John Thompson, right, and Richard DeBolt, left, laugh as they joke with each other during Meet the Candidates Tuesday night at the TransAlta Commons in Centralia College campus.
Gary Stamper talks to citizens during his section of Meet the Candidates last month at the TransAlta Commons in Centralia College campus.
Jerry Pratt talks to citizens during his section of Meet the Candidates Tuesday night at the TransAlta Commons in Centralia College campus.
Gary Stamper, left, and Jerry Pratt, right laugh as they conclude their section of Meet the Candidates Tuesday night at the TransAlta Commons in Centralia College campus.
FILE PHOTO — Dianne Dorey talks to citizens during her section of Meet the Candidates event at the TransAlta Commons in 2018.
Dianne Dorey, left, and Amanda Price, right, smile after finishing the first round of questions during Meet the Candidates earlier this month at the TransAlta Commons in Centralia College campus.
More than 120 people filled the TransAlta Commons at Centralia College on Tuesday evening to hear from a total of 14 candidates running for seven elected positions representing Lewis County citizens at the county, state and federal level.
Nine candidates accounting for five of the races on the Nov. 6 general election ballot wound up taking the stage Tuesday to introduce themselves to a room full of voters and answer questions from Centralia College President Bob Mohrbacher, who served as moderator.
Though the most high-profile contest — a tight race between incumbent U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler and challenger Carolyn Long to represent Washington’s 3rd congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives — went unaddressed at the event, contenders for other political positions took the opportunity to provide a window of clarity into the down-ballot races.
Each race on the ballot received about 20 minutes of stage time at the forum. The two candidates competing for a specific position sat side by side in front of microphones, nameplates folded classroom-style on the table in front of them.
They each received three minutes to make an opening statement and two minutes to rebut the introductory words of their opponent. Mohrbacher then asked one person a question from a list crafted by representatives from forum sponsors including The Chronicle, Radio KELA AM 1470 and KMNT FM 104.3, the Centralia-Chehalis Chamber of Commerce and the Associated Students of Centralia College.
The other candidate got a chance to respond, then provided their own views on subjects that ranged from statewide ballot initiatives to the potential for Lewis County to start a home rule charter form of governance and the aftermath of the McCleary decision by the state Supreme Court.
The same process occurred in reverse once Mohrbacher asked his second question. Some duos, such as incumbent state Rep. Richard DeBolt and 20th Legislative District Position 1 challenger John Thompson, bypassed cordial and went straight to being friendly on the dais.
“It’s kind of hard to rebut that,” DeBolt said after Thompson stated his opposition for state initiatives that would create a carbon tax and tighten gun laws.
Others allowed their words and facial expressions to lay their true feelings bare.
Incumbent Lewis County Assessor Dianne Dorey and challenger Amanda Price gave the assembled crowd a glimpse of what has been a contentious campaign since before the Aug. 7 primary election vaulted the pair onto the general election ballot.
Price, who left her job in the assessor’s office in 2015, charged Dorey with creating a poor environment in the workplace, one that she alleges has contributed to staff turnover and missed deadlines.
Asked to respond to Dorey’s experience argument, Price said that by the time she’s Dorey’s age, she could also have 40-plus years of working for county government.
“When I talk to people, they’re upset with how they’re treated,” Price said following the forum. “Leadership comes from the top down. If you aren’t giving respect to the taxpayers, other people follow suit.
Dorey hit back at Price by stating her opponent does not have the management skills or experience to handle the position, because she only worked in one part of the assessor’s office during her time there.
Asked by Mohrbacher why she chose to run for a nonpartisan office as a Republican, Dorey responded that she is proud to be affiliated with the Lewis County arm of the party and that it’s important for people to know her values, but that politics has no place in her office, as required by state law.
“If I see you at a Republican event, I don’t treat you any differently than I would otherwise,” Dorey said after the event. “The staff doesn’t discuss politics. My values mean that I keep a budget that is not exorbitant, but it’s illegal to have politics affect the office. They have to be kept separate, like the sheriff’s office.”
Banter between 20th Legislative District Position 2 incumbent Rep. Ed Orcutt and challenger Brennan Bailey became pointed at times, but did not reach the level attained by Dorey and Price.
Bailey, a first-time candidate from Chehalis, repeatedly knocked career politicians for taking campaign contributions from corporations, contributions Bailey alleges are connected to future legislative action and ones he pledged to not accept.
Orcutt, who counts Anheuser-Busch, Boeing and Comcast among his donors, pushed back on the idea that corporate money buys favorable policies in Olympia.
“Yes, I take campaign contributions from corporations,” Orcutt said. “Boeing uses vendors in Lewis County … businesses are being successful in Lewis County because of tax breaks. Corporations are not evil.”
Lewis County Commissioner Gary Stamper kicked off the evening by defending himself and his office from assertions by former Toledo mayor Jerry Pratt that county government could and should be run more efficiently.
Asked for his stance on the ballot question regarding whether Lewis County should begin the home rule charter process of electing freeholders to craft proposed changes to how county government is run, Stamper stated that he supports the right of voters to decide the issue, but that he is not in favor of moving forward with freeholders.
The way in which freeholders would be chosen remains unclear, as a lawsuit filed by political action committee One Lewis County challenging the county’s ability to create sub districts for that election is still pending.
“If you don’t like someone, you can vote them out of office,” Stamper said. “I work for the people of Lewis County.”
The race for 19th Legislative District Position 2 was not fully represented, as incumbent state Rep. Brian Blake did not attend the forum. Challenger Joel McEntire sat alone onstage and dinged Blake for his absence while comparing the state initiative regarding a carbon tax to a Nigerian prince-style email scam.
Neither candidate for 19th Legislative District Position 1 participated in the forum due to a prior commitment they both made to attend another event. Challenger Erin Frasier, who is trying to unseat incumbent state Rep. Jim Walsh arrived right after the forum ended and stuck around to introduce herself as voters headed for the exits.
“If anyone wants to talk, I’d be happy to speak individually or to a group,” Frasier said.
