A tenured city councilor is Sequim’s mayor after newly-elected and re-elected councilors were sworn in at the first council meeting of 2024.
Fellow councilors on Jan. 8 elected Brandon Janisse to serve as Sequim’s mayor for two years, while councilor Rachel Anderson was elected deputy mayor.
Janisse, first elected to the Sequim City Council in 2017, served as deputy mayor under mayor Tom Ferrell the past two years, and was nominated by Kathy Downer for mayor this go-round.
He said the mayor serves as a liaison between the council and staff and shouldn’t be afraid to push the council’s ideas, such as efforts in 2023 to apply for the Connecting Housing to Infrastructure Program (CHIP) grant and reshaping council rules.
“It’s taking (all of us) together and figuring out the best path forward,” Janisse said.
He said helping fight homelessness and creating housing remain priorities and that they should continue to unify in order to help fast track efforts, such as the moratorium on mobile home park redevelopment so that zoning changes can be made.
Anderson, first appointed to council and then elected in 2021, was nominated by Ferrell for mayor, and by two councilors for deputy mayor. Janisse and Anderson won their positions in 5-2 votes. Councilor Vicki Lowe was also nominated for deputy mayor.
Anderson said she received her Certificate of Municipal Leadership and Advanced Certificate of Municipal Leadership from Association of Washington Cities shortly into her time on council, and has learned a lot about what’s needed in the city.
She mentioned her many hours of volunteerism, and interpersonal and analytical skills, and that she and other councilors have worked hard to follow policies and procedures.
Both Janisse and Anderson will serve in their roles through the end of their terms on Dec. 31, 2025. Former mayor and city councilor Candace Pratt was the only public commenter at the meeting; she congratulated Janisse and Anderson and the new councilors.
Sequim is a council-manager form of government with the council’s principal job to make policy, according to the City of Sequim’s website.
During a brief discussion before nominations, councilors spoke about the mayor’s role and council as a whole going into 2024.
Downer said she felt there has been less conflict the last two years than in previous years. Lowe agreed saying when she started office, meetings started being run differently simultaneously as they redid the council’s rules.
Ferrell said the community doesn’t have to worry about the council being caught in “group think” as they all have differing opinions and they’re all willing to share where they stand.
Anderson said she felt the last few years have been about stabilization and that they’ve learned a lot about each other and how they want to move forward as a unit.
“I still feel we have a lot of room to grow,” she said.
Sworn in
Four councilors were sworn in by city clerk Amy Aschenbrenner to start the meeting, including Downer moving from seat 2 to seat 1, Dan Butler in seat 2, Harmony Rutter seat 6, and Ferrell seat 7.
Sequim voters had a 59.8% turnout in the November General Election with Downer winning over former mayor and councilor William Armacost by 72.6% (2,382 votes)-27.2% (892 votes); Butler won 62%-38% (2,025-1,243) over Jim Black, and Rutter won 65.3%-34.5% (2,110-1,116) over Patrick Day.
Ferrell ran unopposed for a second time.
At the end of the meeting, Downer shared that she remained committed to bicycle and pedestrian safety on West Sequim Bay Road, exploring options to add sidewalks across the city, adding workforce housing, and renewing a moratorium on mobile home park redevelopment so staff can finish zoning changes to preserve affordable housing.
Councilors agreed to choose all new committee assignments, with city staff inquiring to see if some groups require a councilor and/or a staffer present.
New software
Aschenbrenner revealed on Jan. 8 the iCompass software system that staff will start using for agendas and broadcasting videos of city council and commission meetings.
She said staff is loving it, and with the software they’ll be able to upload meetings automatically to YouTube, have various viewing options for agendas/documents, and better click-ability to specific agenda items.
Residents can subscribe for notifications, and those already subscribed will be carried over to the new system, Aschenbrenner said.
Sequim’s next hybrid city council meeting is set for 6 p.m. in the Sequim Civic Center, 152 W. Cedar St.
Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash Sequim city councilors voted Jan. 8 for Rachel Anderson and Brandon Janisse to serve as deputy mayor and mayor through the end of 2025.
Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash/ Kathy Downer takes her oath office for Sequim city council seat No. 1 on Jan. 8 in the council chambers.
Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash/ Dan Butler takes his oath office from city clerk Amy Aschenbrenner for Sequim city council seat No. 2 on Jan. 8 in the council chambers.
Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash/ Harmony Rutter takes her oath office from city clerk Amy Aschenbrenner for Sequim city council seat No. 6 on Jan. 8 in the council chambers.
Sequim Gazette photo by Matthew Nash/ Tom Ferrell takes his oath office from city clerk Amy Aschenbrenner for Sequim city council seat No. 7 on Jan. 8 in the council chambers.
