2 longest-serving Kennewick School Board members call it quits. 7 file to replace them

The two longest serving Kennewick School Board members are leaving their positions at the end of this year.

And, in all, at least six incumbents in city, school and port positions decided not to run for re-election as filing week wrapped up Friday.

Kennewick schools will lose the most combined years of experience with the decision by Dawn Adams and her niece Heather Kintzley to step down.

“This month marks 20 years of service on the board,” Adams told the Herald. “It has been personally rewarding to serve our community, investing today in our youth for tomorrow.”

Adams was initially appointed to the board in May 2001, and wanted to give back to the community, according to the Kennewick School District page. She worked to understand the the diverse needs of the people in the community.

The longtime board member is a Kennewick native, whose father worked for the district for 30 years. After graduating from Kennewick schools, she earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in computer-related fields from Washington State University. She has four sons in the district.

Kintzley also plans to leave after serving 12 years, and seeing the tremendous growth in the district. But she joined before her two children were born, and now they are 10 and 8.

“It’s been my pleasure to participate in influencing the evolution of Kennewick School District,” she told the Herald. “ (My children have) sacrificed to support my dedication to the District, and I owe them my time and attention for the second half of their childhood.”

She plans to watch the race closely and hopes that her position falls into good hands.

Kintzley, a fourth-generation Kennewick High graduate, joined the school board in 2009. She wanted to join the board after years as a Benton County deputy prosecutor and working for the city of Kennewick.

She saw the importance of education giving people choices so they could avoid bad decisions.

She graduated from Gonzaga School of Law, and lives with Kennewick with her husband and two children.

Crowded races

A rush of candidates filed last week in hopes of filling those seats. The top two vote-getters in the Aug. 3 primary move on to the November election.

Four candidates filed to replace Kintzley. They include Gary Bullert, David Nielsen, Scott E. Rodgers and Micah Valentine.

Valentine previously said he planned to run for Kennewick City Council, but set his sights on the school board instead.

Three candidates filed for Adams’ position — Gabe Galbraith, James Langford and Erin Steinert

Pasco School Board

In Pasco, longtime school board member Sherry Lancon also did not file for re-election. She volunteered for the district long before she was appointed to the board in 2007.

She has not made a statement about why she was leaving the spot, but two people — Steve Simmons and Nicole Stuart-Pesevic — filed for the position.

And board incumbent Amy Phillips is being challenged by John Kennedy and Michelle Andres.

Pasco City Council

A four-way race is brewing to replace outgoing Mayor Saul Martinez, the city’s first Latino mayor and a longtime council member.

Those who filed for the open seat include Irving Brown, Steven Martinez, Leo Perales and Nikki Torres.

Kennewick City Council

Three Kennewick councilmen are facing multiple opponents. Mayor Don Britain will face home builder and businesswoman Gretl Crawford and Jacob Finkbeiner.

Councilman Bill McKay has three challengers — Uby Creek, Bryan Meehan-Verhei and Ken Short.

And Councilman John Trumbo will face Brandon Andersen and Jason Lohr.

Richland School Board

Richland School Board member Ken Gosney announced that he wouldn’t run for the remaining portion of Rick Donahoe’s term, leaving an open spot. Two candidates — Elizabeth Vann-Clark, a former math teacher and behavioral scientist M. Semi Bird — filed for the opening and will face off in November.

Incumbent Heather Cleary has drawn two competitors. Audra Byrd, like several other candidates, said she was motivated to join the race after COVID shutdowns.

The other is longtime educator Danica Garcia, who said she is looking to bring more transparency to the school district.

Richland City Council

Longtime Councilman Bob Thompson filed on Friday. He has two challengers seeking his spot — business owner and volunteer Chaune’ Fitzgerald and Jhoanna Jones, the CEO of Options Commercial Mortgage.

Also newly appointed Councilwoman Marianne Boring is being challenged by Mike Luzzo, Theresa Richardson and Elijah Stanfield for the remaining two years of that term.

Other races

Franklin County Assessor John Rosenau is running unopposed to serve the remaining year left in Peter McEnderfer’s term.

Rosenau was appointed by the county commissioners to replace McEnderfer after he stepped down.

Also, retiring Kennewick Police Chief Ken Hohenberg will run unopposed to replace outgoing Port of Kennewick Commissioner Don Barnes who did not seek re-election.

This story was originally published May 22, 2021 at 1:33 PM.