Former Pasco city councilman dies

Former Pasco City Councilman Tom Larsen, a strong anti-tax advocate who served on the council for 16 years, died Wednesday. He was 84.

Larsen left the council at the end of the year, having decided earlier not to seek re-election.

He notably pushed for making the city more business and citizen friendly, sometimes voting or speaking out against popular projects and for controversial resolutions.

Some of those votes included trying to respect the zoning in the “doughtnut hole” in Pasco.

The former real estate agent also spoke out against the city’s redistricting effort, though he eventually supported it.

“In the few years I had the privilege to work with Councilmember Larsen, I saw in Tom a public servant that held to his principles and put little to no value in being on the majority side of a policy issue, unless it was consistent with what he believed,” City Manager Dave Zabell told the Herald.

His wife Joan ran for his seat last fall, but didn’t make it out of the primary.

He was born in Utah and came to Pasco 42 years ago.

Mueller’s Greenlee Funeral Home in Pasco is handling his services.

This story was originally published March 14, 2018 at 7:33 PM with the headline "Former Pasco city councilman dies."