Dan Rankin
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Dan Rankin | |
|---|---|
| Mayor of Darrington, Washington | |
| Assumed office 2012 | |
| Preceded by | Joyce Jones |
| Personal details | |
| Born | c. 1961 Darrington, Washington, U.S. |
| Occupation |
|
Daniel O. Rankin (born c. 1961), known as Dan Rankin,[1][2][3][4] is an American sawmill owner and politician who has served as the mayor of Darrington, a small timber town in Snohomish County, Washington, since 2012.[5] He became widely known as the public face of Darrington's response to the 2014 Oso landslide, the deadliest landslide in United States history, and in 2015 received the U.S. Small Business Administration's Phoenix Award at a White House ceremony for his leadership after the disaster.[6][7]
Early life and career
Rankin grew up in the Darrington area, in the North Cascades of Washington state.[8] He has said that his family's roots in the area date to around 1920, when his grandfather settled there, and that the family has long worked in the local timber industry.[9] Rankin attended college away from Darrington and worked along the West Coast before returning to the town.[8]
Rankin owns and operates Rankin Custom Milling, a one-man custom sawmill in Darrington that produces finished lumber from logs, including wood used in restoration projects in national forests and state and national parks.[10][8] The Associated Press reported that he had worked for years as a logger before knee problems led him to buy his own sawmill.[6]
Mayor of Darrington
Elections
Before becoming mayor, Rankin served eight years on the Darrington Town Council.[7] As a council member he promoted a voluntary program that offered residents financial incentives to replace uncertified wood stoves in order to reduce wood smoke.[3]
In the November 2011 election, Rankin, then aged 50, narrowly defeated two-term incumbent mayor Joyce Jones, winning by nine votes, 184 to 175.[3] He took office in 2012.[5] Rankin won re-election in 2015, defeating challenger Todd Ronning, a retired U.S. Army sergeant, with 270 votes (83 percent) to Ronning's 50.[4][11] He ran unopposed in 2019 and again in 2023, when he was one of several Snohomish County mayors to draw no challenger; he received 255 votes in 2023.[12][1][2] The mayor of Darrington serves a four-year term and is paid $500 per month.[4]
2014 Oso landslide
On March 22, 2014, a hillside collapsed between the communities of Oso and Darrington, killing 43 people, destroying the Steelhead Haven neighborhood, and burying State Route 530. It was the deadliest landslide in United States history.[13][6] The slide cut Darrington off from population centers to the west, severing its main highway and communication lines.[7]
The disaster turned Rankin's part-time position into a round-the-clock job.[6][14] In the days after the slide he met continually with families, government officials, and the news media, and presided over nightly community meetings attended by hundreds of residents in the local high-school gymnasium.[6] The Associated Press reported that at one meeting attended by both of Washington's U.S. senators and other officials, the largest ovation was reserved for Rankin.[6] Barack Obama, then the U.S. president, visited the area in the aftermath of the disaster.[15]
Reflecting on the recovery in 2022, Rankin described it as a "horrible success," saying of the effort to recover every victim, "We brought everybody home ... We showed the world our tenacity."[15]
Phoenix Award
In 2015, the U.S. Small Business Administration named Rankin a recipient of its Phoenix Award for Outstanding Contributions to Disaster Recovery by a Public Official, citing his leadership after the Oso landslide.[7][16] He accepted the award at a White House ceremony on May 8, 2015.[7] Rankin called the recognition "a flattering, humbling surprise" and said it reflected the response of his whole community rather than himself alone.[16]
Economic development
Much of Rankin's tenure has centered on rebuilding and diversifying Darrington's economy following the decline of the timber industry and the 2014 Oso landslide. He has described timber as "part of our DNA" and has called for a diversified local job base spanning forestry, timber extraction, and manufacturing so that residents can work without leaving the valley.[15][17] In 2015, Rankin and Arlington mayor Barbara Tolbert presented a North Stillaguamish Valley economic redevelopment plan, developed after the landslide with federal and state funding, that emphasized sustainable timber, outdoor recreation, and tourism.[18] Darrington and Arlington also jointly competed in the America's Best Communities revitalization contest, winning a $50,000 prize in an early round.[7] Rankin has also pressed for better rural broadband, supporting a state-funded partnership with Ziply Fiber to extend high-speed internet along the State Route 530 corridor while arguing that publicly funded infrastructure should be open to competing providers to keep prices low.[15]
Wood Innovation Center
