Don Long
Party: Non-partisan
Candidate for: Grant County PUD Commissioner, District 3
Incumbent? No
Age: 60
Hometown: Ephrata
Occupation: Electric power generation and operations consultant
50-word statement:
I will listen to all PUD customers and promote policies that keep your needs in the forefront. I have thirty years of leadership experience at Grant County PUD as an engineer and Director of Power Management. I've spent a lifetime in Grant County and understand what's important to represent you.
Three priorities:
I am committed to developing PUD rates and policies that support all customer classes - residential customers, agriculture, business, and industry, by providing low-cost power to all customers. I will do this by advocating for a review of the PUD's financial planning studies by outside experts to ensure that the PUD is not raising rates unnecessarily. I will support review of the irrigation rate to remove the season minimum charge.
I will also have unwavering support of completing the fiber-optics build-out in a manner that does not discriminate between rural and urban customers and does not affect electric rates. Currently, access to fiber optics is available primarily in the more populated areas of the county, leaving many rural residents and businesses - often farmers or ag-related businesses - without the technology available to others. I strongly support the rights of all Grant County customers to enjoy equal access to the benefits of the fiber optics network.
PUD commissioners have an important role to play in learning about and representing Grant County PUD in regional and national utility organizations and in Olympia and Washington D.C. I will provide proactive representation of ratepayers on PUD matters, both regionally and nationally.
Web site: www.donlong4pud.com
E-mail address: vote4don@donlong4pud.com
Phone number: (509) 754-2948
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