Candidates seek commission seats

Why are you running for this position?

Jungers: (Ed.:This response is abridged for brevity.) Because I feel the incumbent is not doing a good job and he needs to be replaced.

For instance the sewer rates. The town is in a position where they are going to have to raise rates 40 percent. The county had loaned the town $312,000 to extend the sewer from the southwest corner of my property up to all the failing septic systems on Clover, but the town didn't. They brought the sewer system up to serve an out of town developer's zero lot line development so he could get a formal plat. They were shamed into going to the bottom of Clover, which still wouldn't serve anybody. I went to a county commissioner meeting almost two years ago and tried to encourage them to reopen negotiations with the town regarding their interlocal agreement for the sewer extension, in order to create more hook ups and a better cash flow. Dan Cothren promised he would set up a meeting with the town. He didn't show up. I am very much afraid that sometime in the future, the PUD is going to have to own that sewer system and I wanted it to be financially viable. I was trying to do what was right for my utility and the community. At a county meeting Cothren apologized for forgetting the meeting and he promised he would open negotiations with the town on this matter. That was almost two years ago, he hasn't lifted a finger.

I think I have a good track record of good planning, good policy. That's the purpose of a board of directors. I think I have a record of good policy in the 12 years that I have been on the PUD. What I see more and more in the county commission is they are preoccupied with finding more money and then they spend it and they forget it. They don't follow up, they don't take responsibility for the decisions they make, and they don't know the consequences of the decisions they make. This Boege Road sewer extension is just one small drop in the bucket, there are so many other issues, once they write the check they are oblivious to it. That is not good policy management.

Experience:

Jungers: I have 12 years experience and I think it's successful experience as a PUD commissioner. I think the PUD is an excellent institution and it is a good team. It is a team and I am just one member of the team. I understand the value of a team and how to be part of it. I have 35 years experience running this business [Elochoman Millworks]. It has been a very successful business, it feeds 15-20 families in this community, it brings a lot of revenue into this community which is spent locally. I'm the CEO of this business, but it's a team. These people I have working for me are great. I pick the right ones, I facilitate them and I let them do their job. I do not micromanage my people. That's one of the secrets for a successful team. In this 35 years I've learned some secrets about management, and one of them I think my incumbent has failed to learn is that everybody makes mistakes. Own them, live up to them, fix them.

What do you hope to achieve if elected?

Jungers: More responsible fiscal policy. If elected, I would like to scrutinize the functioning of various departments in the county that are large budget items that I think maybe are not using their funding very efficiently. At cursory glance, I see a lot of evidence of wasted money. If I'm elected I'm going to investigate them. I don't have an ax to grind, but I feel that good government is small government. I hope to bring a more responsible level of spending to the county government without micromanaging them.

What is your vision for Wahkiakum County?

Jungers: It's going to stay pretty much the same. I love this county. I believe the function of a county government should be limited to protecting and facilitating the lawful and peaceful conduct of its citizens. I don't think it's the purview or the responsibility of a county commissioner to impose his moral standards on his citizens. I admire the fact that they have their moral standards, but when the standard is an issue of law that is highly controversial and it's settled law, the county government has no business imposing their personal standards on the rest of the county. I haven't made much effort to speak up on it because I think it's a moot point.

My vision for this county is that it can prosper at its own speed and its own level without interference or manipulation by government, which it does, and that it remain as cohesive and familial as it is now.