Council appoints Clark to Position No. 4

Effective Aug. 5, former Cathlamet Town Councilmember Jeanne Hendrickson resigned from her position, which resulted in a vacancy for Position No. 4. According to the Town website, Hendrickson "expressed hope that one of the candidates running for election would be considered for appointment, enabling the appointee to actively participate in the upcoming budget process." With the elections for Town Council coming up, the existing candidates were contacted to "gauge their interest in this appointment." The candidates for Hendrickson's position were Julia McCoy and Tyson Clark, and the candidate for Position No. 5 is Mike Severson.

According to the Town website, McCoy "confirmed that she is not interested in the appointment" and "expressed public support for the other candidate online." Monday meeting's packet contained a post by McCoy on the Cathlamet Area News Facebook page, which stated, "I put my name in the race for Town Council when everything seemed to be falling apart up there, and no one had put their name in the hat. It's not something I have a giant interest in doing. It's just something that I saw needed done." McCoy, seeing Clark's interest in the position and noting the deadline for withdrawing herself had already passed, stated, "Let's all vote for Tyson Clark for Town Council."

According to the Town's website leading into Monday's meeting, "Council may choose to appoint Councilmember-elect Mike Severson to the vacancy, or alternatively, advertise the position and conduct interviews to consider candidates from the general public."

Before the time was turned over to Council, Mayor David Olson asked if the candidates had been contacted. Town Clerk/Treasurer Sarah Clark said, "We didn't reach out to them, and I consulted the Council individually ahead of time...but there wasn't a consensus, so I compiled everybody's suggestions into one."

Council then having the floor, Councilmember Crystal Baker said of Position No. 4, "I think it should be open to somebody on the ballot who's willing to take it." Stating "where her hat goes," Councilmember Laurel Waller said, "We have three months from the resignation date to get somebody in before it gets to the county to appoint somebody....I personally would like Tyson (Clark) to come on board. He's been at every Council meeting." Waller also pointed out Clark "has six years experience listening to the budget process."

After Councilmember Joe Baker offered no comment on the issue, Councilmember Robert Stowe expressed his concern about making a decision so quickly, noting he doesn't think Council "is in a big hurry to do this." Stowe went on to say, "I am uncomfortable with saying only somebody that wants on that's running should be able to apply. I think that anybody that's interested and wants to apply ought to be able to apply. Whether or not they're going to be here for one month, one day, or one meeting is irrelevant. They have the opportunity. We should not try and block them just because they're not going to be here for very long."

In response to Stowe, Waller, referencing the Revised Code of Washington (RCW) as it corresponds to applicants Clark and Severson, said, "The RCW's say that the appointment can be filled. We can appoint the first person who walks into the room if we need to fill the Council. There isn't anything that says we need to go out and do advertising or the interview process. Both of these gentlemen have been through the interview process."

Responding to Waller, Stowe said, "We should not block anyone who wants to be on the council or wishes to apply to be on the council. To say that we're only going to accept applications from somebody that's not going to have a race against somebody in the upcoming election, that's not right because you're excluding the rest of the population of the town."

Countering Stowe, Waller said, "We aren't asking for applications. I would like to appoint Tyson, and we're allowed to appoint anybody that walks through the door that meets the requirements. We don't have to go out with the application process."

Continuing his argument, Stowe responded, "We should not, as a moral obligation, tell somebody they cannot apply because they're not running or because they're not here or because they don't want to go through the application process."

Waller, in response, said, "We're not setting a precedent. I'm just talking about what we have to do right now, and I personally would like to appoint somebody who has been listening for six years worth of what we're doing and is totally up to date on everything that we're doing who wasn't in an executive session. I'm not setting a precedent. I'm just saying I would personally appoint him."

Councilmember Crystal Baker referenced her own application and appointment to Town Council a few months ago, as well as the others who had applied to her seat. "Shortly after that happened was when the deadline was to submit to be on the ballot," she said. "We had several people that went forth with that effort and showed enough interest past the interview process to put their name on the ballot. That is speaking a lot to their commitment to the town. Everybody else who had previously applied had all the same abilities to put their names on the ballot. We're not talking about it being two years ago or one year ago. This was a couple of months ago, and they all had an opportunity...whether they had previously applied or whether they were thinking about it...I would want somebody who already has their mind set in the direction of being on Council."

Following the council members' remarks, Olson asked if Council wanted to schedule the appointment for the next session. Waller, who had previously stated, "it doesn't have to happen tonight," presented the motion to appoint Tyson Clark to Position No. 4, which was seconded by Joe Baker. When roll call came for the motion, Stowe, "objecting to the haste," was the only dissenting vote. Offering a vote in favor of the motion, Councilmember Crystal Baker said, "I'm happy with whatever person the council can agree on."

Following the three to one vote in favor of the motion, Town Attorney Fred Johnson swore in Tyson Clark to fill Position No. 4. Upon his appointment, Tyson Clark said, "Cathlamet has been my home for over 36 years and I am thankful for the opportunity to serve as part of the Town Council. With 15 years of experience in the County's Public Works Department, I bring both passion and practical knowledge to my candidacy for Town Council. I understand the infrastructure, challenges, and potential of our community because I've lived and worked it every day. Since 2019, I've maintained nearly 100 percent attendance at Council meetings, demonstrating my dedication to staying informed and engaged. My commitment is to reflect the values and needs of our residents through responsible governance. My goal is to help shape a stronger, more resilient Cathlamet, grounded in common sense, local insight, and hometown pride."