The Sonntag name has long been synonymous with public service in Tacoma, and no member of the family embodied that better than Dick Sonntag. He passed away on June 21, after battling cancer for three years.
His father, Jack Sonntag, served as Pierce County auditor from 1948 to 1966 and passed away in 1969. Not long after his father’s death, Dick Sonntag answered the call of public service and ran for Tacoma City Council. He served three terms. Among his accomplishments was successfully pushing to enact term limits, which caused him to step down at the end of his third term. Now council members are limited to two consecutive four-year terms. Tacomans continue to support this, as evident by the vote last fall on a ballot measure that called for eliminating term limits. It was soundly defeated.
After leaving the council Sonntag became president of a Parent Teacher Association. Seeing another opportunity to serve, he successfully ran for Tacoma School Board in 1991. Always an advocate for ethics in government, he felt he had a conflict of interest when his brother Brian Sonntag was elected state auditor and resigned from his seat on the board.
He and his wife, Allison, ended up moving to Port Orchard so she could live closer to his job. But that did not end Dick Sonntag’s interest in civic affairs in Tacoma. He enjoyed writing letters to the editor and would lend his support to people and causes. The last letter he submitted to Tacoma Weekly was in the fall of 2007. It expressed support for Harold Moss, who was challenging incumbent Spiro Manthou for the seat representing the West End and part of the North End on Tacoma City Council.
A memorial service for Sonntag will be held at Life Christian Center at noon on June 27. The church will no doubt be full of many elected officials and community leaders paying their respects to a man who defined commitment to civic involvement.
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