Applications officially open for Ferrell’s council seat

By Matthew Nash • March 6, 2024 3:30 pm
Photo courtesy City of Sequim/ Tom Ferrell was elected to the City of Sequim’s city council in 2019 and reelected in 2023. He resigned from the position on March 11 and councilors have opened up his seat to applicants through March 22.
Photo courtesy City of Sequim/ Tom Ferrell was elected to the City of Sequim’s city council in 2019 and reelected in 2023. He resigned from the position on March 11 and councilors have opened up his seat to applicants through March 22.

Following Tom Ferrell’s resignation from the Sequim city council effective March 11, his seat (position 7) is now open for applications.

Those interested must apply to the city clerk by noon Friday, March 22, with a letter of interest, resume, and a completed application with answers to supplemental questions.

Send applications by email to acting city clerk Heather Robley at hrobley@sequimwa.gov, or by mail at the Civic Center, 152 W. Cedar St., Sequim, WA 98382.

Find the application page at sequimwa.gov/67/City-Council. Applications are part of the public record and will be distributed with city council meeting materials, city staff said.

Under city/state requirements, applicants must be registered voters of the City of Sequim, have a one year continuous period of residence in the City of Sequim, and hold no other public office or employment under the city government.

Councilors agreed on March 11 that they would gauge how much interest the position has at their March 25 meeting to determine if they must extend the deadline.

City attorney Kristina Nelson-Gross said the council has the ability to extend the deadline.

If someone is not appointed within 90 days of Ferrell’s resignation (June 9), Clallam County commissioners would have to select someone for the seat, according to Robley.

Ferrell, Sequim’s mayor from 2022-2023, twice ran unopposed for his position and councilors were unsure how much interest there’d be, so they asked for Robley to report to them on March 25 about the number of applications.

Councilor Rachel Anderson, seat No. 4, was the last councilor appointed in February 2021, following the resignation of former mayor/councilor Dennis Smith. She was elected to the position later that year.

Interviews of candidates are scheduled before the council’s regular meeting on Monday, April 8, at the Sequim Civic Center. Councilors may ask additional questions during the interview, city staff said.

If selected that night, the appointee would serve on the council effective after taking the Oath of Office.

The appointee serve through certification of the 2025 General Election and receive $368 per month while in office. The appointee would need to run again in 2025 to serve Ferrell’s full-term through Dec. 31, 2027. He was reelected in November 2023.

Ferrell announced in February his intent to resign by the end of March, but opted to resign effective the beginning of the March 11 meeting.

In a previous interview, Ferrell said he had been considering not running again for the seat in 2023 but was asked by many people to do so. His work commitments and differing views on the direction of the council’s efforts were contributing factors to his resignation, he said.

Ferrell moved to Sequim in 2016 and was appointed to the Sequim Planning Commission from March 2018-December 2019 prior to being elected to city council. He served as a U.S. Air Force B-52 flight officer and an Air Force Reservist for 30 years.

He also owned an aerospace research company in San Diego, California, and served as the CEO of World Trade Center Sacramento, Economic Development Director for the Sacramento Chamber of Commerce, and the Director for Quality Management for Aerojet Rocket Company.