Commissioner Bob Macleod Announces He Will Resign Dec 31st

The Olympian yesterday reported that our Commissioner, Bob Macleod, will be resigning as of December 31st. “He noted his diagnosis for an unspecified medical condition in the letter,” Christian Hill, for the Olympian wrote, “but later confirmed in an interview it is Alzheimer’s disease.”

Macleod, a Democrat, will be replaced in an appointment selected by the remaining two commissioners, from a list of three candidates. The list of candidates will be offered to the commissioners by the Thurston County Democratic Party. If the commissioners cannot agree on a replacement within five days of Macleod’s vacancy, the Governor will make an appointment.

Sandra Romero, newly elected to the Board of Commissioners, will move up her oath of office, in order to participate in the process of designating a replacement.

According to the news article, “The commissioner appointed to fill Macleod’s unexpired term will be up for election next year. The seat again would be open for election in 2010, when Macleod’s four-year term expires.”

Click here to read the entire article in the Olympian.

Click here for Bob Macleod’s biographical information and the organizations on which he represents the County, from the Thurston County web site.

Click here to visit the web site of the Thurston County Democrats.

UPDATED 11/17: From Thurston County Democrats, we received this communication, which clarifies a few points made in the article published in the Olympian:

Just a week ago, we were all saddened when Bob Macleod, Thurston County Commissioner, announced his mid-term resignation from the District 3 position effective December 31, 2008, due to health concerns. Our community is united in its gratitude for the 6 years of service Bob gave as our commissioner and the preceding decades of community service he generously provided while serving as news director at KGY radio. We all hope the challenges of his declining health may be minimized and that he may continue to stay active to the extent he feels comfortable.

We are now ready to begin the difficult task of “filling his shoes” for the remainder of his term. In accordance with Article II, Section 15 of the Washington State Constitution, the two other commissioners, Cathy Wolfe and Sandra Romero, will have 60 days after December 31 in which to appoint a successor [emphasis added] who will serve until November 2009, when a successor to serve the remainder of Bob’s term will be elected. The Thurston County Democratic Central Committee (Precinct Committee Officers) will provide the names of three candidates from which Cathy and Sandra are to choose one as the temporary successor.

Although our newly elected Precinct Committee Officers (PCOs) do not take office until December 1st and the upcoming holiday season poses some scheduling challenges, we do intend to provide the three names to the two other commissioners by mid-January at latest. This is the process we will follow:

Applications

Applications from Democrats resident and registered to vote in Commissioner District 3 are now being accepted, provided they are postmarked or emailed by December 1st. In addition to providing contact information (name, address, phone numbers and email address), applicants must indicate

(1) why they want to serve as county commissioner,
(2) what they believe makes them uniquely qualified to fill this vacancy,
(3) how they are prepared to stand for election in 2009 and then again in 2010, and
(4) what they intend to accomplish during their term as county commissioner.

Applications may be emailed to commissioner@thurstondemocrats.org or post mailed to PO Box 164, Olympia, WA 98507.

Review Process

By mid-December (before the holiday vacations), the PCOs officially elected in 2008 whose precincts are in Commissioner District 3 will meet to interview the applicants and develop a ranked list to submit to the full Thurston County Democratic Central Committee (TCDCC). This date of this meeting will be announced after December 1st.

In early January, a special meeting of all PCOs officially elected in 2008 shall be convened to review the recommendations of the district PCOs and develop a final ranked list of three candidates to submit to the two remaining county commissioners.

Each meeting will be chaired and moderated by the Thurston County Democrats’ chair or designee.

Public Comment

Written comments from the public are welcome and may be sent to commissioner@thurstondemocrats.org. All comments received by December 15 will be distributed to all PCOs who are participating in the review process.

John Cusick, Chair
Thurston County Demcocrats

The Olympian has today run an article entitled “Will legislator fill commission seat?” which suggests that Representative Brendan Williams might appear on the list of candidates. Click here to read that article.

Posted in Elections.