Wittress, Webber win unopposed council seats

Published 1:52 pm Thursday, October 2, 2008

NORTH BEND – With two council members stepping down and two unopposed candidates stepping into their places, the new North Bend City Council will come together in January after no bitter election-year battles or scandals forcing members to resign.

North Bend City Council members Fred Rappin and Jim Gildersleeve are leaving after eight years of service on the City Council, the longest tenures of any present council member.

Gildersleeve’s city government experience started on the Planning Commission. In 1994, he was sworn into his present position after a race that replaced most of the council members. Gildersleeve remembered a divided council that he realized needed some of the leadership abilities he had acquired after 28 years in the U.S. Army.

“I remember walking into my first meeting and just being aghast at what I saw,” Gildersleeve said. “They were just fighting all the time.”

Rappin got involved in city government after he became concerned with a development that threatened a small piece of woodland he and his kids frequented back in the early 1980s. After serving on the Planning Commission as well, he was persuaded by a friend to run for the council and was sworn into office in 1993, a couple of weeks before the regular 1994 date because he was taking over a position that was appointed by the council.

Although Rappin and Gildersleeve have had differing opinions during their years on the council, both have similar memories of their stints. Both lamented the troubles of the Lodahl administration in the 1990s, and both were proud of the comprehensive plan they worked on, although Rappin regretted the fact he supported Tollgate to be zoned as light industrial.

Rappin was proud, however, to remember his first vote on the City Council as one in favor of investigating the possible purchase of the Meadowbrook Farm, which eventually took place.

Gildersleeve was happy he was able to help the city work to put money in its reserve, something that was lacking when he first came aboard.

Both Gildersleeve and Rappin praised the council members they work with now and those they have worked with in the past, adding that anything that comes out of the City Council is a group effort.

“I just wanted to do what I was hearing from my neighbors,” Rappin said. “I learned you can’t come in with any notions about what you are going to do.”

Gildersleeve agreed.

“I can’t take credit for anything,” Gildersleeve said.

Gildersleeve plans to work harder at his insurance business in Snoqualmie, but still wants to serve on the North Bend Flood Committee.

Rappin plans to lay low. With his youngest child in high school now, he said he wants to make up for time missed during the past eight years.

One of the two men taking the places of Gildersleeve and Rappin include Jack Webber, a teacher at Two Rivers Alternative High School and husband of current Councilwoman Elaine Webber. Webber has been no stranger to issues affected North Bend, being a vocal opponent of the Tollgate development this past year and a prominent member in local civic groups.

Bill Wittress, a Ohio native who grew up on the Eastside and has been in North Bend for a little more than a year, is the other newly elected council member. He said he was motivated to serve on the council after fighting a development in North Bend that would have endangered nearby streams.

Both Webber and Wittress know the biggest issues they will face in the coming years will be those relating to development. Both said they are not opposed to growth, but would rather be characterized as promoting what they called “smart growth.”

“I am very concerned we do whatever we can to prepare the city for the massive amount of growth that it’s going to experience,” Webber said.

Wittress said he wants to keep a close eye on growth, but he also stressed keeping North Bend a vital economic force. He said his marketing background has enabled him to see North Bend as part of a package the Valley offers for business, tourism and residential development.

“First, we’ve got to get our water rights before we even talk about development. I think we need to get more aggressive about that,” Wittress said. “I would like to see the area treated as a real excursion area, like the Skagit Valley. We want people to stay, have dinner and maybe even stay the night.”

Both are looking forward to joining the council, and they are excited about the direction in which they can take the city.

“This is the highest quality of council this city has seen,” Webber said. “I can’t wait to get started.”

Rappin and Gildersleeve have confidence in the new blood coming in to take over their positions. Gildersleeve said the council will be the best educated the town has ever had, and he passed along to the newcomers a bit of wisdom he has learned after serving for two terms.

“Think independently,” he said.

You can reach Ben Cape at (425) 888-2311, or e-mail him at ben.cape@valleyrecord.com.