Voice of the Mid-Columbia | Kennewick, Pasco and Richland, Wash. |
Print
E-Mail
tool name
closeMonday, Oct. 26, 2009
Budget, business top concerns for council candidates
By Kristin M. Kraemer and Joe Chapman, Herald staff writers
In West Richland, two incumbents are defending their seats, and a third seat will be decided between two newcomers.
The general election is Nov. 3.
West Richland has seven city council seats plus the mayor's. Terms are four years each. Council members are paid $350 a month plus a $50 monthly vehicle allowance.
Position 1
For position 1, Brent Gerry and Angie Tyree are competing for the seat previously occupied by Julie Jones, who decided not to run again.
Gerry, 53, is owner of Richland AutoCare Center. A 16-year resident of West Richland, he says he is committed to economic growth, a "sensible budget" and public safety.
"I've seen our little city grow rapidly, and that's a plus," Gerry said.
To continue moving forward, though, West Richland must enhance accessibility to Interstate 82 and expand its tax base, he said. New business is needed, but the city needs to be careful that it is appropriate for the place, such as no smoke stacks, he said.
Gerry's training includes Automotive Service Excellence certification, and he went through Firestone's business management program. He also is a certified arbitration and dispute mediator.
Gerry is former vice president of a Yakima snowmobile club which raised money for the Make-a-Wish Foundation, and he's a former vice president of the Automotive Service Association.
He's married with two grown daughters and two grandsons.
Gerry said new members must first try to learn the "thoughts, views and personalities" of others on the council because they "have to work as a team, not as a city divided." Then, time in the office will help him better understand the issues and make decisions that will work for the residents of West Richland, he said.
Tyree, 41, recently became a nurse after working for 20 years in TV production. She has lived in West Richland for nearly six years after growing up in Pasco.
Tyree said the city maintains a rural atmosphere even as it continues to grow. "Where else can you buy a gallon of milk at the hardware store?" she said.
There is "not a huge divide" between the two candidates and their positions, said Tyree, who also believes it is imperative that the city implement its economic plan and bring in more businesses. Seventy-three percent of West Richland's budget comes from property taxes, she said, and the city is now looking at major cuts or raising taxes -- both "scary options."
"I don't necessarily know that we've planned well. The budget is in a shortfall for the second year," Tyree said.
Tyree works part time at Columbia Rheumatology and as needed at Kadlec Regional Medical Center. She is a charter member of West Richland Red Mountain Lions Club, was president of her nursing class at Columbia Basin College and was on the Associated Student Body budget committee.
She's married and has three children, ages 9 to 13.
Her desire to serve on the city council is an extension of that service to the community. She said she has a willingness to be educated about the issues by the citizens since the council is working for them.
"What I'd bring to the council is an open mind and a level head," Tyree said. "... I'm not going to go in and do what everyone else has done, but I can't do it alone. It takes discussion."
Position 3
In the race for West Richland City Council Position 3, a 12-year incumbent is being challenged by an economic development advocate.
Councilwoman Gail Brown, 50, is one year younger than the city and has lived there her entire life. She said her knowledge of West Richland's history and traditions is an asset to the council.
She said working with the Port of Kennewick is a key to West Richland's economic development, as is strategic development of the city's water and sewer infrastructure to meet the needs of growth.
Her goals are to promote economic development, to work toward a Red Mountain interchange and to finish the highway through West Richland. She favors developing low-income and senior housing and doing away with of some of the rundown trailer homes in the city.
"There's always challenges, there always will be," Brown said. "They kind of vary and change as the years go on, and you learn from them and go with them. But planning ahead and facing those challenges as they come is what it's all about."
Brown is divorced and has three grown children and three grandchildren. She works for Lutheran Community Services as a social worker.
Her challenger, Johan Curtiss, shares some of Brown's views about infrastructure, partnering with the port and providing low- to moderate-income housing. She diverges from her opponent, however, by proposing the sale of city property to spur commercial development.
"The city's properties are sitting on prime commercial property," Curtiss said. "We should look at identifying some new properties to move to, sell that commercial property, and let real developers come into town and work on that."
The city's investment in its city hall, library and police station has benefited the area, but the city needs to do more to encourage commercial development and grow sales tax revenues, she said.
Curtiss, 48, has lived in West Richland for 20 years, not all consecutive, and graduated from Hanford High School. She's married and has three children, one still in high school.
She served on the city's Economic Development Board from its inception in 2001 through 2008, serving as its chairwoman in 2005 and 2006.
Curtiss is assistant director for admissions, registration and financial aid at Washington State University Tri-Cities, where she has worked since 1996.
Position 4
For position 4, Councilman Mark Hanneman is defending his seat against challenger Richard Bloom.
Hanneman was elected in November 2007 in a special election to fill the unexpired term of former Councilman Matt Bleich.
In those two years, Hanneman said, he's seen the city help clean up several eyesores around town and report double-digit growth in sales tax revenue.
He is a strong supporter of public safety and economic development and thinks that an I-82/Red Mountain interchange is key to bringing in more business to West Richland. But at the same time, the city needs to continue improving the image of its established business corridor -- Van Giesen Street, Hanneman said.
"We've got some folks on the council that are movers and shakers and I'm proud to be part of it," he said. "I really believe we're moving in the right direction."
Hanneman, 54, is a counter-intelligence officer for the Department of Energy. He has lived in West Richland since 1995.
He previously served on the West Richland Economic Development Board and the city's juvenile diversionary board. He also plays drums in a Pink Floyd tribute band called Oldschool.
He retired from the Air Force in 1994 after serving for 21 years and was a special agent in the Air Force's Office of Special Investigations.
Hanneman is married and has a 6-year-old daughter and two grown daughters.
Bloom, 58, ran for the city council in 2007. He has lived in West Richland for seven years and off and on in the Tri-Cities since 1980.
One of Bloom's greatest concerns for the city is short-term budgetary issues. West Richland is projected to have spent $370,000 over its planned budget for this year, with $177,130 of that above normal revenue, he said.
"This isn't a good time for the city as far as the economy. We're pulling from the resources and that just isn't a good sign," Bloom said. "A lot of the costs are applied to expansion but we don't have a good business plan."
Bloom said council members need to make change instead of just going with the status quo.
"I've been dealing with budgets of this magnitude, and you have to drive the budget and not just sit back and watch," he said. "If you go broke you're not going to get very far."
Bloom is an environmental compliance officer at the plutonium finishing plant at the Hanford site. He's married and has two grown children and three grandchildren.
He was a scoutmaster for Boy Scout Troop 168 in the early 1990s and was a homeowners association officer in Jefferson County, Colo., later that decade.
w For more election coverage, go to tricityherald.com/election.
@Nyx.CommentBody@