Washington State General Election: Dallesport Candidate Night draws crowd

County Commissioners

Do you support keeping the posse in the county budget?

Zoller: I sat in on the 2023 budget proposals, and I do see that the sheriff had his $20,000 line item in return for the policy, I do believe it’s necessary. And when it continues, I believe that we’ll have to have a talk about future funding with the next sheriff, who ever is there about budgets. And I think it’s a good idea to increase that for training.

Dumolt: I also support the posse budget, I am a very fiscally conservative person. And if you put the numbers out in front of you, if you’re receiving a half a million dollars for a $20,000 investment, that’s a darn good investment. And that’s really how I look at things monetarily. I will support it.

Would you recognize the authority of the Community Council in a dispute between a Community Council and the Board of County Commissioners?

Zoller: I always want to honor the citizens of the community and what they have to say from the Community Council. And  I know community councils are community councils because you’re unincorporated. And I know that’s been kind of a sticking point ever since they were created where the authority lies now. And so you actually end up having the Board of Commissioners being your authority as oversight. I would fight my hardest to honor and bring my constituents along with me to honor what the people want.

Dumolt: Community Councils - you have to respect their authority and their decisions. Ultimately, county commissioners have the authority over the county. But you can’t go in and run roughshod over a community. What you need to do at that point is sit down and negotiate and talk to the people to see if there’s some way you can work on some sort of an agreement that works for the county and works for the community.

The bond for the Dallesport wastewater treatment plant will be paid off this year. What do you see as the best solution for future ownership and operation of this system?

Dumolt: I don’t know enough about this particular subject is to talk intelligently on it. If the bond is going to be paid off, that’s great. It’s something that I would have to research. And I’m willing to do that. However, I haven’t done it to this point. So honestly, I just don’t know.

Zoller: I have sat in on the Dallesport Wastewater Treatment Plant meetings, and I’ve came to a couple of meetings down here. I know it’s a passionate subject. I think negotiations are moving forward. And I think you’re doing a good job of expressing what your community would like to see and have. My advice is be very, very careful of what you wish for. And make sure that you understand what all the ramifications are in the end and what you’ll have to pay for.

State Representative

What will you do to promote growth in the Dallesport Peninsula?

Contreras: I think one of the things I did first is connect with community groups such as your group to reach out to the community members. Going forward there’s a lot of changes coming up, that we need to take notice of and start working towards.They’re wanting us to move into and go away from gas fueled cars. So, that is a huge task. And so I think, going forward, you know, in our rural communities, that’s something that I feel like can help lead in some aspects. I just returned from Washington, DC last night. And that was one of the topics that was on the Clean Energy Summit that I attended. So I feel that you know, in that arena, I can help with moving forward in our communities to work towards that goal.

Mosbrucker: I think it’s just a matter of communication, just really listening to the people who live here. I would hold a town hall session to talk about what people want, what people don’t want in the area. And then we move forward with that. I think that the building of housing is a big challenge, not only in Washington State, but across the nation. And part of that is because there’s so many restrictions on building. So we’re working on that state legislature, but just trying to figure out what dollars are also available. So once you tell me what you want, or don’t want, then it’s my job to search for grants and ways to pay for it from the federal government, state government and even county government.

How do you plan to make sure your constituents and rural counties like ours are thoroughly represented when everything is dominated by Seattle and Vancouver?

Contreras: That is part of the reason why I threw my name in the hat to run, I feel that our communities are grossly underrepresented. And I think that I can bridge the communication between all parties to work toward solutions. I think that I have the time and the commitment and the energy to feel the concerns from our community and citizens to work towards the goals that are going forward within our communities.

Mosbrucker: That’s been a battle for the last eight years. It’s a fun battle. And we keep trying to pull everything to the side where they’re trying to keep it on that side. So again, just trying to make sure that we have capital budget projects. For example, we’ve got some primary outcome on certain tech counties and county we we’ve made that progress. It’s not as much as we want. But just being vocal, just being loud and hearing what you want down here and trying to figure out a way that get country and conservative family values and live together is an ongoing challenge. But definitely one worth fighting for.

Do you support the Governor’s continuing (COVID-19) emergency?

Mosbrucker:  The state emergency is supposed to end on Halloween, we’re gonna see if that happens. And ironically, it’s right when the ballots come out. So we’re a little skeptical about what will happen after the election before the next session. To be perfectly honest, we’re hoping there won’t be another reason that we can’t meet in person in the People’s House.

Contreras: I do not support the Governor’s emergency only because of the fact that, I imagine many of the community members here, more or less we wouldn’t be in this building tonight, you know, if we weren’t going forward in our lives. And I think that there’s been a lot of concern from both sides. But also, you know, myself, my personal opinion, and my thoughts are that we need to, you know, be able to, you know, handle our own affairs. And I think that, that’s again, why, you know, I put my name in the hat to run because there’s a lot of issues and concerns that I have that I feel that I can address at the state level.

What efforts will you make to conserve the environment?

Contreras: The efforts that I would make to conserve the environment is to share my personal experience and knowledge growing up and having respect for our land and our communities we all take pride as citizens. And I think that the message that I would bring forward is, you know, that we all need to work together to make sure that our livelihoods are protected, our health, safety, welfare, it’s all encompassing. so I think that, it’s important that we all stick together and communicate. Communication is key and making sure that messages are brought forward. So that’s what I plan to do.