Rankin has been the leading advocate for the Darrington Wood Innovation Center, a proposed manufacturing campus for cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels and modular housing that he has said he first envisioned in 2014, in the aftermath of the landslide.[15][19] The project was announced in 2020 as a partnership of the Town of Darrington, Snohomish County, and the Seattle-based land-conservation nonprofit Forterra, with its cost reported at various points between roughly $73 million and $120 million.[15][20] The plan called for a CLT factory and a modular-housing plant that would use the panels to build affordable housing.[15]
The project received public funding, including a $6 million grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration in 2021, which Rankin called the final piece of necessary funding.[19][21] The center was projected to create about 150 jobs.[21] Construction was paused in June 2022 amid rising inflation, supply-chain disruptions, and higher interest rates, although Rankin said the town was "still moving forward."[22] The broader effort also encountered a dispute with the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe over the sourcing of timber.[22] As of early 2024, the project entity, Darrington Wood Innovation Center LLC, was seeking an air-quality permit to construct a forest-to-housing manufacturing facility at the site.[23] In its 2024 annual report, Forterra stated that it had brought the larger "Forest to Home" initiative to a close and transferred its role in a related federal grant to the Yakama Nation.[24]
Tourism and recreation
After the landslide, Rankin drew on increased outside interest in Darrington to advance community projects that had long been set aside.[15][25] The state funded a $150,000 tourism campaign promoting the area's annual bluegrass festival and hiking trails, and the town built a new skate park and helped open about 10 miles (16 km) of mountain-biking trails.[15][26] Rankin also worked with conservation and recreation organizations to find common ground on forest management; in 2015 he joined the Darrington Collaborative, a group focused on forest health and sustainable forestry jobs.[15][9] Rankin has nonetheless been skeptical that recreation can replace the timber economy, recalling that as logging declined the area saw recreational access reduced rather than expanded.[27]
Environmental positions
Rankin supports ecologically sustainable timber harvest and active forest management, which he frames as compatible with conservation, and has linked salmon and watershed recovery on the Sauk and Stillaguamish rivers to the area's outdoor-recreation economy.[28][15]
Rankin opposes the proposed federal reintroduction of grizzly bears to the North Cascades. He has argued that the effort is premature, that broader ecosystem restoration should come first, and that local residents' concerns were underrepresented in the decision.[29] He spoke against the proposal at a 2019 public meeting in Okanogan County.[30]
As a town councilman, Rankin helped launch a wood-stove replacement program with the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency to reduce wintertime wood-smoke pollution, and later worked to install the town's first air-quality monitor.[31][32]
Personal life
Rankin is married; he and his wife, Kelli, returned to Darrington in part to raise their children near extended family.[8]
Electoral history
Rankin was first elected mayor in 2011, narrowly defeating two-term incumbent Joyce Jones by nine votes.[3] He won re-election in 2015 and ran unopposed in 2019 and 2023.[4][12]
| Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daniel Rankin (incumbent) | 270 | 83.08 | |
| Todd A. Ronning | 50 | 15.38 | |
| Write-in | 5 | 1.54 | |
| Total votes | 325 | 100.00 | |
| Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daniel O. Rankin (incumbent) | 255 | 90.43 | |
| Write-in | 27 | 9.57 | |
| Total votes | 282 | 100.00 | |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Summary Report – Snohomish County, 2019 General Election". Snohomish County Auditor. November 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Official Results – Snohomish County, General 2023". Snohomish County Auditor. November 28, 2023. Retrieved June 20, 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "Dan Rankin is Darrington's new mayor". The Seattle Times. 2011. Retrieved June 20, 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 "Ronning challenging Rankin in Darrington mayoral race". The Herald. Everett, Washington. October 9, 2015. Retrieved June 20, 2026.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Town Council". Town of Darrington. Retrieved June 20, 2026.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 "Small-Town Washington Mayor Finds New Role After Mudslide Disaster". HuffPost. Associated Press. 2014. Retrieved June 20, 2026.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 "Darrington mayor receives national award for leadership". The Herald. Everett, Washington. April 29, 2015. Retrieved June 20, 2026.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 "Agricultural roots". Cityvision. Association of Washington Cities. March 18, 2024. Retrieved June 20, 2026.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Rankin, Dan. "Finding Common Ground in Darrington". Washington Wild. Retrieved June 20, 2026.
