Six council candidates give Kennewick voters lots of choices to succeed Parks

Six candidates are running to succeed Bob Parks on the Kennewick City Council.

Parks is retiring from his Position 4 at-large role, which represents the entire city rather than a single district, or ward in city parlance.

With no incumbent, the election has attracted a deep field that includes a former transit official, a real estate investor, a member of the Hanford Patrol, a community activist and a recent Kamiakin High School graduate.

The candidates face off in the Aug. 1 primary. Ballots will be mailed Wednesday and must be postmarked by election day to be counted. The top two will advance to the Nov. 7 general election.

The city council is a nonpartisan position. The job will pay $1,200 per month as of Jan. 1, when those elected this year will take the oath of office.

Jim Millbauer is a 30-year Kennewick resident and 1977 graduate of Richland High School. A pipefitter, he has ties to labor groups, including UA Local 598.

He has the deepest campaign chest of the candidates to date.

He has raised $11,235 and spent $2,690. His largest contributions are from five five labor organizations that contributed $1,000 each, according to a disclosure form filed with the state Public Disclosure Commission. His largest expense is payment for campaign fliers.

He could not be reached for an interview for this story.

Bill McKay is a former Idaho dairyman who relocated to the Tri-Cities 21 years ago after earning an accounting degree. He worked in business and finance and is majority owner and developer of 27th Avenue Storage, a 553-unit storage facility on the city’s western side.

He has raised $1,000, according to his most recent PDC filings.

McKay said his focus would be on the city’s budget, which should prioritize essential services such as infrastructure and public safety. Everything else is extra.

McKay said his business and accounting background would bring a new perspective to the council.

A different perspective doesn’t hurt anything,” he said.

He has a particular interest in the building approval process. Citing his own experience developing a storage facility, he said the process is burdensome. He wants Kennewick to better welcome development.

Christy Watts recently retired as marketing and customer service manager for Ben Franklin Transit, a position she held for 15 years. She is a 27-year Kennewick resident who said she wants to bring a woman’s perspective to the city council, which currently is all male.

Her priorities are public safety, gender and ethnic diversity, promoting public and private partnerships and collaborating with neighboring cities. She supports the city’s partnership with the Port of Kennewick to develop Vista Field and redevelop Columbia Drive.

“I’m really an advocate for partnerships,” she said.

She does not intend to spend more than $5,000 on her campaign, according to her candidate registration statement to the PDC.

Ed Pacheco is a canine officer for the Hanford Patrol, serves on the Hanford Advisory Board and is president of Hanford Protective Forces.

He is chair of the Kennewick City Planning Commission and a former volunteer reserve officer. He co-authored a public safety sales tax proposition approved by voters in 2014 to beef up funding for police, courts and crime prevention initiatives. In 2013, he ran against Greg Jones to represent Ward 2 and lost.

His focus is on public safety, infrastructure and extending Kennewick’s growth boundary across the freeway.

He notes there are water lines that need replacing and the city is preparing to construct the Ridgeline Drive overpass across Highway 395. Extending infrastructure to Vista Field, the former airport slated for mixed-use development, are priorities.

“We’ve got to get those things ready for the next generation. The millennials are coming. We have to listen to them,” he said.

He does not intend to spend more than $5,000 during the campaign, according to his candidate registration statement to the PDC.

Leo Perales is a Kamiakin High School graduate with degrees from Columbia Basin College and Heritage University. His civic resume includes serving on the Kennewick Housing Authority board and the Benton County Planning Commission.

Perales is a community activist who made headlines this year when he developed a statement of inclusiveness for Kennewick with Councilman Bob Parks. The council rejected it, saying the city’s diversity commission should drive the effort.

His focus is public safety, quality of life and pushing the city to better engage with the community. He is spending the summer ringing doorbells and said his theme is “Kennewick Rising.”

“I want Kennewick to rise to this occasion. Our differences will only make us stronger.”

Perales has raised $2,749, according to disclosure statements filed with the PDC. He has spent $1,261, with his primary expenditures centered on campaign signs, a logo design, purchasing voter file access and Facebook ads.

Austin Griffin graduated from Kamiakin High School in 2013 and attended Columbia Basin College. He works for Starbucks.

He could not be reached for an interview. According to his statement in the voter’s pamphlet, his focus will be business retention and recruitment, as well as infrastructure. He would focus on roads, walkways and bike paths and would promote more after-school activities for youth.

He has not registered his campaign with the PDC and no financial information was available.

This story was originally published July 11, 2017 at 8:01 PM with the headline "Six council candidates give Kennewick voters lots of choices to succeed Parks."