Rich Zwicker resigns from RTC Board of Trustees again

Renton Technical College trustee Rich Zwicker resigned at Tuesday night’s board meeting.

“It’s tough for me to step down, but I believe its the best interest of the board to let them regroup and refocus without me being a distraction,” he said.

In August Zwicker passionately resigned from the board in opposition of its firing of the former president Don Bressler. However, he rescinded his decision after encouragement from community members.

“There was always going to be tension,” Zwicker said, who plans to continue serving on the school’s foundation board.

By staying on as a trustee he hoped to usher in a new president.

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The process could be expedited with interim president Steve Hanson, who the board is considering for the permanent position.

“I would love to make it known that it has absolutely nothing to do with Steve Hanson,” Zwicker said of his resignation. “He has my full support. I think he is the right person to take the college into the future.”

The Board of Trustees hasn’t voted on Hanson yet. It won’t formally interview him until a Dec. 15 meeting. The board doesn’t know if it will be prepared to vote by that meeting, said chair Ronnie Behnke.

“He was very amiable. It was not intended to demonstrate any lack of support for what we are doing,” trustee Tyler Page said of Zwicker.

Zwicker submitted his formal resignation to the governor Wednesday. He only had about 10 months left in his term, he said.

“Now is as good of time as any,” said Zwicker, who is also a City of Renton council member.

The Bressler vote changed the dynamic of the board, and a position Zwicker once loved was no longer a joy for him, he said.

“With everything that took place, it’s just not something I wanted to do any longer,” he said.

Zwicker’s resignation now means the board only has three members. It’s just enough for a quorum, which is necessary to vote.

In August, community activists who supported Bressler discovered trustee Frank Irigon didn’t live within the college district’s boundaries, a requirement to serve on the board.

In October, the executive analyst for state boards and commissions, Kim Tanaka, told the Renton Reporter the Governor’s Office hoped to have Irigon’s spot filled by early November.