Lewis County commissioner, challenger highlight policies at Chronicle election forum

Two candidates for Lewis County commissioner provided members of the public with an early look at their policies and plans during a forum hosted by The Chronicle on Tuesday evening.

Incumbent Lewis County District 3 Commissioner Scott Brummer and challenger Zac Eckstein, chair of the Lewis County Democrats, attended the forum at Jester's Auto Museum in Chehalis Tuesday evening, the second in the newspaper's ongoing series that began with sheriff candidates last month.

Much like the sheriff showcase, Brummer and Eckstein answered a set of questions from The Chronicle before opening it up for questions from audience members.

The event was not as well attended as the previous forum, including on the candidate side.

Of the four candidates that have announced campaigns, two - Michael Hadaller and Kyle Wheeler - declined invitations to take part in the Tuesday night event.

But the show went on, and despite the question and answer format intended to steer away from political debate, the candidates still found ways to highlight their differences.

Pointed questions from audience members and subtle, or not so subtle, statements from candidates brought a battle to life between Brummer, the incumbent Republican candidate, and Eckstein, the rural Democrat.

Throughout the questions, Brummer maintained his approach as a small-government, rural Republican, highlighting his views that limited government is better government. He also positioned himself as the more experienced candidate, leaning on his knowledge of the county's affairs from his four years on the Lewis County Board of Commissioners.

Brummer notably revealed his staunch opposition to a movement championed by his competitor to expand the Lewis County Board of Commissioners from three seats to five.

"I'm a limited government person," Brummer said. "I just don't believe that more government is better. I don't believe in putting more money to solve problems, and in this case, having additional county commissioners, I do not believe it would make Lewis County function any better."

Eckstein attempted to walk the line between rural Democrat and informed Lewis County resident, trying to show that he was more concerned with local issues than national politics.

"In this campaign, I am aiming to show you that I care a lot more about the work in front of us than I do about the politics that divides us," Eckstein said.

He approached issues associated with left-leaning political movements with humor, cracking a joke that he would defund the county sheriff's office before making very clear that he, like Brummer, would seek to fully fund the county's lead law enforcement agency and even provide more funding.

Eckstein often focused on the large size of District 3 and the challenge of representing residents from Vader to Packwood, describing the communities furthest east as often being "ignored."

"The further you get from I-5, the further or the more people don't know who the commissioner is," Eckstein said. "They don't know what the commission is doing."

He pointed out issues in East Lewis County such as the lack of sidewalks and sewer in Packwood as examples of inadequate representation.

He also leveraged the geography issue to show his support for expanding the Lewis County Board of Commissioners. Eckstein is one of the organizers of the most recent movement to expand the board.

Brummer pushed back against Eckstein, denying claims that the district was too large for him to represent and seeking to show that the county had already attempted solutions proposed by Eckstein. Addressing representation for East County communities, Brummer weaved details of his attendance at events across the county into many responses to emphasize his efforts to be present all across his district.

"I bust my rear end to go back and forth across this county and across what is a huge geographical location to meet with the folks out in every community," Brummer said.

He sought to explain the county's approach to some East County issues, including Packwood sidewalks and sewer and concerns over short-term rental properties. In his limited time to respond, he explained the county's efforts to secure grant funding for sidewalks in Packwood.

"We have multiple years applied for safety corridor grants," Brummer said. "Multiple years they have been applied for. It's very difficult to get the state to turn their attention our way.

Brummer also frequently came to the defense of previous actions by the county concerning lawsuits, which were the subject of more than one question from the audience. The incumbent commissioner described lawsuits as a fact of life for a government entity and major employer like Lewis County. He briefly aired issues with state laws and precedents that allow for large financial settlements and called for state tort reform. The rising cost of tort claim settlements has been an ongoing issue for the state and its local governments.

Brummer also defended the county's position in some high profile lawsuits, including its legal defense of a needle exchange ordinance that was shot down in federal court.

He declined to comment on a recent lawsuit concerning former county employee Paul Bromm, who was fired after online activity following the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

"I stand by the needle exchange ordinance that we did," Brummer said. "I believe that brought accountability to that program. We didn't outlaw it. We simply put parameters on it to make it accountable."

Eckstein took the other side, stating "the default state should be no lawsuits." He also weighed in on the needle exchange issue, arguing that the county should have taken a different approach to preventing needle litter in the county, especially after warnings that the suit could bring a costly lawsuit.

He added he would like to see an approach that requires harm reduction organizations such as Gather Church to be responsible for cleaning up discarded needles.

Candidate filing week is May 4-9. The primary election will be held the first Tuesday in August - narrowing any race with more than two candidates down to two - before the general election in November.

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This story was originally published April 30, 2026 at 11:23 AM.