Can ousted PenLight leader be reelected after controversy? It’s not up to voters
Amid controversy over the removal of a board member in late March, Peninsula Light Company will not count write-in votes for that member in its upcoming election.
Paul Alvestad, a former board member who was removed last month over allegations that he violated confidentiality requirements in disclosing the utility cooperative’s plans for a new headquarters facility, “is unable to hold a position on the Board now, or any time in the future,” per the board members’ vote, according to emailed responses from PenLight spokesperson Britni Wickens and Board President Debra Ross Thursday.
“Members can write in any candidate they wish to nominate,” Wickens and Ross wrote. “However, any votes for Mr. Alvestad will not be counted toward the election due to his removal from the board.”
Social media posts about the board election have showed considerable engagement in recent days. Several commenters on Gig Harbor and Key Peninsula community Facebook pages voiced their support for Alvestad and urged others to write him in on their ballots.
Alvestad confirmed others have told him they were putting him down as a write-in candidate. The favorable response he’s gotten from many on social media has been encouraging to him, he said.
“I haven’t had any negative blowback that I’m aware of, and that’s real comforting,” he said.
PenLight customers pay a fee to become members of the private, not-for-profit cooperative, which operates under a nine-member Board of Directors. Directors serve three-year terms, and are elected on a staggered basis. Each year, members elect directors to three positions at a time.
The board will announce the election results at 5:30 p.m. Monday, May 4, during their annual meeting, held in a call-in only teleconference format. The utility needs at least 10% of members to participate in the vote for the results to be valid, according to a notice about the meeting on the PenLight website. The deadline to meet that quorum is April 27, and the election will be delayed if that number isn’t met by then, the notice says.
Ballots for the election were mailed in late March. This year, there are six candidates on the ballot for three seats. The three incumbents, Marc Jorgensen, Scott Junge and Roger Spadoni are running for reelection. The other candidates are Keith Black, Joe Tellez and Debbie Wittmers.
With the removal of Alvestad, two seats remain unfilled. The other was formerly held by James Smalley, who resigned before the end of his term. Asked the reason for his resignation, Wickens and Ross wrote that they “can’t speak on behalf of Mr. Smalley or his company,” but passed on a statement from Smalley.
“My firm did not like what Mr. Alvestad was expressing about Peninsula Light Co and the negative press that followed his lawsuit,” Smalley wrote. “The resignation is no reflection of the hardworking and honest people who remain on the board.”
Alvestad has continued to stand behind his decision to share information about the utility cooperative’s facilities plan. The new headquarters is expected to cost millions, he told The News Tribune last year, and he wanted to share information with the public early to encourage the utility to put the decision for a new facility to a member vote, though it is not required to. PenLight has since posted extensive information about the facilities plan on its website, while noting that no final design has been approved and a finalized cost estimate is not yet available. The board will need to approve next steps in design or construction, the website says.
