As ballots are sent out, Lewis County residents will have to choose between two Republicans each for county commissioner districts 1 and 2. Here’s a breakdown of where they stand.
Fund/Swope
Eight-year incumbent and former Centralia councilmember Edna Fund is defending her seat against first-timer Sean Swope, who has experience as a youth pastor and marketer.
While the competitors see eye to eye on many issues, their priorities differ. Fund is invested in pushing forward the proposed dam in the Chehalis River, hoping to protect residents from another devastating flood. Swope has his eye on job creation, aiming to lure in Washington’s tech industry within the next decade.
“We barely have any representation in that industry,” Swope said. “With the different tax regulations that Seattle is doing to companies up there, it would be easy to attract some of those companies to come down here.”
His sense of urgency comes from the impending 2025 closure of TransAlta’s power plant in Centralia — something he expects will result in significant revenue loss that citizens could be “left on the hook” for. Swope has criticized commissioners for failing to bring in employers and stores like Fred Meyer, which almost moved into the area.
“Fred Meyer not coming into our area shows a lack of collaboration and cooperation,” he said.
But Fund said it’s not that simple, and that the Fred Meyer example Swope has latched onto had little to do with county commissioners, and more to do with federal highways and the city of Centralia.
“It’s not our territory,” Fund said. “It’s city. Total city. We have no jurisdiction there.”
The commissioner has jabbed Swope for not attending commissioner meetings regularly to learn about the job.
While Fund has spoken about job creation, her priorities largely lie in flood damage prevention — something she identified as a priority when she took office in 2012.
“We’ve been working on that for a while, and we’re the closest we’ve ever been,” she said.
The proposed project, which Fund has tried to rally public support around, has gotten major pushback from the Quinault Indian Nation and Chehalis Tribe, along with environmentalist groups after a recent environmental impact statement (EIS) said the project would significantly impact already-suffering fish populations.
But Fund maintains that efforts to mitigate those negative impacts, which are still in the preliminary planning stage, will win the public over. She said she understands the pushback, and that the EIS looks bad, but said it’s a worst case scenario.
Swope, on the other hand, has claimed that the dam would increase fish populations by cooling down the river — a statement that directly contradicts the EIS, prepared by dozens of experts, which shows the dam would increase water temperature and drastically reduce salmon populations.
“I think they misrepresented it,” Swope, a proponent of the dam, said.
The candidates’ priorities mirror their respective views of the county’s strategic plan. For Swope, he plans to rake in tech jobs by ensuring long-term development, including housing and attractions.
“We have to make sure that we get good developers to come into our area and that we make it as easy as possible for them to develop,” he said.
He wants to see a 10-year plan for the county first, and then work his way back to a five-year plan.
Fund wants the strategic five-year plan to include more community voices and clear deadlines. Too often, she said, five-year plans get “dusty” or forgotten after a few years.
“I want a strategic plan that’s vibrant, I want goals, I want deadlines, I want us to be accountable,” she said. “I want that strategic plan to be a living, breathing document.”
Both candidates also see broadband as a central part of the strategic plan, and have called the county’s efforts to get all residents connected piecemeal. In another term, Fund said she would continue pushing for any and every grant the county qualifies for, but acknowledged that there’s not a ton of money in sight for a huge infrastructure overhaul.
Swope is hopeful that Elon Musk’s satellite technology will help address the problem. The tech mogul and SpaceX founder’s new “Starlink” project was already made available to emergency responders during recent forest fires.
“Some people say ‘well that’s a long ways away,’” Swope said. “Well, just look at the phone and how that’s evolved so quickly. Look what he’s done with the spaceship and the ability to put it up. When you have people who are innovative, they figure out solutions.”
Until then, Swope plans on working closely with ToledoTel to reproduce their success throughout the county.
In terms of COVID-19 relief, the candidates have different ideas about grant allocation. Last week, the county changed its allocation process so that commissioners have the final say. It’s a move Swope said should’ve happened the first time around.
“They should’ve never put it on the EDC to make those decisions,” he said. “The EDC had to pick winners and losers.”
As commissioner, Swope said he would hire a firm to help businesses move online, “Because if you’re online you can still do businesses.”
“We just have to figure out the business model and adjust it, and that’s where you get some business expertise to help you,” he said.
Fund, on the other hand, expressed support for the volunteer committee that was in charge of allocating the first two rounds of grants. The committee included representatives from the business community, and will still be involved in the third round of allocation.
“I want to rely on those subject matter experts to give their inside opinion,” she said.
The two similarly disagree on the commissioner’s role with Lewis County Seniors, with Swope arguing for more county involvement.
“As far as defunding our senior centers, I think it was a huge mistake,” Swope said.
He acknowledged that there were legal issues in giving public funds to the group, but said that “didn’t mean we can’t fund our senior centers, we just need to make sure we’re funding it appropriately and properly.”
“If there’s one investment that we can make that we don’t get a return, that’s where it’s at, because we already got the return: the years and years that they helped build our community,” Swope said.
Fund argued that the group is doing better on its own.
