Former Lewis County Commissioner Ron Averill shakes hands with fellow Commissioner Bill Schulte after initial vote tallies were released in November 2012.
As filing week rolled to a close Friday evening, the surprising news was not who filed for public office, but who didn’t.
County Commissioner Bill Schulte announced his intent to run for re-election on April 2; however, at the end of the in-person filing period, his name did not appear on the list of candidates.
He did not return a request for comment.
Schulte is the commissioner for District 2, which stretches from the Chehalis area to the far reaches of West Lewis County. He was first elected in 2008, beating out Lyle Hojem.
In an earlier interview with The Chronicle, he said he wanted to see two major projects in the county go to the permitting stage — the proposed dam on the Chehalis River near Pe Ell, and the proposed industrial access in north Lewis County off of Interstate 5.
With no opportunities left to file, Schulte’s only other method for taking office again next year would be as a write-in candidate, but Tom Stanton, chief deputy auditor for the county, said that would be unlikely. In the eight years he’s been with the Auditor’s Office, he said, he can’t remember there being a write-in candidate who garnered a significant number of votes.
“It is rare because their name wouldn’t be on the ballot and people would have to campaign to get people to know that they are actually running,” he said.
Commissioner Edna Fund said the news came as a surprise to her.
Fund is up for re-election herself against opponent Dan Keahey.
“I’m surprised, but now I’m moving forward toward the future and I hope whoever takes his shoes has the same interest in the county,” she said.
Now, with Schulte no longer in the race, she said his experience is one thing that will be hard to replace.
“Bill has had almost eight years of experience on the county commission, so he has a history that is hard to replace,” she said.
Schulte was known for being vocal about his stances on issues, and Fund said everyone always knew where he stood, something that made things “interesting.”
“As you know, as everyone knows, you never have to doubt where Bill stands on an issue — he was always very forthcoming,” she said. “I thought that the three of us on the commission were three different individuals which provided more of a balance.”
One example of his tendency to speak forcefully on county issues came last week during an interview with The Chronicle about claims of mismanagement at the E911 Communications Center. He said complaints by area fire and police chiefs about the interim management at the center amounted to “bullshit” and that there was a hidden agenda at play.
He didn’t return calls from The Chronicle on the topic earlier this week.
Now, moving forward with county projects already in progress, the commission will see a leadership change.
The race for District 2 is now down to two candidates, Bob Bozarth and Bobby Jackson.
Bozarth, a third-generation Lewis County resident, announced his candidacy for commissioner in January.
After hearing the race was between him and Jackson, Bozarth said he wasn’t totally surprised.
“Quite honestly I kind of predicted this,” he said. “I said it would eventually boil down to a two-person race and I’m going to be running against Bobby Jackson.”
Bozarth, 61, said the upcoming race would be a battle as he faces his opponent.
“This is not going to be an easy task by any stretch of the imagination,” he said.
He will hold a campaign kickoff along with Steve McLaughlin, who is running for Washington state public lands commissioner, at Lucky Shot Archery on Coal Creek Road at 6 p.m.
“One reason I’m excited about this is because I have been working on public land issues for a long time before anybody thought about this campaign, particularly me,” he said. “We think we can really make a change in the economy of Lewis County by putting forth a plan we’ve been working on with other people.”
Jackson, a sales executive and sports broadcaster with KELA/KMNT and an Assemblies of God minister, decided he would run for the District 2 seat back in 2015.
He said the news of Schulte not filing for re-election does not change his plans.
“We are continuing to talk to people throughout the community, and we continue to talk to people about what our goals are and what our plans are,” he said.
He placed particular focus on fixing issues at the E911 Communications Center, which has come under public scrutiny lately for the way it is operated.
Jackson, 57, said his major goal is to create a bright future in the county.
“We’re laying a foundation so my children and grandchildren have something to work with when their time comes to lead,” he said. “We need to be forward thinking, it can’t end with me.”
Jackson will have a fundraising breakfast on June 14 at the Veterans Memorial Museum in Chehalis.
As for Fund, who is running for re-election in District 1, she said she will remain visible in the community as the election approaches.
Her major focus is to continue her work on flood mitigation in the area, make Lewis County more attractive to businesses and industry and ensure the Industrial Park at TransAlta moves forward.
“I’m taking my record of my county commission to the people,” she said. “I think we have come a long way in terms of transparency.”
She plans to continue that push and will remain accessible to the community. Throughout her time on the commission, she said taxes have never been raised.
Going into this election cycle, Fund said, she knew she would have to face an opponent associated with the Port of Centralia, after she was told on multiple occasions that her votes were not supported. The port has clashed with the county on a number of issues, among them road access to the planned Centralia Station development and progress on plans for a new Interstate 5 interchange north of Centralia. The port has not taken part in the interchange project.
“I knew I would have an opponent, I just wasn’t certain who that would be,” she said. “We will run on our record to make Lewis County the best it can be.”
Port of Centralia Commissioner Dan Keahey, a Realtor and former Centralia city councilor, will attempt to unseat Fund.
The 53-year-old is a managing broker at Coldwell Banker Kline & Associates and served on the Centralia City Council for nine years. This is his seventh year as a Port of Centralia commissioner.
He is largely running on the premise that there is a lack of leadership in the county, something he says needs to change.
“I think with the right team in there we can make a significant difference and get this county moving forward,” he said. “We haven’t had that in the past few years.”
He said his focus as commissioner would be to help create jobs and help the county find vision and direction.
In recent years, the county has been at odds with many entities, he said, including both ports, the city of Chehalis and the Centralia-Chehalis Chamber of Commerce.
His hope is to repair those relationships.
“Without that unity, how can we move forward? I think we are our own worst enemies,” he said. “These are the reasons I am running.”
