SEQUIM — He’s a developer of the Cedar Ridge subdivision stretching across Sequim’s northeast corner, and he’s chairman of the Planning Commission.
In the city-leadership choir, Larry Freedman sings with a baritone voice.
Freedman, 70, was re-elected to his second two-year term as chairman last week, a few weeks after Sequim Mayor Laura Dubois had asked him to resign.
“I asked because of public opinion,” Dubois said last week, adding that during her City Council campaign, many voters complained that too many people in the real estate industry had infiltrated Sequim’s government.
The commission’s vote to re-elect Freedman was 4-2, with commissioners Dick Foster and Ted Miller abstaining.
Miller said he and Foster had initially voted against Freedman, but ultimately bowed out to promote unity among Sequim’s leaders.Â
“Larry Freedman had sort of become a polarizing issue,” Miller said, noting that Dubois and City Councilman Ken Hays seem at odds with the developer while councilman and real estate broker Paul McHugh had objected to Dubois’ action.
“Larry is a wonderful man,” Miller said, noting that Freedman has volunteered to work on the 2006 Comprehensive Plan update and the current Town Center Sub-Area Plan.
And now that the chairman’s resettled into his seat, both Miller and Dubois praised his years of work on Sequim’s affordable housing committee.
“There’s a lot that I’d like to see accomplished [in the city],” Freedman said.
