Retired police officer fills vacancy on Liberty Lake City Council

A former officer with the Spokane Police Department who moved to Liberty Lake in 2012 and became a steadfast community volunteer has been appointed to fill a vacant seat on the Liberty Lake City Council.

Tom Sahlberg was selected to replace Mike Kennedy, who resigned recently. Sahlberg said he has no interest in being a politician but decided to apply for the vacant seat as a way to continue his service to the community. It’s not the first time he’s considered applying for an empty seat.

“I was asked, actually, several times,” he said. “This time it was just hard to say no.”

Sahlberg is no stranger to the City Council. He’s been attending meetings regularly and Sahlberg said he believes that is part of why the council selected him over the other five candidates. “I could hit the ground running,” he said.

He has also served on the city’s planning commission, civil service commission and parks and arts commission. “I served on all three of them simultaneously at one point,” he said. “We didn’t have a lot of people stepping forward.”

He had also applied to serve on the new Community Engagement Commission that is being formed. He previously was a member of the Friends of Pavillion Park and Friends of the Liberty Lake Library. He created the Snow Angels, a group of people who shovel the sidewalks and driveways of elderly and disabled community members. He also serves on the Spokane Regional Transportation Council Transportation Advisory Committee.

His goals while on the council are to be informed, support city staff and work with the community to make “Liberty Lake Together,” the city’s motto, a reality, Sahlberg said. His job also includes making sure the police department is supported. “I see things through the lens of public safety,” he said.

Sahlberg’s life has been about service. He was with the Spokane Police Department for 26 years before retiring in 2004. He was a victim/witness advocate with the Spokane County Prosecutor’s Office for a year. He served on the state of Washington Parole Board from 2007 to 2017. In 2015, he was part of a group of River District neighbors who banded together to provide police the information needed to get a drug house in the neighborhood shut down.

It’s that dedication to service that brought him to the City Council. Sahlberg said serving on the council is attractive because it is about serving the community. “It’s part of public service and that’s been my calling,” he said. “I wanted to stay away from politics because I’m nonpartisan.”

It’s that aversion to politics that has Sahlberg saying that he likely won’t put his name on the ballot when his seat comes up for election in 2023. “At this point, I’m not thinking about running,” he said. “I’m not a politician, I’m a public servant.”