Election 2015

Meet the candidates

Editor’s note: The Eagle invited local candidates for public office on the November general election ballot to complete a brief candidate interview form. Here are the responses we’ve received so far.

Lee Tischer

Port District 2 Commissioner

1. Background

--Education: Wahkiakum High School and Lower Columbia College.

--Business/professional: Served on Wahkiakum School Board for 16 years; one of the founding board members of Wahkiakum Dollars For Scholars; Puget Island Fire Commissioner; appointed citizen representative on the Law & Justice Council; retired after 25 years with the Puget Island Fire Dept .; retired after 27 years with Wahkiakum Road Dept.

--Other: Spearheaded drive to build a local skate park to keep our youth active; started and chair the Rods & Reels Rod Run car show, which raises money for our local Wahkiakum Dollars For Scholars; hosted 5th quarters for 15 years to give high school kids a place to go after home football games; volunteered for the Dollars for Scholars Sturgeon Derby, raising money for Naselle & Wahkiakum college scholarships.

2. Why run for position?

Port 2, with its facilities, not only improves our quality of life for us here in Wahkiakum County, but it provides great benefits to the local businesses by bringing in tourist dollars. I would like to be part of the team that maintains and improves the facilities, while being a good steward of Port 2 taxpayers’ monies.

3. What do you hope to accomplish?

The waterways are such a vital part of our local life for recreation and business. I will work to see improvements to the boat launch at Vista Park and to keep all Port 2 waterways at a useable depth and to rid them of invasive weeds like Asian Milfoil so they can be used year round. I would also like to see improvements made to Vista Park, County Line Park and Svensen Park and also promote them to be used year round.

Linda Strong

Fire Commissioner Fire District #3

1. Background

--education: Some college.

--business/professional: Retired director Lower Columbia Crisis Pregnancy Center.

2. Why run for position?

I have been a volunteer for the district for over 25 years, during that time I was a fire fighter and an EMT. I feel that we have a great fire district, and I want to continue to give back to both the district and the community.

3. What do you hope to accomplish?

The fire district is in great shape at this time. We have completed the project of building a new fire hall in Grays River without putting the district in debt. We are now looking at maintenance and upgrades to the other two stations and also looking at upgrading our other equipment.

Ryan Forrest Smith

Cathlamet Town Council, Position 1

1. Background

--Education/Business: Judson High School, Converse, Texas--Graduate, San Antonio College; San Antonio, Texas--Radio Television Film Major; Restricted Radiotelephone Operator Permit; NJATC San Antonio, Texas--Journeyman Electrician/Associate in Electrical Engineering; Tsuga Art Gallery-Member.

2. Why am I running?

I was made aware of the fact that a position was open with no one to run. I am interested in local politics and find myself at the meetings regularly. I have the time and interest in dedicating myself to the position.

3. What do you hope to accomplish?

As a new home owner in the community I’d like to see my community run in a reasonable and efficient manner.

Richard A. (Dick) Swart

Cathlamet Town Council, Position 2

1. Background:

Locals are interested that I have numerous Oregon and Washington ancestors. My parents moved to Los Angeles to find work during the Depression. I was born in Long Beach, CA, and attended Los Angeles schools. Escaping Southern California for good, I received a BA in History in 1963 and MA in Education in 1964. After being honorably discharged from US Naval Reserve, I entered a management track with California state public safety agencies, becoming a peace officer and eventually a senior manager. After a 25-year career came retirement as chief of the Narcotic Treatment Regulation and Licensing Branch, Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs. This included responsibility for a multi-million-dollar annual operation.

My late wife, Dixie, then started and ran a successful small hotel in Astoria. Concurrently, I became an operations manager in Oregon’s second-largest Adult and Family Services Branch office, overseeing self-sufficiency programs required by the 1990s Welfare Reform Act.

Retiring again after a 10-year run there, we moved to Washington in 2001, where I became involved with Wahkiakum County appointments as chairman to the Citizens Advisory Board on Alcohol, Tobacco, Drug and Mental Health Services, County Commission on Salaries of Elected Officials, and several committees on housing, homelessness, and related human services.

From 2003 to 2014, I served the Town of Cathlamet in several elected and appointed capacities, including planning commissioner and chairman of that commission, councilmember, and mayor. I have maintained an ongoing interest in town government and regularly attend council meetings.

2. Why run for position?

My professional life has been dedicated to promoting competent and effective public service. I am running for Council Position #2 because I feel a duty to bring my knowledge of how to achieve accountable governance to bear on issues facing the town. Frankly, there are few Cathlamet residents who show much desire to do the required work to accomplish complex and costly results in an atmosphere of fiscal and regulatory constraints, in times of widespread distrust of government in general. I like to work as part of a team, and I understand and respect the boundaries between legislative and executive functions.

I bring a passion for good government, an understanding of relationships with community partners, and a detailed knowledge of policy and procedural matters of the Town. Citizens and community leaders have also honored me by tasking me with leadership duties in local government, service clubs, and charitable organizations. I believe my neighbors feel that they will receive my attention to their concerns and see a sustained effort to get good results for the town.

