03/22/2008: "Ranker To Seek Employment Elsewhere"

RANKER-6 (42k image) (file photo)
For sometime there has been widespread speculation that Councilman Kevin Ranker would not run for reelection. Ranker has now surprised his colleagues on the council by announcing he will in fact not run again for office, but rather seek new opportunities in the non-profit world.

Councilman Rich Peterson said he too had heard rumors, but was surprised by the sudden announcement. Peterson said “this provides and opportunity for Kevin to prosper, and therefore I am happy for him; and it will give an opportunity for the council to evolve and have new people in the mix, and so that’s exciting too.”

Councilman Alan Lichter was also surprised, saying “I don’t know a thing about it,” then added “I’m delighted that Kevin is finding other ‘gigs’; he will certainly be missed in the council,” pointing out that Kevin “is youthful, energetic and brings a lot of sparkling actively to our deliberations.”

Ranker was opposed to the Charter, but Peterson, who supported the Charter, said that “Kevin did come around in recent months,” but added that with respect to Lichter and Myhr, he “still sees some resistance from the other two.”

Peterson also felt that with Ranker’s departure, this “ sounds like an interesting opportunity for the people in the first district,” then added “I think it’s a good thing all around”

Ranker represents District One of San Juan County, which is the south end of San Juan Island. Councilman Rich Peterson represents the north end, and Councilman Howard Rosenfeld represents the town of Friday Harbor.

While a number of people have been discussing running against Rosenfeld, and one is expected to make a formal announcement next week, no one so far has announced or suggested they would run against Ranker if he had decided to seek another term in office, however Ranker’s announcement may result in some folks now stepping forward.