THE GOVERNMENT: City commission is unique in Washington state: Mayor heeded his own message of involvement

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Progress Sunday, March 17, 2002 Taylor Tarrant Pannell THE GOVERNMENT: City commission is unique in Washington state Mayor heeded his own message of involvement RUTH LONGORIA THE OLYMPIAN SHELTON -- Three heads are better than one in running this city's government. City Commissioners John Tarrant, Dawn Pannell and Dick Taylor oversee and guide the city in a legislative body that is similar to a city council. Shelton has the state of Washington's only city commission form of government. "It might not work everywhere, but for us a city commission works beautifully," said Tarrant, who serves as the mayor and commissioner of public safety. In addition to electing a mayor, voters in Shelton elect one person as commissioner of finance and another as commissioner of public works. Mayor Tarrant was born in Bellingham and graduated from Bellingham High School in 1962. He met his wife, Patricia while they were in fifth grade. They began dating "at an appropriate age," he said. The couple attended Western Washington University together and married in 1966. John Tarrant earned a bachelor's degree in education with a major in history and minors in political science and economics. He and his wife moved to Shelton in 1967. They have two children, David, 34, of Seattle and Kathy Rudnick, 29, of Salem, Ore. John Tarrant taught government and economics at Shelton High School. His wife taught home economics at Shelton Middle School and now serves as a library technician at Shelton High School. In 1998, John Tarrant went into semi-retirement from teaching and became a staff developer for the Shelton School District. Tarrant's enthusiasm for community leadership stems from his days as a school teacher. "I told the kids that participation in your community is very important. They need to vote and volunteer in order to become part of the solution. "After telling them that for long enough, I made the decision to take my own advice and run for office," Tarrant said. Tarrant previously served as a member and chairman of Shelton's Civil Service Commission and as a member of the Selective Service System Board. He said he has many hobbies, including reading news magazines, camping and building things. He was elected as city commissioner of finance in 1995 and was elected as mayor and commissioner of public safety in 1999. Shelton also has a city administrator, S.R. "Johnny" Johnston, so none of the commissioners need to get involved in the daily running of the city, at least technically, Tarrant said. "My job is as full-time as I want to make it. I'm on call 24 hours a day, but I have the best of both worlds," he said. The three-member commission works well because the people all get along together, he said. "With three people we can make policy and we don't have to worry about the personality conflicts that you might get in a council of six or seven people," he said. "I like our system. It may not always work for everyone, and I think that's why other cities have gone to other forms of government, but it does work well for us," he said. Commissioner of public works In November, voters elected Pannell to replace Janet Thornbrue as commissioner of public works. Pannell, 48, is a retired grocery store manager and school teacher. Pannell grew up in Puyallup and graduated from Rodgers High School in 1971. She earned a bachelor's degree in elementary education from Oregon State University in 1974. She taught elementary education for six years in the Shelton School District. Over the past 15 years, she was a bookkeeper, checker and front-end manager in several area stores, including Wal-Mart, Mega Foods, and Prairie Market. Pannell said her commission position involves going to a lot of meetings and trying to keep sewer plans on track. Pannell ran on a platform of improving the sewage treatment facility, sewers and public streets. "I enjoy going to sewer meetings," Pannell said. She also is enthusiastic about downtown beautification, parking improvements, and supports community parks, recreation and the arts. Since her election, Pannell serves as a liaison with the Downtown Shelton Association, as a representative to the Regional Water and Sewer Task Force and the Peninsula Regional Transportation Planning Organization. She also stays in contact with her constituents through her day job, working the 7-9 a.m. shift at the espresso bar at Lynch Creek Floral. "Everybody goes there, so it's a great place to keep track of what's going on in the city," Pannell said. Pannell and her husband, Ron, enjoy boating. Dawn Pannell is the vice commodore of the Shelton Yacht Club and secretary of the Shelton Kiwanis Club. Commissioner of finance Prior to being elected, Taylor, 60, was appointed by Tarrant and then-commissioner Janet Thornbrue to replace Carolyn Kerr, who resigned from the position in spring 2001. In November, he ran unopposed and was elected as commissioner of finance. Taylor grew up in the San Francisco area and graduated from Alhambra High School in Martinez, Calif. He then joined the Navy, where he served for 34 years. In 1996, he earned a bachelor's degree in liberal studies and international studies from the University of Washington. Taylor said he fell in love with the Northwest in the 1980s while he was stationed as commanding officer at the Navy's Pacific Beach Submarine Surveillance Station. The Northwest is also where he met and fell in love with his wife, Marlene, who is now a port commissioner in Shelton. The couple married in 1982 and has four children and five grandchildren. His hobbies include driving his convertible sports car, fishing, shooting and spending time in the woods. Taylor has continued to use his skills and knowledge in the nautical field through his current job as submarine project manager for Electric Submarine Technologies, a division of Olympic Tool and Engineering in Shelton. He and his staff are building a 10-man, 40-foot-long submarine for a private owner. As commissioner, in addition to overseeing professional staff on issues relating to finance, Taylor is a commission representative to several groups, including the Mason County Transit Board, the Law Enforcement and Firefighters Board, and the Economic Development Council. His previous employment includes serving as director of South Sound Options Unlimited and executive director of the Shelton Mason County Chamber of Commerce. Serving as the commissioner of finance has been a worthwhile experience for Taylor because he enjoys working with the other commissioners and serving the people of Shelton. "Shelton is dear to my heart," he said. "It's a great place to be." On the Web: City of Shelton Western Washington University Shelton High School Shelton School District Oregon State University Peninsula Regional Transportation Planning Organization (1003 kb) (Requires Acrobat Reader) Shelton Yacht Club University of Washington Port of Shelton Economic Development Council Shelton Mason County Chamber of Commerce The Olympian Copyright 2002 back to main Progress index

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