Mosbrucker: As Washington’s moving green, it’s transitioning. We had a bill this last session that I ran that 147 legislators were a Yes on. The co chair of the Democratic committee was my co sponsor. And all that debate there was simply asking that as we’re transitioning to green, can we figure out how to keep the lights on? We’re moving so quickly and so fast. We’re seeing blackouts and brownouts not only in California and Texas, but also in Tri-Cities and in Washington State. The Governor vetoed it, but will run it again.

Do you support the gas tax?

Mosbrucker: You can look at my voting record, absolutely not. We had $15 billion in surplus when we left session last time, and every penny was spent by the majority party, and there was no reason whatsoever that you should have seen any gas increases. You can go to the archives at the Capitol, and you can watch us fighting at 3am, 6 a.m. from the night before, not sleeping, out fighting the gas tax. So the answer is a very simple no.

Contreras: I also do not support the gas tax, it’s ridiculous, the amounts that we’re having to pay right now. And, you know, that’s one of the big problems that we need to address on the west side. There, it’s like there’s a breakdown when it you cross the Cascades, and I think that’s why we’re here, that’s why we’re all sitting in this room together is because we want to find the solutions and make it fair for everyone. And, you know, I myself, I don’t know, I don’t appreciate having to put you know, $150 in my tank, you know, just to get to work. And so I think that there’s a better way to do things.

How do you plan to work toward bringing people together in a very polarized political environment?

Mosbrucker: That’s what we do. Right? I represent everyone in Washington State. Again, I’ve passed numerous bills successfully with the help of amazing staff at the Capitol and your help for testifying. Again, I reach out across the aisle, I’m a proud Republican and if a Democrat hates my bill, it might not be a good bill. Often, so what we do is we work together have stakeholder groups and try to find agreement, we go forward and you can’t function in the minority without working together.

Contreras: That’s exactly why I’m running for this position is because I feel that I can contribute to bringing solutions together at a table and working through the logistics of any of the issues that are brought forward. It’s been interesting so far. I have not received any negative, you know, backlash or anything so far. So I think that it’s doable to bring solutions together. And you may not always be happy, you’re not going to make everyone happy. But you have to be able to work together and find a solution that’s going to work for the better of our communities.

County clerk

Name three ways you will be accessible to the community.

McKern: If I were county clerk I’d be accessible through any of the offices, where it’s an open door policy to just come in and see us; by email to schedule an appointment. If it needs to go outside office hours, I would have a working cell phone that I posted online so people can text message or give me a call if they need to. And then out in the community, I’m an active member at Centerville Community Church, as well as assisting with a bunch of friend’s ranches around the county. And I’d love to be able to communicate with people, and be accessible at any time.

Campbell: I was on the court's recovery task force during COVID. The task force helped us recover and I was on the technology committee and one of the things that became evident was, websites were not up to date. So I was on the committee that helped get our websites up to date with information that was pertinent to the public who needed to have that access. Of course we’re always available by phone. And by email, we are constantly answering the phone and directing people and sending documents to people to email. Our documents are now available through digital archive. So it’s another way that you can actually reach out to the clerk’s office to get your needs accomplished. We’re always open eight to five. We’re there for you.

County Sheriff

The primary role of a county sheriff is public safety. Does weighing in on national partisan debates enhance or detract from that role?

Clifford: I feel it can detract from that role, but you should be privy to the information that’s going on around the county, but also around the state and around the country and possibly around the world. You need to be cognizant of what’s going on so that you can make the best decisions when you’re enforcing the laws issued by the State and but then protecting people’s rights with the Constitution.

Songer: That just depends on what the debate is all about. If it affects law enforcement statewide,  and that’s why we have the Washington State Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, you’re gonna get involved in some conflicts or some interest in regards to the Constitution, or if the debate is on the law. I’ve been on a number of campaign shows, with Sheriff Richard Mack, Constitutional Sheriffs and Police Officers Association, and other TV shows, stating the reasons I am a Constitutional Sheriff. Your primary job is to protect your constitutional liberties against overrun of government or bad guys who are violating your rights.

Klickitat County has had an active sheriff’s posse for many years, what role do you see them playing in your administration?

Clifford: I see a lot of the sheriff posse doing a lot of good things. And so I plan to continue that program. I want to make sure it’s managed correctly. I want to make sure it’s guided by someone who’s in charge of it. As Sheriff, I don’t feel like I need to personally be in charge of a volunteer program. But I need someone that I trust that can manage it. And so that’s what I plan to do. I plan to implement a volunteer coordinator so that they are in charge of it, but I want any member of the posse to be able to be trained in what they’re doing.

Songer: If Mr. Clifford would do a little research on the posse, he would see that they’re trained every month. The posse is a community policing program last year alone donated enough hours — $521,000 to the county commissioners in wages. Now, you know how much the county kicks in? $20,000. Real big of them, right? Seeing as how much money in return they get in volunteer help. I’m telling you, the posse is a professional community policing program. And I’d invite Mr. Clifford to attend that and go over our policies and really see what’s happening.

County Auditor

How is your job experience relevant to the duties of an Auditor?

Chambers: I have been reviewing the processes. I actually downloaded and received by electronic version, all the processes in the auditor’s office. They have their processes that they follow. They have the accounting and they’re following the payroll and different things, which I believe a lot of Public Works is handling some of that as well. I have been reviewing all of the policies and procedures for the auditor’s office and in all the directions. I have not worked in the county auditor’s office.

Jobe: So I have experience in all of them. I’ve done licensing I’ve done recording. I’m a certified elections administrator. I’ve processed payroll, participated in the filing of the annual report, and I’m involved with the veterans fund.