Near lifelong resident of Sumner looking forward to first council stint

Incoming Sumner City Councilman Patrick Reed, a near lifelong resident of Sumner, is looking forward to his first foray into local politics.

“I don’t have an agenda coming into this,” he said. “I’m coming in to help maintain and add value to the community.”

While Reed ran unopposed in the recent election, he still diligently campaigned as if he had an opponent for Position 4 on the Sumner City Council.

“I took the opportunity to still get out and meet people,” the 42-year-old Reed said. “I wanted to make myself available to them.”

Currently working for the Secretary of State office in Olympia as an operations manager in the corporations and charities sect, Reed brings his background of working for the state. He’s also a member of the Sumner Design Commission.

“I’m looking forward to being involved and part of the city (of Sumner),” he said. “As well as helping to find solutions and problem solving.”

According to Reed, Sumner has several major issues facing it in the upcoming year, including the construction of the Sumner Sounder Station parking garage and finding ways to reduce the bottleneck on the Traffic Avenue overpass.

“It’s about building and developing the city in a smart way,” he said.

Reed and his wife and their two children call Sumner home. With one child attending Maple Lawn Elementary and the other attending Sumner High School, Reed also brings the desire to better the community for the next generation of Sumner residents.

Reed fills Nancy Murphy’s seat on the Sumner City Council, and is set to be sworn in Monday (Jan. 4).

This story was originally published January 4, 2016 at 9:51 AM with the headline "Near lifelong resident of Sumner looking forward to first council stint."