Steve Tharinger announced this morning he will not be seeking a fourth term as county commissioner.

Tharinger, who was elected to the state House of Representatives in November, said the decision not to run for re-election was difficult because it isn’t easy to leave a good team.

“I am pleased with the good work that my fellow commissioners, as well as the county organization as a whole, have been able to accomplish,” he said. “In the middle of the longest economic downturn in decades, we’ve been able to maintain a county government that is both efficient and effective.”

Tharinger has represented District 1 as a commissioner in Clallam County since 2000 but has also served on the Clallam County Planning Commission, as chairman of the Carlsborg Urban Growth Area Task Force, as a member of the Clallam County Forest/Mineral Lands Committee, a member of the Clallam County Agricultural Resource Lands Committee and a member of the Dungeness River Flood Control Advisory Board.

“During my three terms as a county commissioner, I’ve been proud of the way board members have always worked cooperatively to meet challenges both great and small,” he said. “It is my hope that this collaborative spirit will continue well into the future, so that Clallam County’s citizens will benefit from dedicated, responsible leadership.”

During his campaign for state representative, Tharinger emphasized how important he thought it was that government work better for its citizens.

“I believed then, as I do now, that rural Washingtonians need a strong voice for local control in the Legislature,” he said.

Tharinger said he will continue to serve residents of the Olympic Peninsula as a representative.