Jacques Brunisholz trading town council time for out of town time

Jacques Brunisholz once completed a demanding 500-mile hike on the famed Pacific Crest Trail. Years before he trekked across much of the globe, including a stop in Afghanistan nearly a half century ago.

But given his passion for public service it likely was harder for him to step away from the La Conner Town Council last week.

Still, the retired La Conner High School foreign language and art teacher hardly broke stride in choosing to resign his long-held council seat, a tenure begun about 2008, during the town’s famed flap over the status of a wild turkey flock it then hosted.

Brunisholz had his letter of resignation read aloud during the council’s Aug. 23 meeting. It cited a desire to travel extensively with wife Barbara this fall as the reason for leaving before the end of his term, which runs through 2023.

“Budget time is approaching,” he told the Weekly News on Saturday, “and I thought it would be unfair to my colleagues on the council for me to be absent during that time. It wouldn’t have been right for me to say: ‘OK, you guys figure it out.’”

Brunisholz, who served on the long range planning, utilities, wastewater advisory board and flood control committees, said it would be preferable to have an appointee in place when the panel begins budget deliberations.

“The biggest thing I’ve learned and what a lot of people don’t realize,” Brunisholz explained, “is just how important the budget process is.”

The avid walker wouldn’t side-step tough issues, whether related to the budget or not. After being appointed, he won election in 2009 against a write-in candidate. He won with 52% of the vote against Marna Hanneman in 2011, won overwhelmingly in 2015 and ran unopposed in 2019.

His first council campaign focused on generating support for construction of a section of dike just north of the La Conner school campus to protect the town from potential major Skagit River flooding. Through the years, Brunisholz labored to garner council commitments to acquire the strip of land for the “ring dike” and set aside money annually for the project.

“I guess you could say it’s been a half-success for me,” said Brunisholz. “I hope the council continues to go forward with it. Hopefully there will be federal money for it, too, because it’s something that fights climate change. It’s been a good fight and hopefully will succeed after all.”

Mayor Ramon Hayes Thursday lauded Brunisholz for working on the council in a tireless and thoughtful manner, saying “The Town is committed to seeing it through.”

Promotion of the ring dike reflects what for Brunisholz has been a key council service objective – to think globally while acting locally. It is at the local level where government decisions are more directly relevant to citizens, he said. That, in turn, leads to greater citizen participation in local government and can ultimately help establish standards on a broader scale.

“I think our system really works well,” he said. “I really believe in democracy and how it can help solve problems because everybody gets a vote.”

Brunisholz is encouraged that there is an established awareness that local solutions can be employed to address significant national and international issues. He has praised the popular La Conner waterfront boardwalk for its role in promoting health and fitness while reducing the carbon footprint downtown.

“I think our society is slowly getting back to the simplicity of walking,” Brunisholz said in a 2014 interview with the Weekly News. “The Pacific Crest Trail is one of our ultimate walks, but locally we’re doing great things, too.”

He has also saluted the town’s acclaimed composting program and efforts to equip public facilities with solar panels, calling them “small positive steps in the effort to rein in our production of carbon dioxide.”

A naturalized U.S. citizen who grew up in multi-lingual Switzerland, Brunisholz arrived in 1980, just as La Conner was making the transformation from sleepy village to vibrant tourist destination. He was hired at the high school, where, in addition to art, he taught French and Spanish, the latter language one he had learned during in Bolivia.

He quickly gained a reputation for being a strong advocate for student voice, long before the term came into vogue.

Having been exposed to a variety of cultures, Brunisholz was ideally suited to serve on a town council representing and interacting with a diverse community. “This is a wonderful community and I’ve been fortunate to be part of a very good team,” he said. “Serving on the council has been a really good experience. We all have our different ideologies, but we all have been working together to represent the town.”

Hayes said Brunisholz will be sorely missed at the council table. “He should be thanked by the citizens of this community,” said Hayes. “It’s rare to find an individual willing to commit that kind of time and energy on a consistent basis. He should be applauded for having promoted a totally honest agenda. His agenda was to do what’s best for the community.”

A successor to Brunisholz will be appointed to complete his term, said Hayes. “We can’t have a council seat remain vacant until 2023,” Town Administrator Scott Thomas said. “Moreover, it the council failed to act, the county commissioners would assume authority and appoint a new council member.”

“I really hope that it’s a younger person,” Brunisholz said, “with a lot of energy to take it on. I’ve really appreciated the opportunity to represent the people of La Conner but now I guess it’s time to be a little selfish and do some traveling.”