She replaces Robyn Denson on the Gig Harbor City Council. Here are her plans for the city

The Gig Harbor City Council appointed Julie Martin to fill the position vacated by former council member Robyn Denson, who was elected to the Pierce County Council.

At Tuesday’s City Council meeting, seven candidates spoke about why they wanted the position.

Martin, 61, moved to Gig Harbor in 2018. She wants to help the city grow in a productive way that will allow others in the future to enjoy what residents do today, she said during the meeting.

She said she’s dedicated to hearing the needs of the community and taking a qualitative and quantitative approach when making decisions.

“Every viewpoint is unique,” Martin said. “You have to listen to what the nut is in what someone is saying.”

The council members chose four finalists and asked them the same questions about their background, problem solving skills, city issues, how they might handle certain situations they could encounter in office, and other topics.

Martin worked for the government for 18 years in various roles. She recently retired from her position as chief of staff for the Washington State Department of Corrections.

In that position she oversaw other leadership positions, worked on policy development and labor negotiations, and budgeting and financial analysis, she said.

After interviews the council appointed Martin in a 5-1 vote.

Council members Mary Barber, Brenda Lykins, Le Rodenberg, Seth Storset, and Jeni Woock all voted for Martin.

Council member Roger Henderson voted for one of the other three finalists, Julie Ammann, a photographer and longtime Gig Harbor resident with a background in architecture and journalism.

The other two finalists were Benjamin Coronado, also a longtime Gig Harbor resident and the current Parks Commission chair, and Daniel Hobbs, an industrial engineer with Boeing who’s passionate about politics.

Martin will be sworn into office at Thursday’s City Council study session.

Martin’s plans and priorities

During the interview, Martin identified three issues she thought were the most important in the city of Gig Harbor.

Overall quality of life and safety for residents is a priority for her, she said.

“Our state is not at the top of the list for investing in resources and ways we can be helping people on the way up before they go down,” Martin said in regard to substance abuse.

She also said she wants Gig Harbor to be an economically viable city.

“Many who work here in Gig Harbor do not live here,” she said. “They would love to, but can’t necessarily afford it.”

When asked what she’d like Gig Harbor to be like in 10 years, she said: “to say it will be the same is unrealistic.”

“Climate change is a real thing,” Martin said. “With that comes devastating weather impacts. We just saw one with the recent king tide.”

She hopes to find ways the city can help make Gig Harbor a more walkable city to try and limit some of the effects of climate change.

“We need to continue to have conversations and evaluate data in order to keep Gig Harbor a viable place for our children to grow up and live in,” she said.

Martin will serve until the end of this year. During the interview process she said she would not be opposed to running for re-election.