At its May 14 meeting, the Key Peninsula Fire District 16 board of commissioners appointed Cambria Queen in a 3-to-1 vote out of four applicants to fill a commissioner vacancy left by the retirement of Commissioner Frank Grubaugh in March.
“We would like to congratulate Cambria on her appointment and express our thanks to Jeremy Larcom, Colleen Mullins, and Hal Wolverton for their applications and desire to join the board and be a part of the department’s future,” said Public Information Officer Anne Nesbit.
Queen is an attorney who chaired the KPFD Citizens Advisory Panel and was endorsed by the firefighters’ union in her 2023 election bid to join the commission, which she lost to John Pat Kelly.
“I’d just like to say thank you to the board for the support and I look forward to working with everyone to help the district going forward,” Queen told KP News.
Afterward, Commissioner Kelly confirmed, “Once again, this board disregards widespread support for Wolverton. I stand behind what I said at the meeting—the other commissioners made no attempt to get feedback. I congratulated Cambria, and I was sincere. I hope she will help rebuild the district. Every chance we get between now and August’s M&O Levy, we need to show the community that we are listening.”
One observer at the meeting said, on condition of anonymity, “The union had to negotiate with (retired Assistant Fire Chief Hal Wolverton) for years. Little wonder they would want someone else with less experience.”
The May 14 meeting, including interviews with the four candidates, can be viewed on the KPFD website following instructions under board recordings: www.keypeninsulafire.org.
