Early returns in Tuesday’s special election to recall Pacific Mayor Cy Sun show residents in the embattled town of 6,600 are ready for a change in leadership.
Initial counts – as of 3 p.m. Wednesday – have voters leaning more than 2-1 towards recalling Sun for what recall backers claim was “misfeasance in office, malfeasance in office and/or violating his oath of office.”
With 1,442 of the 2,948 ballots that were sent out to registered voters in Pacific counted, 947 (65.3 percent) favor recall and 500 (34.7 percent) prefer to let Sun continue his term. A simple majority is all it takes to remove Sun from office.
Voters were asked to decide whether Sun should be recalled for jeopardizing the Cty’s liability insurance by refusing to fill vital vacant department head positions and trying to use the Pacific Police Department as his personal police force.
“I was tickled to death, just really tickled,” Committee to Recall Cy Sun chair Don Thomson said of the initial results. “In fact, I was on the (King County Elections Department) Web cam and did a little happy dance. Tracy (Apata) and the rest of the committee were at Northwest Brewing and saw it and knew the news was good.”
Despite the overwhelming support for the recall, Thomson said, he was shocked by how many votes the mayor received.
“I didn’t anticipate that many people would vote for him,” Thomson said.
If the final results of the vote remain in favor of the recall, Sun would have to step down immediately after the election is certified on July 9. Sun has served less than two years of the term he won with a write-in campaign in 2011.
If Sun is recalled, the council is expected to have Mayor Pro Tem James McMahan fill in as mayor until it can choose another person.
“He will schedule a special meeting to choose the next mayor,” Pacific City Council President Leanne Guier said.
The new appointed mayor will serve out the rest of Sun’s term, which ends Dec. 31, 2016.
“After that I think the number one thing is to show unity between the new mayor and the council,” Guier said. “I’m relieved. Now the real work begins.”
Guier added that the council will have its hands full just figuring out what shape the city is in.
“We haven’t had any financial numbers since October,” she said.
Still, she said, she’s pleased that the City can move forward.
“I am really, really proud of the recall committee and their perseverance and hard work,” Guier added. “My hat goes off to them. I credit them with saving the City.”
Thomson said he’s looking forward to chipping in to dig the City out of the crisis it’s been in for the past year-and-a-half.
“I will make myself available to the council in any way I can to help rebuild,” he said. “I won’t run for office, but if they appointed me to something I’d be available as needed. There are other things in this town that need strong work to rebuild, like the senior programs and Pacific Partnerships. There is a lot of work to be done.”
