North Bend City Council says goodbye to Jeanne Petterson

After almost nine years of service to the city of North Bend, Jeanne Petterson said goodbye at her final City Council meeting on June 19.

Petterson has served on the North Bend City Council since 2009, when she was appointed to her position after the previous council member left the position. Since then she has maintained her position on the council through three elections and countless important moments in the city.

Petterson had previously announced that she would be moving to Oregon to be closer to her family. While she is staying until July, the June 19 meeting was her last council meeting.

Both council and staff shared stories of the impact that Petterson has had on them, through their work on the council and as a friend.

Mayor Ken Hearing talked about many of the important roles Petterson has taken on over the years, including supporting several city infrastructure improvement projects, the change in police contract and the new fire station and City Hall.

“Jeanne, it’s been a pleasure to work with you. We have all been extremely blessed to have someone of your caliber serving with us,” Hearing said. “Your dedication and commitment to the community, your attention to detail, your wonderful sense of humor, we will truly remember.”

Hearing then presented Petterson with a plaque recognizing “her outstanding service and dedication to the citizens of the city of North Bend from Dec. 2009 to July 2018.”

Her fellow council members also spoke to the impact she made on them. Jonathan Rosen thanked Petterson for her friendship and guidance during his time as a council member. He attributed a lot of his personal growth to her support.

“You have always given me great council. You have been supportive and certainly have kept me in my place sometimes when I’ve needed it and you do that through an amazing sense of wit,” Rosen said. “You are always thoughtful and approachable and have an amazing knack for taking seven different opinions and consolidating all of those into a cohesive plan at the end of the day. We will sit around here often times throwing out all sorts of ideas and it’s usually you Jeanne, that finds a way to pull it all together. We are going to miss that.”

Petterson also shared a tribute to her fellow council members by rewriting and reading out the lyrics to Groucho Marx’s song “I Must Be Going,” in which she referenced many of the personalities and interests of her fellow council members, along with several jokes that had the whole council laughing.

She also thanked her colleagues for their kind words and gave one last piece of advice.

“My only advice would be to do what’s right, which I think everyone in this room seeks to do,” she said. “I know you all care about the city and when you grapple with things, even though you have differences of opinion you all care at the bottom line for the best interest of the city. Do what’s right and as Mark Twain said ‘that will gratify most and astonish some.’”

Applications to fill the vacant position on the council are now being accepted. Citizens who have lived in North Bend for at least one year and want to serve their city are encouraged to submit an application and resume by 4 p.m. on June 28. The application is available on the city’s website in the “News/Highlights” page or by emailing the city clerk at soppedal@northbendwa.gov.