After 12 years, Arseneault won’t seek another term on PUD board

WENATCHEE — Chelan County Public Utility District Commissioner Garry Arseneault will not seek re-election at the end of his current term, bringing more than a decade of service on the board to a close.

“This is the third time I’ve tried to retire,” Arseneault joked in a phone call on May 5, referring to the fact that he sold his business back in 2013, intending to retire then before being asked to run for a spot on the PUD Commission.

Arseneault was first elected in 2014 to represent District 1, which includes most of Wenatchee and continues west and south to the county line, and began serving in January 2015. He was re-elected in November 2020 to a second six-year term that runs through 2026.

“I’ve spent 12 of the most wonderful years you can imagine with the PUD,” he said.

During his tenure with the Chelan County Public Utility District, Arseneault has served in leadership roles both locally and nationally, including as president of the Washington Public Utility Districts Association and as a member of the American Public Power Association’s Policy Maker Committee.

“It’s nice to be able to leave when the organization is at the top and in great hands,” he said.

Before joining the PUD, Arseneault spent nearly 40 years in the investment and banking industry. Outside of his work as a commissioner, he has remained active in the community, volunteering with Rotary International’s Rotaplast program on medical missions, helping build clean water systems in Haiti, and serving as a lunch buddy for students at Foothills Middle School. He also volunteered for nine years on ski patrol at Mission Ridge.

Arseneault and his wife, Karen, have two sons, daughters-in-law, and five grandchildren.

His decision not to run will open the District 1 seat in the next election cycle, setting up a transition on the five-member commission, which includes three district representatives and two at-large members.

Andrew Simpson: 509-433-7626 or andrew@ward.media