- ↑ "Rankin Custom Milling: Dan Rankin". Extension Forestry. Washington State University. Retrieved June 20, 2026.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Snohomish County General Election Results". Snohomish County Auditor. November 2015. Retrieved June 20, 2026.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 "In Lake Stevens, Marysville, voters have just 1 choice for mayor". The Herald. Everett, Washington. July 24, 2023. Retrieved June 20, 2026.
- ↑ "10 years after Oso landslide, a new memorial is a gathering place for remembrance". KUOW. March 21, 2024. Retrieved June 20, 2026.
- ↑ "Natural disaster survivors: Mayor talks life after Oso landslide". LAist. September 2014. Retrieved June 20, 2026.
- ↑ 15.00 15.01 15.02 15.03 15.04 15.05 15.06 15.07 15.08 15.09 15.10 "Eight years after deadly Oso landslide near Darrington, new industry could change timber town". The Seattle Times. March 22, 2022. Retrieved June 20, 2026.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 "Darrington mayor getting award for actions after Oso slide". KIRO 7 News. Associated Press. 2015. Retrieved June 20, 2026.
- ↑ "Timber technology center could bring 100 jobs to Darrington". The Herald. Everett, Washington. Retrieved June 20, 2026.
- ↑ "Officials to present Oso mudslide economic recovery plan". The Herald. Everett, Washington. December 2, 2015. Retrieved June 20, 2026.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 "Timber innovation center a chance to reinvigorate rural town". The Herald. Everett, Washington. 2021. Retrieved June 20, 2026.
- ↑ "$115M Wood Innovation Center in Darrington to start this year". Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce. 2021. Retrieved June 20, 2026.
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 "U.S. Department of Commerce Invests $6 Million to Establish Wood Innovation Center in Darrington, Washington" (Press release). U.S. Economic Development Administration. February 25, 2021. Retrieved June 20, 2026.
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 "Despite Forterra drama, Darrington timber center still a go". The Herald. Everett, Washington. December 2022. Retrieved June 20, 2026.
- ↑ "Proposed Order of Approval for Public Comment – Darrington Wood Innovation Center LLC". Puget Sound Clean Air Agency. March 2024. Retrieved June 20, 2026.
- ↑ "2024 Annual Report". Forterra. 2024. Retrieved June 20, 2026.
- ↑ "Trails of Change: Recreation and Recovery in Darrington, WA". Craft MTN. Retrieved June 20, 2026.
- ↑ "Oso mudslide fails to deter true-blue music fans in Darrington". The Herald. Everett, Washington. July 20, 2014. Retrieved June 20, 2026.
- ↑ "The logging town of Darrington, Wash., fights to save a fire lookout". High Country News. 2012. Retrieved June 20, 2026.
- ↑ "We All Want Healthy Forests and Salmon Runs; We All Want Clean Water". The Pew Charitable Trusts. April 8, 2021. Retrieved June 20, 2026.
- ↑ "Bear with us: Grizzly reintroduction to North Cascades stalls". Cascade PBS. May 2025. Retrieved June 20, 2026.
- ↑ "Okanogan residents say 'no' to grizzlies". Capital Press. October 8, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2026.
- ↑ "Darrington cleans up its air, one wood stove at a time". The Herald. Everett, Washington. February 1, 2009. Retrieved June 20, 2026.
- ↑ "Darrington, Marysville tackle wood smoke to address poor air quality". The Herald. Everett, Washington. Retrieved June 20, 2026.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Joyce Jones |
Mayor of Darrington 2012–present |
Incumbent |
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