlined the assessor’s responsibilities and told of her qualifications.
Both said they favored keeping the partisan designation of the office.
Chapman said that despite the assessor being elected as a party member, the job “isn’t all that political”
Maves-Klatt said it was a tough question.
“I think if I were running for this position for the first time and didn’t have the help of a party, it would be very difficult,” she said.
The only way the office could be made nonpartisan is through a county charter, which was defeated by voters Nov. 5.
Westerman, who ran as a freeholder, favored the nonpartisan designation and curtailed his party activities during his final years in office.
“In this office, it’s not enough to just appear unbiased,” he said.
“The assessor is the one office where a ruling is based on an opinion, so it needs to be as objective as possible.”
Both candidates said they intended to run for a full four-year term if selected to fill the current term.
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Jefferson County Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
