New members of Gig Harbor City Council like one another, have big plans for the city

It’s too early to call it a honeymoon, but members of the new Gig Harbor City Council seem happy with the election results and eager to work together.

Three new members were set to join the council Monday — Roger Henderson, Brenda Lykins and Seth Storset. All were elected in November, and two of them defeated incumbents.

On issues like growth, infrastructure and ecology, the newcomers seem in tune with the new mayor, Tracie Markley, and the three remaining incumbents, Jeni Woock, Robyn Denson and Le Rodenberg.

“I’m excited,” said Woock in an interview over the holidays. “I think we’re going to have an action-packed City Council. And I’m so happy that we have people on the council now who understand that climate change is real.”

Rodenberg said he agrees that “the citizens elected three really good people. They each bring something unique to the council, and they all have been proven to be good thinkers.”

“I’m highly optimistic,” he added. “We have a good budget in place for 2022, some great projects underway, a good new mayor and what looks like a good, collaborative council.”

The new council members “are all honorable, energetic, community-minded people, and each of them are already coming in with lots of ideas,” said Denson. “I’m really excited about what we can do together. I expect the new City Council to be professional, congenial and respectful.”

Among the issues the new council will face: Finding a way to finance a new interchange at state Route 16 and Wollochet Drive, where traffic backs up at rush hour; construction of the new paddler’s dock on the waterfront; design of the proposed commercial fishermens’ homeport; completion of the proposed YMCA sports complex; and handling the expected residential growth still in the pipeline.

Diverse backgrounds

Several council members pointed out that the newcomers will add diversity of experience and backgrounds to the council.

Henderson is a retired civil engineer who has served on the Parks Commission. He’s interested in restoring the city’s waning tree canopy and in innovative ways to make Gig Harbor more walkable, like combining commercial and residential development. He defeated substitute teacher John Skansi to take over the council position being vacated by Bob Himes.

Lykins is a nurse practitioner who has worked in pediatric care. She’s concerned about development and traffic, and got involved in politics because she was dismayed by the lawsuit over traffic-impact fees that delayed a shopping center she and her neighbors were looking forward to. She’d like to get ordinary citizens more involved in council decisions. She defeated incumbent Jim Franich.

Storset is the safety director for TOTE Maritime. He’s concerned about traffic and housing costs. At 39, he’s the youngest council member — and also the only one with a full-time job. He has two children in school and thinks the council will benefit from having someone with a young family on board.

The three newcomers were dispersed across the country during the holidays, but Storset was reached by email and Henderson by phone.

“I am very excited about the new composition of the council,” Storset said. “I think we will work very well together. We understand the need of the Gig Harbor community and will work to find meaningful solutions.”

Storset said he’s already gotten to know the three council veterans.

“I have met with Jeni and Robyn and have known Le for some time. They have been welcoming and most helpful,” he said.

His two new colleagues are “professional, passionate and prepared for the task at hand,” Storset said. “I think we will be aligned a vast majority of the time, but we will need to find creative ways to compromise as well.”

Henderson, in a phone interview, said, “It’s going to be a very different council, and kudos to the outgoing members for their hard work and their service.”

He said he’ll be paying attention to keeping his campaign promises, including building more sidewalks and trails, working with his council colleagues on climate and sustainability issues, and — his own top priority, restoring the urban forest.

“We’re also going to have to come up to speed on a lot of current council issues, including short-term rentals and the permitting and design of the commercial fishermen’s homeport,” Henderson said.

He credited City Clerk Josh Stecker with helping the new council members get acclimated, including “sending us to school,” — online classes sponsored by the Washington Association of Cities.

Voices from the front porch

All three new council members are fresh from doorbelling, as Denson points out, and “they can bring to the council lots of really good information about what people are thinking. People will really say a lot at their front door about traffic, about safety, about other things that concern them.”

“I haven’t talked to Seth yet, but I’ve had lots of conversations with Roger and Brenda,” Denson said. “Roger is concerned with retaining more of our tree habitat and forests within the city. Brenda is really interested in better ways to connect with our citizens. She’s got some great ideas about citizen participation, and I’m really excited about getting some things done.”

Markley, the new mayor, said she’s full of optimism about the new council.

“I’m excited about the people who are coming in,” she told the Gateway last month. “They all campaigned so respectfully, and they have all said they want to work together. Yet each of them is completely different, with different personalities and vocations, so that they will each bring something new and different to the discussion.”

“I really feel this council wants to work on consensus,” Markley added. “It would be boring if everybody always agreed, but we can disagree respectfully.”

‘Smiles and happy faces’

Council members also found Markley’s election a good omen. A first-term council member, she ran unopposed — except for a last-minute write-in — and will replace former Mayor Kit Kuhn, who has been a divisive figure, especially among city staff.

“As soon as the election was over, I started getting texts and emails from city employees with smiles and happy faces,” said Rodenberg. “Everyone is optimistic. I think they really see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

“Tracie really loves the city, she’s a really good person and she’s anxious to do well,” he added. “I think she’ll be a good mayor.”

A first item of business for the new council will be selecting someone to appoint to fill Markley’s old position.

The opening will be advertised for two weeks, and candidates will have until Jan. 18 to send in letters of interest, Markley said. The choice will be made by a simple majority of the council, mostly likely at a council meeting Jan. 24. The mayor does not vote.

“We should have a seventh member of the council in place by the end of January,” Markley said.

This story was originally published January 2, 2022 at 5:00 AM.