Tri-Cities’ longest-serving mayor won’t seek re-election. Who has filed to run
West Richland Mayor Brent Gerry, the longest-serving mayor in the Tri-Cities, will not seek a fourth term in 2025.
Gerry confirmed he is stepping out of city politics after 16 years.
“I’m retiring,” he told the Tri-City Herald. He said he began mentoring Mayor Pro Tem Fred Brink to take on the full-time mayor’s duties about a year ago.
May 5-9 is filing week in Washington. There are more than 100 local, nonpartisan seats on city councils, school boards, port commissions and other agencies on the ballot in the Tri-Cities this year, including mayor of West Richland.
As of Tuesday, Brink was the only candidate to file to run for mayor.
Gerry said Brink has been deeply involved with city governance, playing a role in developing the biennial budget he stands to inherit if elected.
Brink, who won his current council seat in 2023, has played a role in interviewing candidates for West Richland’s next police chief — a choice that will be announced “soon.”
Brink is a U.S. Naval Academy graduate who served as a surface warfare officer and retired from the FBI as a special agent-in-charge. He works as a program manager in national security at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
“He believes in where the city is going,” Gerry said.
Gerry, 69, said he and his wife sold their business, Richland AutoCare Center, to 360 Automotive & Repair in April 2024.
He said he’s proud of the team he assembled as mayor and of their accomplishments. That includes building the municipal services complex at Belmont and a new police station at the former Tri-Cities Raceway, among other major developments.
Good foundation
He looks forward to observing the city as it works its way through a planning process for 7,000 mostly agricultural acres with the potential to transform West Richland from being the Tri-Cities’ bedroom community.
He’s eager to see commercial and industrial development to bolster a tax base that can’t always afford to carry out parks and other initiatives.
“We have built a good foundation for the future out here,” he said.
Gerry said he will attend to neglected hobbies, spend time with grandchildren and enjoy the family’s vacation home in the mountains.
“I’m going to have dinner ready for my wife when she gets home from work,” he added.
Gerry joined the West Richland City Council in 2010 and served on term before being elected mayor in 2014.
He last ran in 2021, defeating Councilwoman Kate Moran with 68% of the vote in a race seen as a referendum on West Richland’s “strong mayor” form of government.
West Richland is unique in the Tri-Cities. Its residents elect a strong mayor to oversee municipal operations, a paid role.
In contrast, the city councils in Kennewick, Richland and Pasco have council-manager forms of government. They choose one of their own to serve a two-year term as honorary mayor.
Management is delegated to a professional city manager. In her run for office, Moran said she wanted West Richland to consider adopting the same approach.
All three city councils will choose a new mayor in January, after newly-elected members are sworn in and take their seats.
Kennewick mayor leaving too
Gerry is the second Tri-Cities mayor to confirm plans to step out of office at the end of their current term.
Monday, Kennewick Mayor Gretl Crawford told the Herald she will not run for a second term on the Kennewick City Council.
That move set off a scramble that saw appointed Councilman Jason McShane file to run to represent Crawford’s district in western Kennewick.
Former Washington State Rep. Brad Klippert filed to run for McShane’s at-large council seat, setting the stage for a political comeback after being out of office for several years.
As of Tuesday, Brink was the only person to file for the West Richland mayor’s seat.
Filing week continues through 5 p.m., Friday. Here’s a look at the key races that are both contested and uncontested as of midweek.
Contested races
Richland City Council Pos. 6: Incumbent Kurt Maier and challenger Kyle Saltz.
Port of Benton Pos. 1: Incumbent Roy Keck and challenger William O’Neil.
Connell City Council Pos. 1: Shelley Harper and Patricia Barrera.
Grandview School Pos. 5: No incumbent. Amanda Rodriguez and Cecilia Lamas Noriega.
Uncontested races
Kennewick City Council Pos. 1: Jason McShane
Kennewick City Council Pos. 2: Incumbent Loren Anderson.
Kennewick City Council Pos. 3: Incumbent John Trumbo
Kennewick City Council Pos. 4 (at large): Brad Klippert
Kennewick School Pos. 1: Incumbent Micah Valentine
Kennewick School Pos. 2: Incumbent Gabe Galbraith.
Kennewick Public Hospital District Pos. 5: Incumbent Wanda Briggs.
Richland City Council Pos. 3: Incumbent Sandra Kent.
Richland City Council Pos. 7: Incumbent Ryan Whitten
Richland School Pos. 1: Incumbent Bonnie Mitchell.
Richland School Pos. 2: Incumbent Rick Jansons.
West Richland Mayor: Fred Brink.
West Richland City Council Pos. 2: Incumbent Ken Stoker.
Port of Pasco Pos. 2: Matt Watkins.
Port of Pasco Pos. 3: Appointed incumbent Hans-Joachim Engelke.
Pasco School Pos. 4: Incumbent Heather Kubalek.
Pasco City Council Pos. 3: Incumbent Leo Perales.
Pasco City Council Pos. 4: Incumbent Pete Serrano.
Pasco City Council Pos. 6: Incumbent Melissa Blasdel.
Interested in running?
For a full list of elected positions on the 2025 ballot, check out the Tri-City Herald’s coverage of the more than 100 seats up for grabs this year as well as links to help candidates file.