With seven days left for applications, Noel Monin is the sole candidate for Christopher Wolf’s Town Council position.
Wolf resigned effective last night to take a two-year teaching assignment at the American School of Doha, in the Persian Gulf country of Qatar. He will also go on leave of absence for two years at Friday Harbor Middle School, where he teaches humanities, current events, and speech and debate.
The person appointed to the vacancy will have to run in the upcoming election to complete the term, which ends Dec. 31, 2011. In an earlier story, County Elections Supervisor Doris Schaller said if Wolf resigned before June 1, his position would be on the Aug. 18 primary election ballot. If he resigned on June 1 or later, his position would go on the Nov. 3 general election ballot.
Monin lives on Carter Avenue, the same street as Wolf and Councilwoman Carrie Lacher. (Councilwoman Carrie Brooks lives nearby on Harbor Street. Anna Maria de Freitas lives on C Street. Liz Illg lives on Spruce Street. Mayor David Jones lives on Harrison Street.)
Monin is one of six paid employees at San Juan County Fire District 3. He is a captain and is supervisor of the department’s maintenance division. He is married and has a daughter in kindergarten.
The town is accepting applications for the position. Interested candidates should submit a cover letter and resume by May 29 to Town of Friday Harbor, attn: Mayor David F. Jones, P.O. Box 219, Friday Harbor 98250.
The Town Council is a legislative body. Council members adopt resolutions and ordinances, approve changes in zoning, make policy and approve the budget. Council members are paid $85 per meeting for up to four meetings per month.
Wolf was recognized by the mayor and council as his service came to a close last night. “I’m honored to be serving my community and doing my part,” he said. He encouraged residents to pursue public service.
Mayor Jones presented Wolf with a plaque in recognition of his service. Brooks said Wolf brought a youthful perspective to the council, and thanked him for his contributions to town government.
Wolf and his wife, Emily, moved to San Juan Island in 2003 when he was hired to teach at Friday Harbor Middle School. They quickly became involved in the community. Emily worked for the San Juan Island School District as a substitute teacher for two years, and worked as a volunteer and then a staff member at the library. She and her husband bought a home in the Salal neighborhood in August 2005 and she became a member of the San Juan Community Home Trust board.
Christopher Wolf was elected to the Town Council in November 2007. He took office Jan. 1, 2008.
In an earlier story, Friday Harbor Middle School Principal Ann Spratt said Wolf’s council service helped him take his current events teaching to a different level.
“It’s real, he’s actually experiencing that,” she said. “That certainly builds for him, to be able to teach the kids what that looks like. It also speaks to his real passion for history.”
Spratt said Wolf is an “excellent” teacher who will be missed. But she understood the allure of teaching in foreign country.
“It’s a real good time in their lives for them to do something like this. Their children are small. It’s a great time to do it.”
The American School of Doha is an independent, U.S.-accredited, college preparatory school. Its Web site states that it is “committed to provide the highest standard of educational excellence, through an enriched American curriculum. We draw from, and build upon, the uniqueness of our multicultural student body while preparing students for the challenges of a rapidly changing global society.”
According to the school’s latest annual report, the students are from: United States, 44 percent; Canada, 12 percent; Europe, 8 percent; Asia, 7 percent; Qatar, 7 percent; Scandinavia, 7 percent; India/Pakistan, 4 percent; Africa, 3 percent; Australia/New Zealand, 3 percent; Middle East, 3 percent; Latin America, 2 percent.
“As a social studies teacher and a lover of geography and history, it will be fantastic to see how this all interacts,” Wolf said in an earlier interview.
Wolf said that as a council member, he hopes he set an example for his students “that you don’t have to be older and retired to be a part of what’s going on in government. You can be involved.”
