WEATHER
Despite her announcement earlier this month that she will not run for re-election, state Rep. Pat Lantz wants Gig Harbor to know that she’s not going anywhere.
“I hope to serve you in a lot more capacity over many, many more years,” she told guests at Monday night’s City Council meeting, where she was honored by the council for her 12 years in the Legislature.
Lantz, D-Gig Harbor, was awarded a plaque by Mayor Chuck Hunter, thanking her for representing the 26th Legislative District. The council also proclaimed this week as Pat Lantz Appreciation Week.
“We really appreciate everything you have done to us — I mean, for us,” Hunter joked.
City Council member Derek Young thanked Lantz for one of her biggest projects: Changing the new Narrows bridge project from a private to a public project. Young estimated that Lantz saved $70 to $100 million on that project.
Rep. Larry Seaquist, D-Gig Harbor, and Sen. Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor, also sang Lantz’s praises, recalling some of her accomplishments in the past decade. Seaquist called her a “one-woman Legislature” who made her biggest contributions while chairing the Judiciary Committee.
He also commended her support of parks and landscaping throughout Gig Harbor, referring to success in requiring the Washington State Department of Transportation to replant much of the vegetation that was cut down during state Route 16 improvements.
“She simply said, ‘There will be green here,’ and there was green there,” Seaquist said.
Seaquist then reminded the audience that Lantz did not resign her position and is still a state representative for the next nine months, so she will continue to work for the community.
“You need to remember that her term is not up now. She has to continue to serve all of us through the rest of this year,” he said.
Kilmer added that Lantz has given Gig Harbor a better appreciation of the arts, the environment and the city’s heritage. He said Lantz has created a better environment for his own family, including his young daughter.
“The community she will grow up in and the state she will grow up will be a better state,” he said.
Pat Lantz Appreciation Week
The Gig Harbor City Council will celebrate state Rep. Pat Lantz Appreciation Week through Friday.
To view the council’s official proclamation, visit www.cityofgigharbor.net.
Print
E-Mail