Dunning comes out swinging at Thurston housing council meeting. What happened?
Lacey City Council member Nic Dunning, already in the spotlight after a colleague opposed his appointment to the Regional Housing Council, grabbed additional attention at the RHC’s first meeting of the year on Wednesday.
One of the first orders of business was to vote on a new chair and vice-chair of the group, and that’s when things got a little testy.
Dunning started by nominating current chair and Thurston County Commissioner Emily Clouse to remain as chair of the group. She declined to accept the nomination and instead nominated Olympia City Council member Robert Vanderpool, who accepted.
Clouse then became the vice-chair by default because the interlocal agreement that was signed between the county’s primary jurisdictions to form the RHC stipulates that the county representative to the group has to either be the chair or vice-chair, she explained.
That’s when Dunning weighed in on Vanderpool and Clouse working together.
“Politically, you know, having two members who are part of DSA (Democratic Socialists of America) kind of puts the RHC into a very politically sensitive and potentially biased situation,” he said. “And then second, I’ve been notified that there’s been discussions between Robert and a member of our (Lacey) council to undermine Lacey’s position on the RHC.”
Dunning said that should exclude Vanderpool from being chair of the group.
The council finally voted 3-1 to name Vanderpool chairman. Although several people attended the Zoom-only meeting, only five of them — elected officials from Olympia, Lacey, Tumwater, Thurston County and Yelm — are voting members. The Yelm representative showed up late to the meeting and missed the vote.
Both Clouse and Vanderpool responded to Dunning’s comments.
“I don’t necessarily agree with some of the characterizations of the comments that you’ve made, but I don’t want to discredit or invalidate them,” Clouse said. “I’m not sure what conversations have taken place on the side, but I’m always welcome and more than open to talk with you if you want to sit down. I’m happy to hear more about what your concerns might be, because I really want to make sure that not just for you, but for all of our new members, that the onboarding process and transition to the new membership goes as smoothly as possible.
“The last thing I think I’ll say on this is that the role of the chair is really just to facilitate the meeting,” Clouse added. “The chair doesn’t have any additional influence upon decisions.”
Vanderpool said he didn’t know what conversation Dunning was referring to.
“I’m not going to respond to any red-baiting; I’m not doing that,” he said. “... We all have different opinions here, but my ultimate goal is to ensure that we can build housing for people in the community, and that’s why I’m on here.”
More comments after RHC meeting
Dunning said he was concerned because the chair/vice-chair nominating process felt “pre-planned,” and that two political allies could dominate the RHC. What he wants to see is more “diversity of thought,” he said.
“Our role is to ask questions and look at all sides of an issue,” said Dunning, adding that he wants to make sure the council is having well-rounded discussions and taking the time to make decisions.
Vanderpool reiterated that his primary goal is to get people housed.
“We may have our disagreements, obviously, about politics and whatnot, but I think getting down to the brass tacks of ensuring we can do housing for people in our community is important, especially right now when budgets are so, so tight,” he said.
Clouse said she was not interested in fighting or scrutinizing political beliefs, but finding solutions to address the homelessness and affordability crisis.
Both she and Vanderpool just want to help, she said.
“I guess that’s the DSA in us,” Clouse said.
She acknowledged that she is a member of DSA, and the Olympia DSA endorsed Vanderpool for Olympia City Council.
“Olympia DSA is proud to endorse two candidates for Olympia City Council, Robert Vanderpool and Caleb Gieger! Robert and Caleb are both union members, DSA members, and champions of the interests of workers, tenants, and the most vulnerable people in our community,” a Facebook post said.
On Jan. 13, the Lacey council began the work of figuring out who would serve on the various boards and committees in the county. Dunning previously was the alternate to the Regional Housing Council while council member Carolyn Cox was the primary contact. Cox said she couldn’t recommend him for that role.
“This (the RHC) is an organization built on fragile relationships,” she said at the Jan. 13 meeting. “It’s dealing with homelessness, and the challenges of affordable housing is hard work with no easy answers. You know, I really hate to say this, but I object to your appointment because I think you don’t have the temperament for it. I apologized to the county housing staff for your behavior at a council meeting a couple of months ago. It’s fine to ask questions, and you should ask questions, but the aggressive and insulting manner in which they were asked was not cool.”
Dunning responded, too.
“One of my biggest issues right now that we have, especially when it comes to homelessness and the Regional Housing Council, is differences of opinion aren’t and haven’t been allowed,” he said. “It’s an area where the moment you say anything that differs from the leadership, you get put in a box. And I think that is wholly inappropriate. And I think having differences of opinions on all of our committees is the most healthy thing that we do.”
This story was originally published January 30, 2026 at 9:09 AM.
