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    • Voters Guide — Fall 2021
      • Francis A. Benjamin, Pullman City Council (Ward 1 – Challenger)
      • Al (Alan) Sorensen, Pullman City Council (Ward 1 – Incumbent)
      • Megan Guido, Pullman City Council (Ward 3 – Open/Uncontested)
      • Tricia Grantham, Pullman Regional Hospital Board (Pos. 4 – Incumbent)
      • Reid West, Pullman Regional Hospital Board (Pos. 4 – Challenger)
      • Jeff Elbracht, Pullman Regional Hospital Board (Pos. 7 – Uncontested)
      • Hillary Hoffman, Colfax City Council (Pos. 2 – Open seat)
      • Martin J. Marler, Whitman Hospital Board (Pos. 5 – Incumbent)
      • Brad Pearce, Palouse City Council (Pos. 1 – Open seat)
      • Tracy Stewart, Palouse City Council (Pos. 3 – Challenger)
      • Ron Weller, Palouse City Council (Pos. 7 – Open seat)
    • Voters Guide — Fall 2020
      • Art Swannack, County Commissioner (Dist. 1, incumbent/uncontested)
      • Tom Handy, County Commissioner (Dist. 2, challenger)
      • Dean Kinzer, County Commissioner (Dist. 2, incumbent)
    • Voters Guide – Fall 2019
      • Francis A. Benjamin, Pullman City Council (At-large – Challenger)
      • Eileen ‘Mac’ Macoll, Pullman City Council (At-large – Incumbent)
      • Chris Johnson, Pullman City Council (Ward 1 – Challenger)
      • Ann Parks, Pullman City Council (Ward 1 – Incumbent)
      • Nathan Weller, Pullman City Council (Ward 2 – Uncontested)
      • Pat Wright, Pullman City Council (Ward 3 – Uncontested)
      • Jim Kackman, Colfax City Council (Pos. 6 – incumbent)
      • Dominic Villareal, Colfax City Council (Pos. 6 – challenger)
      • Mark Mackleit, Colfax City Council (Pos. 4 – incumbent)
      • Colleen Cross, Malden Town Council (Pos. 1 – challenger)
      • Robert Ward, Rosalia Town Council (Pos. 4 – incumbent)
      • Bethany Fletcher, Tekoa City Council (Pos. 3 – incumbent)
      • Jonathan Musson, Uniontown Town Council (Pos. 4 – challenger)
      • Michael Shore, Uniontown Town Council (Pos. 1 – challenger)
      • Beth Ficklin, Pullman School Board (Dist. 1, challenger)
      • Susan S. Weed, Pullman School Board (Dist. 1, incumbent)
      • Allison Munch-Rotolo, Pullman School Board (Dist. 2, uncontested)
    • Voters Guide – Fall 2018
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Robert Ward, Rosalia Town Council (Pos. 4 – incumbent)

For the 2019 Voters Guide, we emailed town and city candidates a set of 14 questions on professional experience, local priorities and general issues. We have included those questions and the unedited responses. We have noted when candidates left questions unanswered. We have also provided links to candidate websites, campaign funding reports and other local media coverage when available.

Any questions or suggestions should be sent to: whitmancowatch@gmail.com

CANDIDATE BACKGROUND

Running against: Janet Meier Strohl

Website: Town Council bios

Social media: Facebook

Other recent coverage: 

QUESTIONNAIRE

What is your current occupation or job title?

Merchant Marine Officer Retired

What other memberships or affiliations would you like to list for voters?

Chairman & President Palouse RTPO / IBU Executive Board & Contract Negotiator / Mason Blue & Red Lodge

What professional accomplishment are you most proud of and why?

Rosalia Councilman & @ 40 Bachelor of Science Degree Computer Information Systems

What is your vision for your community and are there any other cities that you see doing things right or would like to emulate?

Identify, assess, and improve town assets to promote our quality of life.

Replace aging infrastructure (water, sewer and streets) Repair old and build new sidewalks for safe walks to school, downtown, or personal enjoyment.

What is your philosophy for guiding new business and housing development? What, if any, role should the council play in recruitment or restriction?

The population growth is already coming our way from Spokane. Our future growth should be managed with our expectations of a small town lifestyle. Our “Norman Rockwell” feeling upon entering Rosalia is one of the first impressions visitors see and enjoy. That and our history since 1872 are qualities we should never lose. Our council should be guided and town managed by the premise that we are stewards of Rosalia and its assets now and in future growth. We must remember to think not only for today but also our future with a planning commission and community involvement.

What would you list as your highest priorities for local infrastructure repairs, expansions or new projects?

Answered above.

What do you consider your community’s greatest housing challenge and what steps would you take to address it?

Planning and infrastructure with community involvement are the challenges.

Do you think your community provides adequate resources for public safety services (police and fire) and what, if anything, would you change?

With regards to public safety, Whitman County currently provides our best option

How would your rank your expectations for council/city government transparency on a scale from 1 to 5, with 1 indicating a discrete approach to governing and 5 indicating a proactively open approach?

Three

Do you consider your community’s tax rates high or low? As a steward of taxpayer dollars, how do you approach balancing demands for city service against the citizen tax burden?

Low to medium. A Planning Commission with Council and Citizen input is the best combination. It is a three legged stool. Without one leg it loses it’s stability.

Do you support the council enacting policies to address climate change or promote environmental sustainability? If so, what steps would you take?

Yes. At this time we need to make sure our current environment is maintained.

What do you think of existing local regulations on cannabis businesses and production operations?

Generally appropriate

What, if any, role do you think the council should play in promoting local arts, cultural events or tourism?

Local arts and culture are our windows to our souls. We have a great town, history and should be proud of it by sharing with all those who come to visit.

If you could wave a magic wand and instantly change one thing about your community, what would it be and why?

We are all human with positives and negatives. The golden rule “Treat others as you would like to be treated” is the best hope hope we can all follow.

Local news lights the way
This is a journalistic experiment in public transparency — intended to expand access to information on government policies and practices through the use of reporting, records and community dialogue. Stories will be limited going forward as I focus on a new full-time investigative position at Crosscut. You can reach me there.

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whitmancowatch@gmail.com

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