Ted Carlson Resigns as Bellingham Public Works Director

An unexpected resignation by one of the top administrators in Bellingham city government

An unexpected resignation by one of the top administrators in Bellingham city government

By
• Topics: Bellingham, People,

​Ted Carlson, Director of Public Works Department for the city of Bellingham, announced on Tuesday, July 30, that he was resigning his position effective August 15. He will take a position as General Manager of Sanitary Service Corporation in Bellingham, our local garbage company. Ted has been the director for about 12 years.

This information comes to me from very reliable sources. My calls to Public Works to talk with either Ted or their public information person were not returned. A phone call to the mayor’s office for official confirmation resulted in my being told that the mayor would have to be consulted as to whether or not that was “public information” yet. I was told the mayor would be consulted and I would get a call back. That has not happened, and so this is posting with what I know.

There may be more department heads leaving as Kelli Linville ends her 8 year tenure as mayor of Bellingham. Leslie Bryson, Parks Director, is also known to plan to retire as the mayor leaves office in January. Leslie worked for many years as the principle designer of new and renovated parks and was ready to retire when the previous parks director left about 5 years ago. Kelli asked her to take on the position until the end of her term as mayor, and Leslie did so.

Lo - the mayor herself called me back from her vacation location. She confirmed the facts, and had a few comments on Ted. “He is one of my best directors, and I’m very sad that he is going. I’m glad to see him staying in our community.”

She also said he had informed her about ten days ago of his resignation plans. Apparently city hall has not yet released this information to the news media.

About John Servais

Citizen Journalist and Editor • Fairhaven, Washington USA • Member since Feb 26, 2008

John started Northwest Citizen in 1995 to inform fellow citizens of serious local political issues that the Bellingham Herald was ignoring. With the help of donors from the beginning, he has [...]

To comment, Log In or Register