By Pepper Fisher

SEQUIM – There’s one week left in the City of Sequim’s search for a new City Manager and so far, the number of qualified applicants is a little under what search firm President Colin Baenziger might have expected.

“Well, we have 18 applicants, which is probably a little less than I would normally expect. We do have some very, very good applicants, which is the good news. So, you know, I’m optimistic that on Friday, we’ll have have a strong pool of candidates. We get most of our candidates and most of our best qualified candidates in the last week. So you just don’t know. This is why I’m pulling my hair out, because I just have to wait until, really, Saturday morning, because they can apply any time Friday.”

Baenziger says applicants so far are from all over the country, including Georgia, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Florida, California, and a few from Washington.

We asked him if he has a minimum number of candidates he wants to present to Council, and what happens if he feels he hasn’t met that standard.

“I don’t feel like I’m there yet. The bottom line is; if I don’t have enough, I’m going to extend the deadline. To be perfectly honest, I have a deadline because you have to have one. But if I get a great candidate that submits an application next Thursday, I’m going to stick them in whether it’s closed or not. Because the way I look at it, it’s my job is to get the best possible candidate for the City, not to adhere to some relatively arbitrary deadline.”

A majority of City Councilors voted to search for a new City Manager in March after forcing former Manager Charlie Bush’s resignation earlier in the year.

Interim City Manager Charisse Deschenes agreed to a 6-month contract that expires in August.