Small Town News

Candidates collide at Olympic College

---

The League of Women Voters and the Shelton-Mason County Chamber of Commerce invited candidates for county clerk, assessor, prosecutor, sheriff and PUD 3 commissioner for district 1 to participate in a candidates' forum at Olympic College Shelton Tuesday night.

"It's an honor to have you here all in school," said Kim McNama-ra, moderator for the forum and director of student development for Olympic College Shelton.

Each candidate had two minutes to make opening and closing statements, and one minute to answer each question posed to them. Audience members had the opportunity to submit questions for the candidates.

The forum began with the candidates for the office of Mason County Clerk, Debbie Soares and Pat Swartos.

Answering a question about whether the clerk's office needed to make changes within the office, Swartos said that considering debilitating budget cuts, the county clerk's office is doing the best it can with the resources it has.

"I'm not sure what those changes would be," she said. "When we see something that we need to do to help the public more, we discuss them and try to work them out the best we can with the resources that we have."

In her closing statement, Soares said one change she would implement, if elected, is to make sure employees in the clerk's office feel safe, by guaranteeing office security.

"Since this office handles a number of potentially volatile situations ... for the safety of the office personnel and the citizens of Mason County, there should be sufficient security implemented for their protection," she said.

McNamara next directed questions to county sheriff candidates. Sheriff Casey Salisbury and Deputy Rich Germeau are both running for county sheriff, but once again, Germeau was conspicuously absent from this forum.

"Why does there seem to be so much turmoil at the sheriffs department as reported in the Journal?" McNamara asked.

Salisbury responded, saying that he could not give any comment on the issue.

"For legal reasons ... I am not at liberty to discuss that," he said. "I would tell you that so far I think that the depiction in the paper has been pretty accurate."

Salisbury also answered a question asking if he believed that the sheriffs office should receive more funding.

"The people have spoken on what they want, and the commissioners I believe are hearing that," he said. "The essential services of this county have to be made first."

Candidates for Mason County Assessor, Marcie Lohmeyer, Melody Peterson and Rick Ryan, spoke next.

Lohmeyer and Peterson both work in the assessor's office. Ryan has served as vice president of branches of national banks like Wells Fargo and GMAC.

All three candidates vow to begin implementing a yearly revaluation cycle before it is required by law in 2014.

Candidates answered questions about foreclosures and housing assessments, saying that while foreclosures in neighborhoods do not reduce assessed values, they do reduce the amount of money you can sell your house for.

"Foreclosures have been happening for the last couple of years and unfortunately they do not bring housing assessments down," Lohmeyer said.

Candidates for county prosecutor, Monty Cobb, and Mike Dorcy, spoke next, first about their opinion on the family drug court system in Mason County.

Cobb expressed his belief in the effectiveness of the program, citing recidivism rates or the likelihood for a convicted criminal to reoffend after going through the drug court program.

"I worked that program for a number of years," Cobb said. "I looked at people who were admitted and weren't admitted - the difference was in the realm of 70 percent."

Dorcy said that the recidivism rates are arguable, but agreed that drug court should exist in Mason County.

"Drug court is a valuable program, it's going to be here," he said. "Its value as far as stopping recidivism is something that I would question."

Finally, candidates for PUD 3 distrit 1, Lorraine Snyder, Lenny Knudson, Theresa Jacobson and the incumbent candidate, Linda Gott.

Candidates were asked to explain their positions on the Johns Prairie Operations Center, the extension of a city water line to Johns Prairie and the proposed Adage biomass plant.

"Johns Prairie, it's the right thing to do, it's the right time to do it," Gott said. "The PUD has nothing to do with the Adage biomass facility, we have no say whether it comes or doesn't come."

Jacobson was not so enthusiastic about the Johns Prairie facility.

"I think it's a palace," she said. "I do support construction of a new shop and warehouse."

She also argued that the Johns Prairie aquifer was sufficient to serve the needs of the PUD warehouse without the city water line. Jacobson also called the proposed Adage incinerator "caveman technology."

Knudson expressed his support for a new operations center and warehouse, but was against moving PUD office space, and also spoke against the extension of city water.

"These guys have been up there in that operations center and warehouse and it's nothing but a shambles up there," he said. "If the city wants to put a water line up there, they should pay for it.

Knudson stated that he agreed with commissioner Gott, that the PUD has nothing to do with the location of a proposed biomass facility.

Snyder also expressed support for the new operations center, but suggested that the money could be used more effedctively.

"The point is, they have a mandate in two years to come up with some renewable resources for their power," she said. "They have a very good bond rating right now, A+, and if they took that money instead of spending it on this new building and got their renewable resources going, they might make the budget."

These candidates, along with many others, will compete in the primary election on Aug. 17.



Copyright 2010 Shelton-Mason County Journal, Shelton, Washington. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from SmallTownPapers, Inc.

© 2010 Shelton-Mason County Journal Shelton, Washington. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from DAS.

More from Shelton-Mason County Journal