Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of interviews for contested Sequim elections in the Nov. 7 General Election. This week it’s Patrick Day and Harmony Rutter running for council Position 6, currently held by Lowell Rathbun. He opted not to run for reelection to spend more time with family.

Day previously ran in 2021 against incumbent Brandon Janisse for Position 5. This is Rutter’s first time running for public office.

Each candidate was asked the same questions as their opponent. These interviews were conducted at the Aug. 24 People’s Forum at the Sequim Prairie Grange.

• What’s your personal and professional background?

Day: I’m married and we have two children ages 25 and 16. I’m a veteran and served for 13 years in active and reserve duty for the U.S. Air Force as security police, and as an explosive ordnance disposal technician.

I’m a retired peace officer of 27 years in law enforcement with the California Department of Corrections, and I have 27 plus years as a union activist with the California Correctional Peace Officers Association. I was elected to that for 18 years and in doing that, I have a background in money and management. And safety and security is a big thing for me.

Rutter: I moved to Sequim in 2019 and grew up and lived in Kitsap County for all but three years. I have so many fond memories of adventuring on the Olympic Peninsula with my family.

My sweetheart Dan and I are so honored and so lucky to share those same experiences with our two kids (ages 7 and 5).

I work with the Washington State University Extension office promoting sustainability, gardening and horticultural education. I also work for the Olympic Unitarian Universalist Fellowship as music is a huge part of my life. I’m also a self-employed horticulture service provider with clients helping them bring out the best in their plants.

• What prompted you to run?

Day: I wasn’t necessarily going to run this time around but I was asked by a lot of people. I classify myself as a moderate person. I’m always willing to listen to both sides.

I try to do what’s in the best interest of the citizens. I did the same thing in the union with statewide contract negotiations. I have a lot of experience in conflict resolution and trying to resolve problems. Compromise is a big thing with me. Unfortunately, I see some people in society don’t want to compromise on anything. That’s just not a reality of life.

Rutter: I was asked to run by the Sequim Good Governance League back in March to be one of the candidates they endorse. I love my work and this wasn’t on my horizon. I’m answering the call of my community. They asked and I’m stepping up. I’m honored by their request.

I’d love to be a part of this community in a larger way. I have so much to learn, but I’m looking forward to it. I know I’ll have so many friends and colleagues to help me along the way.

Also, a shout out to Grandma Rutter, who is 90 and lives in Bremerton, and her whole life she’s been active in politics and very diplomatic in civil discourse. Among my cousin cohort, she always inspired us to be strong women.

• How has your career and personal life prepared you for a role on the city council?

Day: My union experiences have prepared me for dealing with contracts and finances as a trustee. I’ve dealt with half-a-billion dollar trust; managing all that, and directing our administrator on how to deal with that. It’s just like running a business or a city with big budgets.

I’ve been a public servant since I was 18 and I joined the Air Force right out of high school and have a degree in criminal justice.

I believe in listening to both sides. I tend to upset people because I do listen to both sides. If you close yourself off, you’re losing out on a lot of good ideas.

Rutter: A common thread throughout my career has been education and building relationships between organizations and community partners. I have worked for nonprofits, in the financial sector and in customer service, and I find all of those have prepared me to know the importance of listening to others and building consensus.

We need to look for ways where everyone can agree and move forward as a collective. That’s important to me. I’m looking forward to approaching the city council position with open eyes and learning all that I can about it.

• Housing is a hot topic. How should the city council address it?

Day: When I first ran I said we need more workforce housing and we haven’t broken ground on anything in two years. Talking to a current city council member, they’re working on it, but they don’t know when they’re going to break ground on it as they wait for more money. So we need to do something for (housing).

If people can’t afford to come and live here, how are they going to live here?

Rutter: I want to echo what my fellow councilors have been saying since I’ve been attending every council meeting since May of this year. I’m hearing (them) talk about and ask the questions, “How can we build more affordable housing, workforce housing? More affordable options for our neighbors as quickly as we can?” I’m committed to working along that same thought process and moving things as quickly as we can.

As for what that looks like, I’m in a position of learning. I want to consult with councilors and experts working with council and city staff to make sure we’re moving as fast we can.

• What do you like about the City of Sequim and what needs to change?

Day: I like the small town community. I came from a small town but mine was about five times this size. It’s beautiful, the weather is great.

As for what needs to change, we need to work on workforce housing, more multi-family living facilities, more apartment complexes. We don’t have nearly enough.

Safety is becoming a bigger and bigger issue. We need to work on the homeless issue, but there are two sides to that. I worked in the methadone clinic in the prison for five years. I didn’t realize there was more of an issue until I started talking to the clinicians. They found out about 80 percent of those with drug issues were having mental health issues and they were self medicating. They need to work on some more health care systems for in-house mental health services. No offense to the (Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe’s Healing Clinic), they have 12-15 beds they want, but that’s not going to even touch the tip of the iceberg.

(However) that’s something they need to put into the county, not the city.

I think it’s a great idea and we need to work with the tribe on dealing with that. They need to work on making more in-house medical facilities for the state.

Not only in our state, but in all states with the homeless issue they have mental health, drug, or alcohol problems, but realistically from my experience with law enforcement they’re self medicating because they have undiagnosed mental health conditions, so they have no place to go for that.

You have to treat both of them. You can’t treat one and then put them back out on the streets.

They’re going to go right back to self medicating.

Those are things people don’t want to talk about, but that’s the reality of the homeless problem.

We need workforce housing, mental health facilities, and drug facilities and to do them together.

We saw a lot more success once we brought in the mental health aspect with methadone.

People need to work together and find compromises. For a nonpartisan position, this city has become very partisan. I don’t look at it as a two party system. If you’re a moderate, you’re willing to work with everybody. We need to address the tribe and make compromises to work with them. I’ve seen too many people take stabs at them. I don’t understand it. They’re a big part of the community and they need to be embraced.

Rutter: I love the natural beauty of our area. It’s a major reason we’re prioritizing sustainable development. I’d love to see our city growing in a responsible way and place safeguards for our natural resources.

I specifically chose campaign material producers printed on recycled paper and soy based inks. My yard signs are biodegradable. My buttons are from an organization that is solar powered and sources all materials from 100 miles of its facility. I’m all about soliciting priorities that move us in that direction also.

I also want to build on what we’re already doing. We have a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified facility, state of the art water reclamation facility. There’s so much we are already doing and I want to celebrate that and keep moving forward on those so future generations can enjoy what I love about Sequim, which is how beautiful it is.

There’s so many challenges with keeping infrastructure going. I look forward to collaborating with fellow councilors, staff and local organizations to meet the needs of our community whether that’s through creative funding sources, finding grants, (and) establishing local grassroots movements for residents to contribute to housing funds.

I love that the (city council) meetings are less divisive than during the pandemic. I love that our community has moved that direction.

I look forward to keeping conversations going, hearing public comment, and engaging with the community and stakeholders of our area. I just hope that we can keep that going. I love to hear healthy civic engagement and discourse.

• What groups or organizations do you associate with?

Day: Member of the Sequim Elks Lodge 2642, and the California Correctional Peace Officers Association (CCPOA).

Rutter: Clallam County Master Gardener volunteer, Five Acre School volunteer, Olympic Unitarian Universalist, and the Sequim Good Governance League.