“They can operate outside of government much better than government could ever do,” she said. “That group is a power house, that Lewis County Seniors group, and they’ve done a lot.”
With the election drawing nearer, the race has intensified. Fund’s campaign has seized on Swope’s recent campaign violation, sending out ads plastered with the words “Swope Broke the Law.”
Fund called the ad “a reporting of records,” but Swope, who reported the violation himself and called it an “honest mistake,” characterized the move as excessive.
Swope also discussed recent criticism over donations he received from Port of Centralia representatives. A recent letter to the editor in The Chronicle questioned whether the donations could mean Swope is in the “back pocket” of the port.
But Swope sees the relationship as a strength.
“What’s so bad with wanting to work with an area that can generate incredible growth for your area? Why would we not want to have our commissioners in good standing relationships with people in the port?”
Jackson/Pollock
County Commissioner Bobby Jackson, a former minister and radio broadcaster, and challenger Dr. Lindsey Pollock, a Winlock veterinarian, differ in two of the biggest issues facing the county: flood damage control and COVID-19.
The proposed Chehalis River dam is Jackson’s number one priority, and while his competitor has discussed back-up plans to the controversial project, Jackson is adamant that the dam is the only option to control flood damage in the basin, and believes it needs to be pushed through.
Although experts have discussed the dam in terms of climate change, and some have raised concern that the dam’s environmental impact could be exacerbated by climate change, Jackson argued that it shouldn’t be a part of the conversation at all.
“As far as climate change goes, I think there’s only one that’s in charge of the climate,” Jackson said in an interview. “I’m talking about God.”
Pollock, on the other hand, has discussed a plan b in greater detail. The first-time candidate said asking residents to relocate will “probably go over about as well as masks,” but that the county could develop a strategy to naturally discourage housing development in more high-risk flood zones.
The idea is to financially incentivize farmers to consolidate subdivided land, sell the development credits, and place a deed restriction on the land, ensuring that fertile land in the floodplain is reserved for farmland, and allowing developers to use the credits to build on higher ground.
The candidates also differ in their general approach to the pandemic. Jackson has been critical of Gov. Jay Inslee’s mask mandate, flouting public health recommendations and drawing criticism this summer, and an investigation from the state Department of Labor and Industries, after refusing to wear one during public meetings.
“I’ve come under fire because I’ve had some pretty strong things to say about that. I don’t think it should be mandated, I think it should be a personal choice,” Jackson said.
The way Jackson sees it, masks will always be an emotional and polarizing issue.
“I’m just being realistic. I don’t think there’s any more middle ground,” Jackson said. “I don’t ever want to lose the conversation about personal freedom.”
Conversely, Pollock thinks the polarization of masks can and should be alleviated by commissioners. It’s about “trying to emphasize that it’s a choice that can help everybody out,” she said.
As far as schools go, Jackson has encouraged districts to re-open despite county recommendations, saying districts should make their own decisions about whether to go back to distance learning if cases spike. Pollock has emphasized that the county and its health officer should lead efforts to reopen safely, and said in-person class should be paused county-wide if hospitalizations get out of control.
“And that’s going to be uncomfortable, it’s going to be difficult,” Pollock said. “I know as an employer it’s really hard when it’s like you’re playing with a lightswitch. You’re in, then you’re out.”
Pollock also said whoever replaces Health Officer Dr. Rachel Wood, who recently announced her retirement, needs to be ready to navigate what has become a political issue. A health officer with strong public communication skills could help get everyone on the same page, Pollock said.
Looking toward the future, the candidates have different visions for the county’s strategic five-year plan. Pollock has criticized sitting commissioners for contracting out a five-year plan instead of a 10-year plan.
“I think we kind of missed an opportunity with this current round of consulting only focusing on a five-year time frame,” she said. “Five years is great at the department level, but when we’re looking at the county level, we need a bigger vision.”
In the next decade, Pollock wants to see more Seattle and Portland-area tech jobs moving to Lewis County.
“You can take an engineering firm and instead of being in downtown Seattle, there’s not really a good reason why they can’t be sitting in Lewis County,” she said.
Pollock said she would also focus on streamlining water rights petitions and ensuring that cities can develop with more efficient clustered housing instead of urban sprawl. This would be easier, she said, if commissioners shifted more day-to-day responsibilities to county staff.
Jackson said the county has already done just that — a county manager was hired in the last few years to allow commissioners to focus on big-picture issues. He also said the five-year plan is necessary to address immediate concerns before looking 10 years out.
“I don’t look at this job as being right here and now. I came into this with a long-range thought process because I realize that the things I do now are going to have a dramatic effect on future generations, on my kids and grandkids,” Jackson said.
His long-term plans include strengthening relationships with and between job-creating entities in Lewis County like chambers of commerce and the Economic Development Council.
Overall, Pollock characterized herself as more forward-thinking than Jackson — something the commissioner has fired back on.
“A lot of things that she’s described as things she wants to do, we’re already doing … She mentioned the radio infrastructure for 911, we’re working on that. She mentioned streamlining the county, we’re already doing that,” he said. “I don’t hear any new ideas.”
