Ex-mayor Matt Watkins plans campaign for a different Pasco elected office
Former Pasco Mayor Matt Watkins is the first announced candidate for the Port of Pasco seat being vacated by Commissioner Jean Ryckman.
Ryckman, 80, confirmed she will not seek reelection this year from the nonpartisan District 2 seat she’s held since 2012.
“I love being a part of all the good the port does but it is time for a fresh face,” she told the Tri-City Herald.
Watkins said he will submit paperwork to file for office on May 5, the first day of filing week in Washington for the 2025 election cycle. Filing week for the port and dozens of other local, nonpartisan posts concludes on May 9.
Watkins will run for a full six-year term.
A second spot on the Pasco port commission is on the ballot this year. The District 3 slot held by appointee Hans Engelke is also up for election. Engelke was appointed to the job after Jim Klindworth retired mid-term in 2024.
The 2025 election will determine who will serve the two years remaining on Klindworth’s term. Engelke confirmed he will run for the post.
Longtime Pasco councilman
Watkins is a lifelong Tri-Citian resident who served 16 years on the Pasco City Council, 10 of them as the mayor.
He stepped down as mayor and left his 30-year job at the Hanford site n 2019, saying it was time for a change.
In late 2022, Watkins was hired on a professional services agreement through the city to oversee development of the $40 million, voter-approved aquatic center being constructed in the Broadmoor area of Pasco.
The agreement extends through mid-2026, meaning there would be six months of overlap where he would be doing both jobs if he wins election and is seated to the post in January.
Watkins said he would expect to be busy, but believes he can balance both sets of job duties.
Watkins said he is seeking the port role as a continuation of his interest in civic engagement, volunteer work and community involvement.
“Pasco is on the move, but we need continued forward-thinking leadership to guide the port’s role in that progress,” be said. His priorities include ensuring the port has land available for potential industry and the electrical infrastructure to support it.
“I still have my community service bug,” he said, noting that he grew up immersed in local port business. His mother, philanthropist Sue Frost, is a former Port of Kennewick manager and later, elected commissioner.
He pledged to support partnerships with local and regional agencies to benefit Pasco residents.
He called out focus on Connell, which is reeling from the fall 2024 closure of the Lamb Weston french fry plant, which eliminated hundreds of jobs in the tight-knit rural community.
The 2025 election comes at a time of both success and change for the Port of Pasco.
The public agency is responsible for economic development in much of Franklin County. It has enjoyed extraordinary success in recent years, capped largely by Darigold Inc.
The Seattle dairy cooperative chose to site a $600+ million state-of-the-art processing plant on land it acquired from the port. That project is nearing completion and should be operational by the middle of this year.
As the port tallies wins, it has seen the retirements of key leaders, including its executive director and two of the three elected leaders.
Randy Hayden, its longtime director, retired earlier this year and was succeeded by former Pasco City Manager Adam Lincoln.
Longtime Commissioner Jim Klindworth retired after 37 years in office in 2024. Engelke is his appointed successor and must run for election to fill out the term.
For a full list of elected positions in Franklin County open in 2025, go to votewa.gov.
This story was originally published April 29, 2025 at 12:24 PM.