Kennewick council race has low-key incumbent, well-funded challenger

The race to represent Kennewick’s Ward 2 on the City Council is shaping up as one of the most expensive municipal contests in recent memory, thanks to the self-funded campaign by a candidate who owns a successful Finley cannabis business.

Incumbent Greg Jones faces challengers Shane Fast and Steve Lee in the Aug. 1 primary.

Ballots will be mailed Wednesday. The top two finishers will advance to the Nov. 7 general election. City Council is a nonpartisan position that will pay $1,200 per month starting on Jan. 1.

Ward 2 stretches from the Columbia River south to the city’s southern limits and is bordered roughly by Olympia and Union streets to the east and west, respectively.

Greg Jones, chief financial officer for the Hanford nuclear reservation, was appointed to fill a vacancy in 2013 and subsequently elected to his current four-year term. He had not filed a campaign finance disclosure with the state’s Public Disclosure Commission as of Tuesday.

Jones also did not submit a candidate statement for the online voter’s pamphlet and does not appear to have either a campaign website or Facebook page. He was not available for an interview.

His official city biography says his focus is on economic development efforts that reduce the region’s dependence on Hanford.

Shane Fast is a lifelong Tri-City resident and Pasco High School graduate. He works for Keller Supply providing commercial estimates.

He has considered running for office in the past and felt now was the right time, he said. His interest in city government stems with past disagreements with a former City Council member.

If elected, he said the city’s budget will be his top priority.

“Do we really need to keep increasing the taxation? I think the real answer is no,” he said.

Fast cites deep roots in the Tri-Cities, saying his family first came to the region in 1908. He has no prior experience in elected office, though he notes he has served in a number of leadership positions with the Kennewick Men’s Softball Association.

Fast indicated he intends to spend less than $5,000 on his candidate registration statement.

Steve Lee, another lifelong Tri-Citian, said he’s self-funding his campaign to weaken the advantages that go with incumbency. Lee and his wife founded and own Green2Go, a legal cannabis shop in Finley outside of Kennewick city limits.

He has raised $47,695, including $46,204 in personal funds. That is the most by any council candidate in Washington state outside of Seattle, Tacoma, Everett and Spokane.

He has spent more than $5,700 to date. Advertising in the Tri-City Herald is his most visible expense.

Lee graduated from Burbank’s Columbia High School.

Green2Go is in Finley, an unincorporated community of Benton County. The city of Kennewick prohibits marijuana businesses. Lee said he’s not running to press for a reversal.

“Why force something in a community that doesn’t want it?” he asked. “It really is a lose-lose situation for me.”

If elected, he will work to promote Kennewick as the region’s incubator for small businesses, he said. To do that, he favors investing in the arts and engaging younger professionals in civic matters.

“If someone like me can get elected, it would show that a regular person can be in a position of leadership,” he said.

This story was originally published July 12, 2017 at 6:25 PM with the headline "Kennewick council race has low-key incumbent, well-funded challenger."