The Des Moines City Council appointed former South King Fire & Rescue Chief Vic Pennington to the council on March 3.
Pennington was appointed by a 4-2 council vote, favored over candidates Tad Doviak and Yoshiko Grace Matsui. Pennington was supported by Councilmember Jeremy Nutting, Councilmember Harry Steinmetz, Deputy Mayor Traci Buxton and Mayor Matt Mahoney; Councilmembers JC Harris and Gene Achziger voted for Matsui.
“I look forward to working with each one of you and I hope that sometime in the near future we can get together and have discussions about our priorities, our different views, and hope that we can come together and find a common path,” Pennington said after he was sworn in on Thursday night.
Filling the position of former Councilmember Anthony Martinelli, who resigned in January following allegations of domestic violence and abuse, Pennington will serve on the council through 2023.
“It’s not always the popular decision, it’s the tough decisions you’ve chose us to make,” Mayor Mahoney said. “We did our due diligence … we had to see it through certain eyes about who’s the most qualified.”
Pennington has greater experience with more depth at an executive level, Mahoney said, calling him the “best suited” to fill the open council seat.
Mahoney also raised issues with posts Matsui previously made on social media, saying they were harmful to the community. He also raised concerns over a possible conflict of interest due to her position serving as president of the King County Water District #54 for Des Moines, noting that the district needs dedicated management and hard decisions to be made.
“I feel it necessary to look at yourself,” Mahoney said to Matsui.
Pennington served on the King County Water District #54 from 2011-2015. During this time, he was also on the city council from 2013 to 2020, before resigning to serve as chief of South King Fire and Rescue in early 2020.
At the March 3 virtual meeting, five public commenters spoke in support of Matsui and two people wrote in their support. In addition, dozens of community members previously expressed support for Matsui.
During the discussion prior to council’s decision, Councilmember Harris said this appointment is similar to a job interview hiring process.
“I hear the public’s desire for diversity. I get it. But, it is also not unreasonable for us to want applicants to be in line with our vision as well,” he said. Harris added that it is valid to seek someone with prior council experience as it takes time to learn the position.
Councilmember Achziger pointed out the council lacks diversity, thus lacking accurate representation of the community. There are no people of color and only one woman on the Des Moines City Council
In Des Moines, approximately half of the community members are people of color, according to U.S. Census Bureau. Many supporters of Matsui said her presence on the council would bring diverse racial, sexual orientation and gender representation.
Councilmember Steinmetz expressed concern with Matsui serving on multiple organizations within the city.
“Not to denigrate at all what they have done, but the fact that Mr. Pennington has been here before gives him a knowledge base that is beyond what either of the other two can bring to the table,” Steinmetz said.
Several councilmembers urged Doviak and Matsui to run for council in 2023. Deputy Mayor Traci Buxton encouraged the community to “expand our horizons in our minds about where we can look for suitable servants,” when seeking potential candidates to represent the collective vote.
Candidate Priscilla Vargas endorsed Pennington and withdrew from the running on Feb. 24.
After his abrupt departure from South King Fire and Rescue, Pennington’s separation agreement outlines he is receiving a full year of paid salary. In 2021, Pennington earned $218,922.48, according to records obtained by the Mirror.
