Packed House at Candidate Forum at Grays River Grange

It was a packed house at the Grays River Grange on Tuesday evening as candidates for several political offices presented their case to local residents why they feel they are the best person for the job.

Doors opened an hour ahead of the start time. The Grange provided light refreshments as residents of Wahkiakum County and surrounding communities filtered into the historic building for a full evening. Candidates mingled with the crowd, shook hands, and answered questions.

Long time Grange member and Grays River resident Bob Pyle, gave a rousing opening introduction about the history of political forums at the Grange. As Bob highlighted some of the grassroots initiatives the Grange has been involved in over the years, he emphasized, “Community is what democracy is all about.” Bob also quipped to the crowd, “There’s an old tradition, if you come to the Grays River candidate’s night, you might win.”

There was a hiatus hosting the forum for a few years after the pandemic, this being the first year the forum has been held since 2020. According to Bob, the evening represented the first time the incumbent member of U.S. Congress as well their opponent graced the Grange forum since the days of Julia Butler Hansen.

Charlie Shumar, President of the Grange, served as the MC for the evening. With 11 candidates present, each candidate was limited to only 10 minutes for their presentations and to take questions, if they wished. Grange members were very strict on keeping to the schedule, signaling each candidate at the five- and one-minute marks, and used the hammer of the gavel to indicate their time was up. For each candidate whose opponent was in attendance, the Grange flipped a coin at their last meeting to choose who would speak first.

Candidates in attendance were:

United States Senate:

Dr. Raul Garcia was unable to attend. His representative, John Edwards, spoke on his behalf.

Congressional District #3 U.S. Representative:

Marie Glusenkamp Perez (incumbent)

Joe Kent

Legislative District #19 State Senate:

Jeff Wilson (incumbent)

Andi Day

Legislative District #19 State Representative Position 1:

Jim Walsh (incumbent)

Mike Coverdale

Legislative District #19 State Representative Position 2:

Joel McEntire (incumbent)

Terry Carlson

Wahkiakum County Commissioner #1:

Lee Tischer (incumbent)

Mike Backman

With such limited time for each speaker, most of the candidates chose to stick to their talking points and had a small amount of time, if any, for questions. Joe Kent gave the most time for questions having several minutes of salty back and forth between him and several citizens on hot topics.

On the national level, there was consistent reference to the fentanyl crisis, securing of the southern border, the economy, and environmental issues.

State and local issues focused on concerns over timberlands and timber dollars, the fate of the Naselle Youth Camp facility, rural healthcare, dredging of Grays River and Deep River, overpopulation of sea lions on the Columbia River depleting salmon runs, and local economic needs.

While the forum was informative and gave a small glimpse into the personality of each of the candidates, ultimately, with the limited amount of time allotted, most in attendance could have gleaned the same information from each of the candidate’s websites.

Thank you to the Grays River Grange for putting on this important event.