Cosmopolis Mayor Frank Chestnut has announced he will not seek re-election this year.

“I’m formally announcing I’m stepping away,” he said Friday. “I’m 70 years old, I’ll be 71½ when I’m done, and the First Lady thinks it’s way past time to retire.”

This will be a year of transition in city leadership: The position of mayor and three of the five city council seats are up for election this year.

Chestnut was unanimously selected to serve as mayor by the Cosmopolis City Council Dec. 17, 2014, when then mayor Vickie Raines stepped down from office. He was elected to the office in 2015, running unopposed. Prior to his appointment Chestnut had served on the Cosmopolis City Council for five years, on the planning commission for nine years and spent several years on the school board.

“It’s a good time to step away,” said Chestnut. “There’s no controversy, the Mill Creek Dam is done, and financially the city has picked itself up by the bootstraps.”

The Mill Creek Dam breached in 2008, causing flooding and lingering flood control problems in the city. It took years of hard work by the city, first under Raines, then under Chestnut, but a new state of the art earth, steel and concrete dam complete with flood control gates and a fish ladder was completed with $3 million in grant money in late 2018.

He’s seen other improvements in the city since he took the helm. “There’s building like we’ve never seen before,” said Chestnut, saying there are currently about 18 sets of plans in the building department, including a half dozen or so for new single home construction.

Chestnut is pleased with the results of realigning the city staff, which has streamlined city operations. A city administrator was brought on board, and the city contracted its legal representation with Hoquiam City Attorney Steve Johnson, who Chestnut said is doing a great job for the city for about half of the cost of hiring another city attorney.

Chestnut said the work has been “fascinating” and he will value the friendships he’s built during his time serving the city, but is looking forward to spending more time with his family and on the golf course and away from his cell phone and email account. After dedicating 22 years to the city, “It’s time for somebody else to step up and take the next 22 years,” said Chestnut.