News

September 15, 2026

When I took office in 2019 as Mason County Commissioner for District 3, I knew there would eventually come a day when I would have to say goodbye. I never imagined I would be saying goodbye quite like this.

After nearly eight years as your District 3 Commissioner, I have made the difficult decision to resign before completing my second term.

This is not the ending I planned or wanted. I had already decided two terms were enough and would not seek reelection. I intended to serve through the final day of my term and then begin the next chapter of my life.

There has been a great deal said about me. Some have been accurate, some incomplete, and some are simply wrong. Those who know me know I don’t normally spend much time publicly defending myself. I have always believed that if you work hard, tell the truth, and do your job, the work will eventually speak for itself.

I watched employees continue to show up during difficult times, including during COVID. When the other Commissioners were not physically in the office, staff remained and kept Mason County operating. I was there, too, and I saw it.

County employees are not numbers on a spreadsheet. A number of employees whose positions have recently been discussed for removal by Commissioner Neatherlin collectively have more than 150 years of institutional knowledge. Some of these people are department heads and managers whose only crime was simply disagreeing with his opinion.

I have been troubled by the doom-and-gloom rhetoric surrounding the County budget and discussions about eliminating numerous staff positions.

I have worked on Mason County’s budget for eight years and know it as well as, if not better than, Commissioner Neatherlin. We have reserves to help weather difficult economic times. Commissioner Pat Tarzwell and I have challenged assumptions and deficit figures being presented and demonstrated that some of them deserve further scrutiny. I encourage the public to keep asking questions.

I am also proud that I requested a salary survey for unrepresented employees because one had not been conducted in approximately 35 years. Standing up for employees and protecting taxpayers are not opposing goals.

Then life changed.

Earlier this year, I learned there were concerns about the possibility of BIA-ALCL, a rare cancer associated with certain breast implants. The surgery was painful and exhausting.

Then came the infusion, followed by several more weeks of recovery.

Just as I thought the worst was behind me, I fractured my shoulder, significantly impacting my recovery.

One day later, Ted and I were served with a lawsuit filed by Mason County Auditor Steve Duenkel. That lawsuit was ultimately dismissed with prejudice. I believed it raised serious First Amendment concerns regarding statements Ted and I made about an elected official’s job performance. We remain grateful to our attorney, John Bonin, and the Bonin Law team for standing up and successfully representing us.

The lawsuit ended, but the conflict did not.

Then, a challenge was filed concerning my voter registration and residency. What troubled me greatly was that Auditor Duenkel, following the recent litigation involving Ted and me, positioned himself to participate in evaluating matters related to that challenge. I requested an independent and impartial designee, but he denied that request. He was asked not to contact me via phone, but he continued regardless. 

By then, my body had been through surgery, an infusion, and a fractured shoulder. Instead of healing, I was dealing with a lawsuit, malicious allegations, and a witch hunt.

I finally had to ask myself how much more I was willing to sacrifice to finish the last few months of a term I had faithfully served for nearly eight years.

My health and my family had to come first.

So, I decided to resign.

I encourage the people of Mason County to request a copy of my five-page resignation letter. This column cannot tell the entire story. The letter provides more detail and a clearer picture of the circumstances that led to my decision.

Appreciation goes out to the deputy working at 2 a.m., the volunteer firefighter, the small-business owner, the logger, the shellfish grower, the teacher, the nurse, the retiree, and the countless people who care about our community.

That is the Mason County I will remember.

To Mason County employees: thank you. I saw your work and appreciated it. Please never believe you are simply an FTE on someone’s spreadsheet.

To those who disagreed with me: thank you. We need to relearn how to disagree without hating one another. The person on the other side of an issue is still your neighbor. Once you are elected to office, you represent the entire county. I believed this then and still do today.

I made mistakes during my eight years in office. But I never stopped caring, never stopped asking questions, and never forgot that the money we were spending belonged to the taxpayers.

The events of the past months will not erase the previous eight years.

When I look back, I won’t remember the lawsuits or political arguments nearly as much as I will remember the people.

Serving Mason County has been one of the greatest honors of my life.

I wish the ending had been different, but I would not trade the journey.

None of us owns these positions. We simply hold them for a little while. For nearly eight years, the people of Mason County allowed me to hold one.

Thank you for that extraordinary privilege.

Take care of one another. Take care of your employees. Ask questions. Demand honesty from your government. And remember to be kind.

I hope, in some small way, I leave Mason County better than I found it.

Thank you, Mason County.

It has truly been an honor. Be kind, work hard, stay humble, and smile often.

Sharon Trask

Mason County Commissioner, District 3