Lewis County Commissioner Scott Brummer says experience and values set him apart from challengers

Nearly four years after he was first elected, a former political newcomer now finds himself the incumbent in a packed race for Lewis County commissioner in District 3, which includes most of East Lewis County and a wide swath of the southern portion of the county.

Scott Brummer, a Republican, now carries the experience of a one-term county commissioner, but he insists he represents the same values he championed as a candidate when he first ran.

He's seeking a new four-year term in the coming primary and general elections. He faces four challengers, including fellow Republicans Michael Hadaller and Tim Toerber, Democrat Zach Eckstein and independent candidate Kyle Wheeler.

The top two candidates in the Aug. 4 primary election will move on to the general election in November.

"I don't think that my approach has really changed much as far as the core values, but I've learned a lot, that's for sure," Brummer said. "I think that there's probably not a more difficult job in the state, I think, than being a county commissioner."

The incumbent still sees himself as a property rights advocate, a proponent of small government, and a supporter of keeping tax increases to a minimum, but he believes it is now his experience that sets him apart from his challengers.

He points to his service on issues such as flood mitigation, fish habitat, veteran services and the Southwest Washington Fair.

Brummer represents the county as a representative on the Chehalis Basin Board. He was recently elected chair. He also serves as a supervisor of the Chehalis River Basin Flood Control Zone District - as is standard for Lewis County Commissioners - and on the Lewis County Veterans Advisory Board and the Southwest Washington Fair Advisory Board. These are committee assignments he took on as part of his commissioner title.

"I'm just a part of each one of those successes," Brummer said. "It's come with, you know, not only staff, but other community members that have made those things really successful."

Brummer sees his performance on the Lewis County Board of Commissioners as evidence of his values, even in places that proved points of public criticism. The Board of County Commissioners has received frequent critiques for defending a syringe exchange ordinance in court, a legal effort that ended with a loss and hundreds of thousands of dollars in costs for the county.

Brummer believes the ordinance was a simple solution to address the litter of syringes in public spaces in the county. He sees the end result as an overreach of local control by the judiciary.

"I believe that we were addressing a problem in our local community, and we did so with very sound legislation, and that was ultimately overturned," Brummer said "That's a judge, in my opinion, legislating from his bench."

Brummer also argues his values and beliefs are reflected in his decisions on county budget matters.

He has contributed to and voted on four county budgets since taking office and remarks. He notes that the board has only accepted property tax revenue increases once in that time.

"We did take some of the banked amount we had, but only once in the four budget cycles that I voted on have we done that," Brummer said "And, so, we've kept our spending down and made hard choices."

Washington state governments at all levels are only permitted to take a 1% increase in property tax revenue each year. Lewis County has frequently avoided taking even that small increase, sometimes along slim voting margins.

Even with a dedication to keeping taxes and spending to a minimum, Brummer also said he believes dwindling revenue and rising costs to be a mounting challenge for the county moving forward, and believes its most profound impact will be on the law and justice system in the area.

The county uses general fund money to support much of the local law and justice system, from the sheriff's office to juvenile court, to the prosecutors office and contract public defenders.

When asked if Brummer supports the idea of a public safety tax currently under consideration, he said he is "not sold on it yet." Brummer appeared torn on the issue, recognizing a dire need for more funding for public safety in Lewis County, but also concerned with rising tax rates.

"You can go north or south of us and experience a much higher rate of sales tax than we currently have in our county general sales tax rate," Brummer said. "And I know every dollar counts."

The commissioner's comments suggest a public safety tax may actually hinge on the performance of a new Lewis County sheriff.

"My hope is long term that a new sheriff, since we'll obviously have a newly elected sheriff, can put some time in ... and hopefully come up with gaining the citizen support for the sheriff's department and for the work that our prosecuting attorney and law and justice system does." Brummer said.

The Lewis County Board of Commissioners recently reconvened a previously defunct Lewis County Law and Justice Council and tasked it with analyzing the need for a public safety tax in Lewis County to offset rising costs. The move came shortly after county staff, including County Manager Ryan Barrett and Budget Lead Becky Butler, raised concerns to the board that cutting more staff could impact the level of services in Lewis County.

Staff proposed allowing cannabis sales in the county in order to receive cannabis tax revenue, in addition to the public safety tax.

For previous reporting by The Chronicle on possible sources of revenue for the county, visit https://tinyurl.com/yb9wnjc8.

Brummer first joined the Lewis County Board of Commissioners in the fall of 2022, taking office immediately after winning a general election race in November of that year against Harry Bhagwandin. Brummer was sworn into office immediately after the election was certified that fall in order to take over from an interim commissioner.

Lee Grose, of Packwood, served as the interim District 3 Lewis County commissioner for more than a year. He was appointed to the position to replace the late Gray Stamper, who died of COVID-19 in September 2021.

Brummer, who is originally from Southern Oregon, has lived in Lewis County for roughly 30 years. He first came to Western Washington to attend The Evergreen State College. He spent most of his career as a fish biologist, first working for Lewis County Conservation District and then the Thurston County Conservation District, and finally serving as a fish biologist for Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife for roughly 21 years.

He left the job when he refused to be vaccinated against COVID-19 under a state worker vaccine mandate implemented by former Gov. Jay Inslee.

Brummer and his family also operate a livestock feed business, Patriot Farm and Feed, selling non-GMO feed out of the family farm south of Winlock.

Brummer has also long served as a pastor, starting as a children's and youth pastor in Toledo. He spent some time as the children's pastor at Destiny Christian before taking up his current position as senior pastor at God's Place in Ethel, where he has served for 11 years.

The Chronicle has reported more deeply on Brummer's background in the past. For that report from his first campaign in 2022, visit https://tinyurl.com/ye7jr6bv.

Find coverage of the other candidates for commissioner at chronline.com and in upcoming editions of The Chronicle.

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This story was originally published July 4, 2026 at 11:19 AM.