Jefferson County PUD remembers late former commissioner

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The Jefferson County Public Utility District is mourning the loss of Wayne King of Gardiner, the former District 3 commissioner for the utility.

King, 81, played a key role in the PUD’s expansion of services and was a prominent part of bringing public power to the community.

“Wayne was an instrumental part of our utility,” PUD General Manager Kevin Streett said. “He was a big driver in getting us to where we are today and will be deeply missed.”

King was first elected commissioner in 2000 when the utility municipality was strictly a water and wastewater utility. King was on the board of commissioners during the purchase and exchange of the city of Port Townsend’s water systems for the PUD’s Glen Cove system in 2001, a project that expanded the utility district’s water service nearly four-fold.

He also played an important role in expanding water services to Marrowstone Island residents. Piece by piece, King brought resources to his district with water and sewer system connections for Kala Point and Beckett Point residents as well as the acquisition of a struggling water system on the Toandos Peninsula.

“Wayne was a great mentor and an invaluable source of experience,” said PUD Commissioner Dan Toepper. “He encouraged me to run for his seat and he will be truly missed by this commissioner.”

King helped set the stage for purchasing the local grid from Puget Sound Energy, marking the first private-to-public utility infrastructure purchase in Washington state in 70 years.

While his efforts led to customer-owned electric utility services for 20,000 residents, he didn’t stop there.

As a commissioner, King worked for modernization of the utility authority’s aging infrastructure with efforts to begin an advanced meter build-out. His efforts helped lay the groundwork for the broadband expansion, with the goal of expanding fiber internet service to rural residents.

King grew up in Bakersfield, California and was known as a famous competitive drag racer, “The Peregrine,” and was one of the original members of the Smokers Car Club in Bakersfield.

“He was without pretense, and you never had to guess what he was thinking,” said PUD Commissioner Kenneth Collins. “We enjoyed each other’s sense of humor, and I felt a genuine warmth for him at the time that he retired.”

In all, King spent 18 years as a PUD commissioner, representing his district and the utility regionally and across the country as a proponent for county residents and publicly-owned utilities. King decided not to seek reelection in 2018, noting he planned to spend time in his machine shop, building race-car motors and tuning up cars.

King is survived by his wife and two daughters.