Poulsbo welcomes new councilmembers

Three new Poulsbo city councilmembers were sworn into their positions during the governing body’s first meeting of the year Jan. 3.

The new councilmembers are Rick Eckert, Doug Newell and Pam Crowe.

Eckert, who is also on the North Kitsap school board, is planning on resigning from that seat in the next few months. He takes the place of Andrew Phillips on the council.

“I want to thank everyone for their support, and I want to thank my family,” he said. “I’m certainly not new to City Council meetings but the perspective is entirely different. I just want to assure everyone that new perspective is not lost on me. I take this very seriously.”

Newell, who was previously on the city’s planning commission, takes the spot of Jeff McGinty, the longest-serving councilmember in the city’s history at 32 years.

“I’m just thankful that my life’s journey brought me to Kitsap County some thirty years ago,” he said. “I’m glad to have the opportunity to serve the citizens of Poulsbo and be part of this great community. It’s truly an honor.”

Crowe is branch manager of Poulsbo’s Kitsap Regional Library. She takes the place of longtime councilmember Connie Lord, who served 24 years.

“I’m excited to be in the position to serve the city and learn all that I can from these great people up here,” she said.

Phillips, McGinty and Lord did not run for re-election.

Mayor Becky Erickson welcomed the new councilmembers and thanked them for their service.

“I’m truly glad that you’ve all stepped up,” she said. “The City Council is important legally but it’s also important to the community about how you set the tone of where we’re going as a city. I honor all of you and appreciate you for the work you do for the community. Sometimes it can be a little bumpy and sometimes it can be a heck of a lot of fun but it’s always important.”

Councilmember David Musrgove added: “I look forward to this new year with our new council. My hope is that it will energize us to move forward and get a lot more cool stuff done for our residents. It’s a good mix of perspective and experience I think that’s sitting up here.”