A Port Townsend native says affordable housing is her top concern as she throws her hat into the ring in this year’s Port Townsend City Council race.

Ariel Speser, 32, registered April 28 as a nonpartisan candidate for the Position No. 2 council spot, according to the Public Disclosure Commission (PDC). Catharine Robinson currently serves in that position. Robinson’s term expires Dec. 31.

FILING WEEK

Filing week is May 15-19, but candidates can announce before that week. There’s an Aug. 1 primary election if more than two people file for one position. The general election is Nov. 7.

There are more than 50 seats on various boards in Jefferson County.

Three of the seven Port Townsend City Council positions are up for election this year.

Position No. 2 council incumbent Robinson, whose seat Speser is seeking, did not return a call by press time inquiring if she would run again.

Incumbent Michelle Sandoval, who holds Position No. 1 on the City Council, said in an email Tuesday afternoon that she was considering running again.

Position No. 5 council member Pamela Adams, who has served for four years, said Monday she hadn’t decided if she would run for a second term.

“But I am leaning toward running,” Adams said, adding that she still feels like there was work to be done regarding transportation and affordable housing issues.

“There’s a lot that I’d like to be part of.”

SPESER’S BACKGROUND

Speser grew up in Port Townsend, attended school here and now works as a civil legal aid attorney.

“Growing up here, and now working here, I know the challenges our small city faces and I want to help find good solutions,” Speser said in a press release. “I care deeply about the future of Port Townsend. We need to preserve our city’s unique character while addressing present challenges and planning for the future.

“We have a housing crisis, and this is my main issue. The city is taking steps to address this issue and I want to make sure low-income, marginalized communities, and young families are represented in this process. In my career, I have helped many people save their homes from unnecessary foreclosure, assisted senior citizens in making critical home repairs so they can continue living independently, and built bridges between the chronically homeless and affordable housing.

“I work hard, have good common sense, and I’m compassionate,” she said in the press release.

Speser volunteers on the city’s planning commission and on several nonprofit boards, including Habitat for Humanity of East Jefferson County, Olympic Community Action Programs (OlyCAP) and Jefferson County Medical Advocacy and Services Headquarters (JC MASH).

With so much on her plate, would she have time to juggle the additional responsibilities if elected to the council?

“I think I’ll get asked that a lot,” Speser said Monday in an interview with The Leader.

“I will have to resign many of my board positions so that I do have time to be a council member in a meaningful way,” she said.

She said some of the terms of her volunteer positions were ending anyway, so the timing could allow her to make a smooth transition.

Her volunteer work has provided on-the-ground experience in making affordable housing a reality, and she supports the current council’s efforts in supporting affordable housing.

“I like the direction that the council is going in,” Speser said.

Multiple factors are at play in the affordable housing issue, she said. One is adding more housing stock; another is to ensure that the housing that does exist is kept affordable, “especially affordable for local residents. I definitely feel strongly about that.”

She favored the council’s recent plan to relocate a fourplex from Victoria, British Columbia, to Port Townsend as affordable housing, but wasn’t sure if importing housing was a sustainable model overall.

“I certainly applaud taking creative approaches,” she said of the plan.

“If I were elected to be on council, I’d probably be more focused on creating the housing here or working with the housing we have here,” in a way that was economically viable and fiscally responsible.

In addition to affordable housing, Speser said she also wants to address other issues ranging from road improvements to the impending 2018 retirement of longtime City Manager David Timmons.

Speser said she was attuned to supporting both young and old demographics, families and professionals as well as the workforce that is caring for and providing services for all members of the community.

Dominic Svornich serves as treasurer for her campaign.

OTHER CANDIDATES

On April 18, Cheri Van Hoover announced her intention to seek a seat on the Jefferson County Public Hospital District 2 board held by incumbent Tony DeLeo for the past 44 years. DeLeo announced that week that he would not seek another six-year term.

Other openings include the positions on the Port of Port Townsend Commission held by Brad Clinefelter and Peter Hanke; seats on the Brinnon, Quilcene, Chimacum and Port Townsend school boards; seats on the East Jefferson Fire Rescue, Quilcene, Port Ludlow, Brinnon and Discovery Bay fire districts; as well as positions on water district, cemetery, and park and recreation district boards.