Four seek District 1 commission job

Mike Backman

Commercial fisherman Mike Backman feels he would bring good business experience and a strong work ethic to the board of county commissioners.

“First, I’ve been active in the community for a long time, and this is an opportunity to take my commitment to the next level,” he said when asked why he is running for the office. “Secondly, it’s a job, and I think I can do a good job at it.”

Backman graduated from Wahkiakum High School and studied at LCC but didn’t complete a degree. He is a third generation commercial fisherman on the Columbia River and in Alaska, and he runs a fish buying business.

“I fish in the summer time on Bristol Bay in Alaska, and other times of the year, I fish and buy fish here seasonally,” he said. “I had a boat on the Columbia before I graduated from high school, and I’ve had a boat on Bristol Bay for seven years, going on eight. I’ve been buying down here close to 10 years.”

He is a member of the Wahkiakum Lions Club; he volunteers with the Wahkiakum 4H program and the county fair, and he is co-chair of the county’s Marine Resources Committee, a state funded program that identifies and promotes educational and economic programs involving the county’s marine resources.

“I would bring a good work ethic to the job of county commissioner. Fishing is something that you don’t quit at 3 p.m. You’re done when you’re done. I’m not afraid to get out there and work.

“I’ve done a lot of volunteer stuff. My heart is in the right spot. I care, and I’m willing to work.

“Through the work and volunteer organizations, I’ve gotten a lot of experience and met a lot of people. The thing is, I’ve been working for the community a long time; I haven’t just got interested in the job. I don’t just live here; I’m part of the community.”

Backman said his major goal as a commissioner would be to create more jobs.

“I want to work with the economic development council and the Chamber of Commerce. Their focus has mostly been tourism, and we’re getting set up now with high speed internet, fiber optics. I want to work with them to get letters out to companies so that way we can bring in some jobs.

Backman added that there are people already living in the county using the internet for their work; they could be consulted to offer strategies and possible target companies.

Before heading to Alaska for the summer salmon season, Backman had been going door to door to campaign. The need to have more jobs was the top concern he heard.

If elected, Backman would be the third commercial fisherman who fished in Alaska during the summer. His predecessors were able to participate in meetings over the telephone, he said, and with developments in communications technology, he would be able to keep in contact and participate in the decision making process.

“I think I would be more accessible than they were,” he said. “I think it’s doable.”

Stephanie Prestegard

Stephanie Prestegard is a fifth generation member of a Wahkiakum County family with a long history of community service and she feels it’s her turn to take part in the process of local government.

She graduated from Wahkiakum High School in 1987 and earned a business administration degree at Eastern Washington University. She has worked as a real estate agent and broker and most recently, her family purchased the Hotel Cathlamet building, and they’ve reopened the hotel.

She has been a member of the boards of directors of the Wahkiakum Community Network and the Pioneer Community Association. She has also been a substitute teacher and youth basketball coach.

Prestegard said she has always been interested in the position of county commissioner, and this seems like a good time to be a candidate.

“I was asked by a number of people to consider running for the position, and I’ve always been interested in the position,” she said. “I’m really interested in seeing the community keep developing, and thriving. We have to keep this little part of our world going and going well. I’ve invested in it heavily, personally and professionally, and I just can’t see Cathlamet die out to nothing.

“I think it’s time that people of my generation , my age start taking more of an interest in what’s going on and becoming part of it.”

Prestegard said she sees the position as being an advocate for citizens in what matters and what comes up for them.

“I’m really going into this with no agenda,” she said.

The county’s declining revenues are worisome, and elected officials are going to have to make “some really smart moves” to deal with the decline.

From the real estate business, she has seen property values decline, and that will be a long running problem. Lower values will mean lower tax revenue, and people may see taxes rise to pay collections set by special levies.

Like other candidates, Prestegard has been attending commission meetings for a couple of months.