3. What do you hope to accomplish?

The council’s prime duties under law are to set policy, achieve accountability, and produce a budget properly supported by revenue. I am committed to work with the council team and mayor to do so. The Town faces some very costly water system improvements and fire fighting equipment replacements that will be a challenge to finance. I want to work on accomplishing that. The town has struggled with what some have called an underdog relationship with partner jurisdictions. I would like to help us move to a more equal and communicative partnership and the policy-maker level with the PUD and Port District 1. The town has an uneven history of audit results, especially given the very small staff that makes separation of fiscal functions difficult. I will commit to appropriately help the mayor and staff keep making progress on this issue. I believe that the town has lost its bearings on long-term waterfront land use. Sound recommendations of the planning commission have gone ignored, and questionable land use decisions have been made. Vacant commission positions are going unfilled, with no apparent concern about revitalizing what should be a good decision-making resource. I will make it a priority to bring more discussion of the town’s future to the council, and insist that the town follow state law and its own zoning ordinance.

Steve McClain

Skamokawa Cemetery District

1. Background

--Graduated from Wahkiakum High School 1970; BA Park & Recreation Management, Western Washington University 1975. Wahkiakum Port District No. 2 - Manager 1981-2010. Moore Auto Parts - counterman June-October 2010, April-October 2011. Wahkiakum School District - Substitute Teacher 1999-present. Friends of Skamokawa founding board member 1986-1995.

Wahkiakum Community Network board member.

2. Why run for position?

I grew up in the community and moved back in 1981. My parents are buried in the cemetery along with many folks I knew growing up. This is an opportunity to show my respect for all of them and their families working with the other commissioners overseeing the maintenance and operations of the district.

3. What do you hope to accomplish?

Continue working with the other commissioners to improve signage, repair and replace damaged headstones, and insure the grounds are maintained in good order.

Paula Culbertson

Wahkiakum School District,

Director Position 2

1. Background:

Education--BA in English from the University of Arizona; one year of graduate work in Education at San Diego State University. Business and Professional--Taught four years with Los Angeles City Schools; 30 years in retail sales and management. Retired as a Sears store manager; eight years as an executive director for a not for profit corporation; three years as a member of the board of directors of the Wenatchee Valley Symphony; member of the Steering Committee to establish a Technical School for the Wenatchee Valley.

2. Why run for the position?

I was appointed to Director Position 2 in February of this year. I would like to continue in this capacity to fulfill the responsibility I feel I owe it to the students and the district.

3. What I Hope to Accomplish:

I hope to help the Wahkiakum School District provide our students with the best education possible. I am particularly interested in helping augment the vocational and technological programs at the high school; and, in time, see if we can add more technology to the K-8 curricula.

Amy Hunt

School Director, Naselle/Grays River Valley School District, position 2

1. Background

1987 graduate, Naselle-Grays River Valley High School; 1991 graduate, Washington State University, Bachelor of Science Agriculture Communications.

I’ve been married to my husband, Ed, since 1992. Prior to starting our family, I worked in publishing, communications and banking. We have two daughters, Lindsay, a freshman at NGRV High School, and Grace, who is in sixth grade at NGRV Middle School. I have stayed home full time since the birth of my oldest child.

We live in the Grays River Valley.

2. Why run for position?

The success of Naselle-Grays River Valley School is very important to me and my family. I have been a volunteer in my children’s classrooms and served on the Superintendent’s Advisory Committee for the past two school years. Serving in those capacities has shown me how much the staff and student body does for the school and has given me a glimpse of how a school district functions. I am running for the school board to join the mission of the school district and offer whatever support I can to further the growth and future of our community’s school children.

3. What do you hope to accomplish?

I hope to be a part of creating the best school and education for the students so that they have a better future. I am aware as a new member, I will be learning about the role of a school board and its membership. I will also continue to learn about everything the school has to offer to the students.

Chuck Hendrickson,

School Director, Naselle/Grays River Valley School District, Position 3

1. Background:

“I graduated from Naselle High School in 1970 and the US Naval Academy in 1974. I served 20 years in the US Navy, retiring in 1994, and have lived in Naselle since. I have a bachelor degree in math and a master’s degree in electrical engineering. I have 15 years teaching experience; three years at the Naval Academy and 12 years at Clatsop Community College. I also worked for Wahkiaum West Telephone as a satellite TV and satellite internet installer.”

2. Why run for the position?

“My wife and I and our three adult children all attended Naselle schools, and both of my parents retired as employees of the district. I see this as an opportunity to serve the community and the school that has been such a big part of our lives.”

3. What do you hope to accomplish?

“We have a wonderful school, with great staff and students. My only agenda is to support them as best I can, so they continue to accomplish great things.”

Richard Bigler

Fire District No. 4 Board of Commissioiners

1. Background:

Life-long Cathlamet area resident employed by Stanley Farms.

2. Why run for the position:

“This is my contribution to the community, to give back and to see work go forward. This will be my third term on the District 4 board of commissioners; I have been with the District 4 fire department for 19 years.

3. What do you hope to accomplish?

“I will work to expand and enhance our interagency cooperation with other departments.”