By JOHN McCALLUM
Editor
Nine individuals have filed to run for three positions on Cheney's City Council, with two of those positions fielding seven candidates, putting them on the Aug. 21 primary ballot. The top vote getters will advance to the Nov. 6 general election.
In Council Position No. 2 Patrick Rast is running for re-election, and is challenged by Doug Nixon and Jason Alvarado.
Rast is seeking a second term, first elected in 2003. Originally he had planned on one term, feeling it was his civic duty, but after working with the Council and city staff, decided to run again.
“Everyone is very cordial and if that's the way it is, I'd like to do it again,” Rast said.
An electrician at Eastern Washington University for 27 years and Cheney resident for 30, Rast lists several issues he feels are important to the city.
“My top two would be economic development, and four lanes into Cheney,” he said.
Rast said his desire to expand SR-904 to four lanes isn't driven by economics but by safety. He credits the corridor project started under former mayor Amy Jo Sooy for increasing safety on the busy road, but added it created other problems as well.
Rast also lists resolving the parking situation around EWU, and concluded the P Zone issue regarding off-campus responses by university police as other issues he'd like cleared up.
An insurance agent for 37 years, 22 with Farmers Insurance, Nixon and his family moved to Cheney from Everett, Wash. eight years ago, and he currently owns the Farmers office on First Street. A business degree graduate of Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, he is also a 25-year member of the American Legion.
Nixon said he has about 100 reasons for running – coming from family, friends and clients.
“I kept saying no until last Thursday night,” he said. “I want to do what's right for Cheney. I think that's the most important part.”
Nixon listed defining the city's essential services and prioritizing them as a key issue for him. Cheney needs to look to provide at least the basics for its residents.
“Probably No. 1 is water. We're doing all this building, but do we have enough water,” he said.
Nixon also said he has reviewed the city's budget and believes it can be tightened while still providing additional services, like another police patrol officer and a fireman. He also wants to promote more business growth that will provide more tax revenue.
A Cheney resident for five years, Alvarado is an EWU graduate who served for two years in student government, one as council representative and one as the student body finance vice president. Currently working as a software engineer for HeyCats! Web solutions, Alvarado and his fiancée Tiffany Moulton have just purchased their first home in the city.
“I feel that community leadership is my calling, and when the opportunity to run this year presented itself, I couldn't pass it up,” he said.
Alvarado believes in responsible growth in Cheney, emphasizing better planning for the future that doesn't stress existing resources while also allowing new developments, and creating the infrastructure and finances to support it. He's a proponent of maintaining Cheney's “small town feel” and believes one way to do this is by expanding SR-904 to four lanes to ease the traffic burden caused by EWU.
“Lastly, and most importantly, I am bringing fresh leadership and a fresh perspective to the City Council,” he said.
Four people are running for council Position No. 6 held by Les Harris, who is not seeking re-election.
Tim Gainer is a Cheney High School and ITT Technical Institute graduate who has worked for Davis Communications for over 20 years. The brother of current Cheney Mayor Allen Gainer, Tim Gainer previously ran for City Council Position No. 7 in 2005, a position eventually won by current Councilman Tom Trulove.
Gainer said his reasons for seeking office this time are much the same as they were in 2005.
“I'm interested in doing what's best for Cheney,” he said.
Gainer would like to see a skate park built in the city, and is also a proponent of a proposed aquatics park, if the funding is there. He also would like to bring more businesses into Cheney, and not just more retail stores.
“I'd like to see that industrial park take off,” he said.
James Wallingford ran for City Council in 2005, losing to Councilman Mike McKeehan. Wallingford worked at the Cheney Police Department for almost 20 years and retired from a detective position in January 2006.
Raymond Gawenit also ran for Council Position No. 7 in 2007. In an October 2005 Cheney Free Press story, Gawenit said he has lived in Cheney since 2000, attending school at Eastern as a criminal justice major.
He also said he spent three years in the United States Army infantry, is a member of the American Legion and was very involved with his fraternity, Beta Theta Pi, serving as president, treasurer, and house manager. Has been on the planning commission since 2006.
The final candidate for Cheney Council Position No. 4 is Annette Mather. Attempts to reach Wallingford, Gawenit and Mather were unsuccessful.
In Position No. 5, incumbent Robert Stockton will face challenger Rich Crystal-Wolfe Baker. Both automatically move on to the general election. In Position No. 7, Trulove is unopposed.
All three Cheney School District board of directors positions up for election will move on to the general ballot as well. In the only contested race, incumbent and current board president John C. “Charlie” Weber will face off against challenger Larry Haskel for Director No. 3, while Kerry O'Connor and Richard Mount are unchallenged at director No. 5 and No. 4 respectively.
In other elected positions, Howard Marsh will face Raymond Pendell for Spokane County Fire District No. 3's Commissioner No. 3, which is the remainder of a four-year, unexpired term. Sharon Colby is the only candidate to file for the six-year, Fire District No. 3 Commissioner No. 1, while Robert O'Brannon is running unopposed for Williams Lake Sewer District's Commissioner No. 2; Edward Rutledge unopposed in Four Lakes Water District's Commissioner No. 1, and Scott Rushing unopposed in the district's Commissioner No. 3 spot.
John McCallum can be reached at [email protected]
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