“The board is doing a great job,” she said. “There don’t seem to be any huge issues right now. A lot of people are concerned about property rights, what they’re going to do about the bodies of water around here that are affecting their land, and all the restrictions that are put on property owners.”

In budgeting, Prestegard said commissioners and department heads need to study workloads and set budgets based on priorities of what needs to be done. “All the offices are important,” she said. “You’d have them tell you ‘this is what we’re going to need,’ and then you’d have to prioritize at that point.

“It’s not, ‘this is the money I’ve always had, so I need it again;’ I would have to have more of a reason than that.”

(Editor’s note: Stephanie is married to Kevin Prestegard; he and another candidate for commissioner, Greg Prestegard, are second cousins.)

Greg Prestegard

Puget Island native Greg Prestegard would bring a long career in business and public service to the position of county commissioner.

He graduated from Wahkiakum High School in 1971 and Lower Columbia College in 1973. He worked in management positions for Reynolds Aluminum for 25 years and has been a self-employed contractor for 21 years. He served a term on the Cathlamet Town Council and is a 25-year volunteer fireman, serving with the Cathlamet, Cowlitz 2, where he served six years on the board of commissioners, and last Puget Island. He is a member of the Pioneer Lions Club of Longview; he served on the boards of directors of the American Red Cross and the National Association of Home Builders and was Wahkiakum County’s representative of the Southwest Washington Workforce Development Council.

“I would like to think that with my business background, I could make a difference on the board of commissioners,” he said.

If elected, he would like to see the board engage in strategic planning and he would like to see the commissioners and department heads work together as a team.

“It’s frustrating to me to see the board of commissioners micro-manage departments at the operational level,” he said. “Once the budget is set, the commissioners should not have to be involved in decisions unless there are changes in the budget.

“I don’t really see the commission having any long range goals and vision for the county. I feel there’s a lack of long range vision for the county. For example, there’s no mission statement on their website.

“My main concern has always been protecting the way of life here in Wahkiakum County, county wide. We live here because we love the way of life. We want it to continue, to prosper.”

Prestegard also said he would like county government to be more proactive in dealing with erosion and landslide issues such as those affecting Steamboat Slough and Loop roads.

“We didn’t know that Loop Road had a problem till it slid,” he asked. “We need to know about these things before it’s an emergency.”

Bill Wilkins

Real estate agent Bill Wilkins would bring a business background and a lifelong interest in community affairs to the office of county commissioner.

Wilkins manages the Cathlamet office of Windermere Real Estate. Before coming to Cathlamet, he was a glazier and managed two corporate shops and also ran his own business in Vancouver for 12 years. A high school graduate, he earned an associate of arts degree at Portland Community College and worked briefly as a paralegal. Since coming to Cathlamet, he has been a member of the Wahkiakum Chamber of Commerce; he has been on the board of directors since 2006 and is the chair of its crab feed.

Wilkins said he decided to run for commissioner after incumbent Lisa Marsyla announced she wouldn’t seek re-election.

“I’ve made a decision to stay here,” he said. “It’s part of putting down roots. I’m also kind of a political junkie; I watch three TV news stations, and I’ve read the paper since I came here. Community affairs really interest me.”

Commissioners have to be in touch with the county’s residents and understand what they want, and they have to balance those community desires with the financial limitations and statutory requirements of the position, he said.

Wilkins said his primary goal is for elected officials to work together.

He would like to continue the work spearheaded by Commissioner Dan Cothren to expand the county’s timber base. He would like the county to participate in efforts to encourage people to move into the community.

One specific issue that concerns him is the lack of connections on the sewer main the county helped finance for the Town of Cathlamet. The line ends at Boege Road, and it could serve existing and new houses there. The town recently cut its connection fee for the line, but the commission, by a 2-1 majority, has kept the county’s fee at $3,000. The county could lower its fee to a level that would encourage people to connect, and in a few years, it should recoup its investment.

“I think the town made the right decision,” he said. “The PUD has had success in waiving connection fees for new water system customers.”