Tri-Cities will get at least 1 new mayor next week. Allegations leave other 2 up in air

The Tri-Cities are guaranteed to have one new mayor next week, and maybe three.

The Pasco, Kennewick and Richland city councils all are set to elect a mayor and a mayor pro tem during their first meetings of the new year.

The three cities have council-manager forms of government, which means the council handles policy and budgeting for the city while the city manager oversees day-to-day management and the budget.

The mayor and mayor pro tem positions are considered by some as mostly honorary, but they do run council meetings, appear on their city’s behalf at a range of community events and work with other Tri-City officials.

West Richland has a mayor-council form of government, which means voters elect the mayor.

Each seven-member council in the other three cities selects two people from within its ranks to serve in the two-year positions.

Pasco is the one city that is guaranteed new leadership following longtime mayor Matt Watkins’ departure in December to travel the world.

Kennewick Mayor Don Britain and Richland Mayor Bob Thompson both have faced personal challenges in the past year, so it is not yet known if their colleagues will overlook those issues and return them to the middle of the dais.

Britain has been on the council since 2010 and been mayor since January 2018.

In October, he was fired from his job at the state Department of Social and Health Services for allegedly having an inappropriate relationship with a female client.

He said at the time that his termination really should have been handled as a policy violation, and denied any wrongdoing.

Thompson, a council member since 1994, was arrested June 30 on suspicion of driving drunk near the Columbia Center mall in Kennewick. He said dehydration may have contributed to his unexpectedly high readings after dining with friends.

A hearing on the misdemeanor driving under the influence charge is scheduled for this month in Benton County District Court.

▪ The Pasco City Council meets at 7 p.m. Monday at City Hall, 525 N. Third Ave.

Zahra Roach — who won the general election to take Watkins’ seat — was sworn in at the Dec. 9 meeting, along with returning council members David Milne and Ruben Alvarado.

Aside from Councilman Saul Martinez, who was appointed in 2010, the rest of the council is still relatively new. Five members have served for two years each since winning 2017’s historic redistricting election.

The mayor pro tem has been Craig Maloney.

▪ The Kennewick City Council meets at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 210 W. Sixth Ave.

New members Brad Beauchamp and Jim Millbauer will be sworn in at the start of the meeting, along with re-elected Councilman Chuck Torelli. Then, the council will vote on the mayor and and mayor pro tem.

Britain and Councilman John Trumbo are considered the board veterans, with three others joining in the past two years. Councilman Steve Lee was named mayor pro tem just minutes after he took office in January 2018.

Trumbo, a councilman since 2014, is under investigation for a Code of Ethics violation after two fellow councilmen filed a complaint in November. They say Trumbo has a pattern of abusing his position, most recently by inquiring about the private home sale of a state senator.

▪ The Richland City Council’s regular meeting starts at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 625 Swift Blvd.

Thompson, Brad Anderson, Phillip Lemley and Terry Christensen — all re-elected to the council — will be sworn in, followed by the vote for mayor.

Next to Thompson’s quarter-century tenure, Sandra Kent has been on the council the longest since 2008, followed by Lemley the next year. The remaining members were elected in 2011 and 2017.

Christensen has served two terms as mayor pro term.