PORT ORCHARD — Mayor Rob Putaansuu has been elected secretary to the board of the Association of Washington Cities (AWC), the organization announced Monday.

Putaansuu, who is in his second term as Port Orchard’s mayor, serves on the association’s board of directors and executive committee, and is in line to become president. He previously was elected to the Port Orchard City Council in 2007.

“It is an honor to be elected as secretary to the AWC board,” Putaansuu said. “I look forward to being a passionate ambassador and advocate for the priorities of all of our cities and towns.”

Putaansuu has been part on the AWC board since 2018 representing District 12, which includes 21 cities and towns in Clallam, Grays Harbor, Jefferson, Kitsap, Mason, Pacific and Wahkiakum counties.

The AWC board of directors is the association’s governing body. It includes 25 directors, 23 of whom are mayors or city council members from Washington cities or towns, and two non-elected city officials who also serve as the president and past president of the Washington City/County Management Association.

Founded in 1933, AWC is a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan corporation that represents Washington’s cities and towns before the state Legislature, the state executive branch, and with regulatory agencies.