Who’s behind the Richland School Board recall? One is the former head of Hanford
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Richland School Board Recall Effort
A high-profile group of voters filed to recall board members Semi Bird, Audra Byrd and Kari Williams after their controversial vote to make face masks optional.
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The four voters pursuing a recall effort against three Richland School Board members are a group of well-known scientists, businessmen, federal workers and contractors.
Though they hold high standing in the community, they say their decision is not about politics or masks — it’s about following the law, upholding the school district’s credibility and bringing the focus back to the students.
“I worked for the government for 25 years. I worked for Republicans and Democrats,” said Mike Lawrence, the former Department of Energy manager of the Hanford nuclear reservation who oversaw the site’s transition from plutonium production to cleanup. “I believe it’s very important for anyone in public service to follow the law and rules for the position they’re in.”
“The issue is picking and choosing the rules and regulations you choose to follow,” he emphasized.
Lawrence, Brian Brendel, Bradley Rew and Anthony Peurrung filed petitions April 11 with the Benton County Auditor’s Office to recall three of the five members on the Richland School Board.
Semi Bird, Kari Williams and Audra Byrd voted in February to make masks optional, a decision which led the Richland superintendent to close schools for two days and put the district in risky legal territory with one lawsuit already filed.
The dysfunction on the board and in the district could have larger repercussions than just a couple closed school days, argues Brendel, the lead recall organizer.
The president of a Tri-Cities-based engineering and fabrication company, Brendel fears it could dissuade families and workers from relocating to the Tri-Cities.
“One of the primary things PNNL (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory) has used as a recruiting tool has been the Richland School District,” said Brendel.
PNNL, operated by Battelle for the Department of Energy, is the largest and the highest-paying employers in the Tri-Cities with more than 5,300 employees and annual budget of $1.25 billion.
Peurrung, who joined Brendel, Lawrence and Rew in leading the recall effort, holds one of the top three positions at PNNL as deputy director for science and technology.
Recall hearing
A hearing is scheduled Monday before a Benton County Superior Court judge on whether the recall charges — 6 for two of them and 7 for another — meet the state’s standard for recall.
The judge will decide if the recall group can move forward with gathering signatures.
They would then have six months to collect 5,200-5,800 signatures per board member to put the question to voters if they should be ousted from office.
In the recall, the trio are alleged of exceeding their power as school board members, breaking state law by violating the governor’s emergency proclamation and indoor COVID mask mandate, breaking Washington’s open meetings law, and violating multiple school district ethics and policies in the process.
The recall group is hoping to correct what they see as “willful and wanton disregard for the law” and district policy.
“If we have people who are elected and are just going to throw those away, and pretty much just bully their way through the process, that’s effectively throwing away the democratic process,” Brendel told the Tri-City Herald.
Brendel said the group came together after the three board members “doubled down” on their February decision.
They continue to maintain that what they did was within their purview and what a majority of parents wanted.
“It’s a noble thing to give food to someone who’s starving, but it’s another thing if you stole that food from Safeway,” Brendel said.
Here’s a look at the four leading the recall effort:
Michael Lawrence
Lawrence, the former Department of Energy manager at Hanford, is an influential figure in the storied history of the federal nuclear project.
He led the Hanford nuclear reservation from 1984 to 1990, and is credited with the site’s turnaround from plutonium production to environmental cleanup.
Lawrence is one of the architects behind the Tri-Party Agreement, which laid out responsibilities and plans to clean up Hanford between Washington state, local and federal governments.
The legally binding document continues to provide the framework for environmental cleanup at the nation’s most contaminated nuclear waste sites at a cost to taxpayers of about $2.5 billion a year.
For nine years starting in 2000, he also served as associate laboratory director for energy and information services at PNNL.
He retired in 2010 after a short stint leading the United Kingdom National Nuclear Laboratory.
He and his wife live in West Richland.
Brian Brendel
Brendel is president of Columbia Energy & Environmental Services, a full-service engineering and fabrication firm he runs with his wife.
The business started 25 years ago as a contractor to the Hanford nuclear cleanup effort. Today, the business employs more than 125 and offers services throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Brendel is a Richland High School alum, a Richland resident and has three kids, one of which he says will be in the school district starting next year.
Bradley Rew
Rew is a well-known Tri-Cities businessman and entrepreneur, having served as owner and president of Gale Rew Construction for 15 years, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Some of his investments include Millennial Properties, HJBT Properties, Builders Advantage, BizMedia (Tri-City Showcase Magazine) and Blue Designs. He has also served on the Tri-City Regional Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors.
In 2019, Rew fulfilled one of his longtime dreams with the $1.5 million purchase of the Horn Rapids Golf Course.
He lives in Richland and has been involved with the YMCA of the Greater Tri-Cities, local sports coaching and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Anthony Peurrung
Peurrung, a longtime researcher, is the deputy director for science and technology at PNNL.
He also manages the company’s science and technology investments and technology commercialization work.
His involvement in the recall is independent of his work at the prestigious national laboratory, which competes to recruit and employ scientists and engineers with national and international reputations.
They include experts in areas such as data science and chemistry who conduct research in fields that are critical to the nation, such as sustainable energy and national security.
Most recently, the lab in Richland competed and was picked as the site of the nation’s Grid Storage Launchpad, a research center to make long-term clean energy storage and a modern power grid a reality. Work has just begun on a $75 million building for the project.
Peurrung joined PNNL in 1994 and has a research background in a variety of fields within fundamental and applied physics. Before serving as one of two deputy directors at the lab, he was association laboratory director for PNNL’s national security research for more than a decade.
He’s also held leadership positions on the U.S. Department of Energy Radiation Detection Panel and in the Department of Homeland Security’s nuclear countermeasures program.
This story was originally published May 7, 2022 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Who’s behind the Richland School Board recall? One is the former head of Hanford."
