Meet the candidates: The Dalles Mayor

THE DALLES — The Dalles will have a new leader in January, as Mayor Rich Mays steps away from his position after eight years. Three nonpartisan candidates — Darcy Long, Tim McGlothlin, and Joe Slusher — are vying for the title.

Long, 50, born and raised in town, says she’s accumulated necessary leadership skills through her diverse career path and decades of local community involvement — from Girl Scouts to an eight-year stint on city council.

McGlothlin, 74, a current city councilor, former educator, and longtime volunteer with The Dalles Lions Clubs, says his compassion for serving others, honestly and with integrity, makes him the right choice.

Slusher, 64, a lifelong resident and owner of Sign-Age downtown, credits his get-it-done attitude and believes setting The Dalles back on the right course is his assignment.

Columbia Gorge News spoke with all three candidates about their backgrounds, motivations, and goals if elected. Topics included communication, houselessness, federal immigration enforcement, data centers, and more. Let’s meet them.

Darcy Long

Born in The Dalles, Long first acquired a knack for civic leadership in high school while participating in Girls State, a week-long interactive mock government program for selected students. “Standing up and talking about why a bill should or shouldn’t be passed can have an impact,” she said. “I decided right then that’s how I want to help people.”

During a stint at Willamette University, Long studied political science, international studies, and Japanese, including a semester abroad at Tokyo International University. Learning a new language, she said, aided her on her next stop in Washington, D.C., working in high-pressure positions as a legal and executive assistant.

A winding career path led back to the Willamette Valley, where she started a family and got her feet wet in civic engagement. Long then returned to The Dalles, serving as a parenting education early childhood coordinator for Wasco County before making a career switch during the recession and then starting her own business as an independent financial advisor.

Calling on years of work helping and providing for people around her — whether in the office, at home, or citywide — Long saw an opportunity to run for city council and went for it. She served from 2017-2025 and loved every second of it.

Now a member of the Columbia Gorge Community College (CGCC) Board of Education, she’s gunning for mayor with government transparency and improved communication as a top priority. How council meetings are currently structured — only allowing public comment on topics off the agenda — helped spur her decision.

Of the many issues facing The Dalles, Long said squeaky-wheel issues like water, housing, and economic development are among the obvious. She wants to give residents better odds to engage with these issues and let their voices be heard, which will require improved communication mechanisms to ignite community buy-in.

“I think our town can be much more vital than we are,” Long said, pointing towards becoming a bigger player in statewide politics. “We need better support for and communication with our business community.”

It comes down to current perceptions around city government. Whether or not they are true, they hold gravity; people wanting to start a business or trying to run one feel like “they’re not being heard, or their challenges are getting poo-pooed,” Long said. “I can help make this a smoother running city.”

Understanding that most people lack time or bandwidth to keep up with city council meetings or read agenda packets, she suggested breaking things down on social media as a potential strategy. “We need to do a better job getting things out there in small bites, so it’s easily readable and clickable,” she said.

On another hot-button topic, data centers, Long said her perspective on the issue evolved during her time as a city councilor and as more information hit the public sphere. She stressed that big decisions moving forward will require research and diversity of thought, and can’t mirror what’s been done in the past. What’s key is “making sure we have public forums so that people can bring their concerns forward,” Long said.

Holding space for public discussion centered on community needs, she explained, is also vital when it comes to federal immigration enforcement. “It comes down to protecting human rights and following the law,” Long said. “I don’t feel that ICE has been safe in how they’ve done things. I hope that we come down on the side of welcoming and supporting people.”

Consolidating her campaign to a soundbite, Long emphasized transparency, fair rules, and no surprises. “We need someone who can step up, speak clearly, and inspire people to come and do business in our town,” she said. “I want to make it somewhere that my kids and I continue to have all their needs met and enjoy.”

  Tim McGlothlin

McGlothlin was born and raised in Montesano, Washington, where he participated in Eagle Scouts, played baseball, and developed a passion for music, even playing guitar in a touring rock band during high school.

He received an associate’s degree from Grays Harbor College before teaching middle school band for five years. McGlothlin later acquired three more degrees, including his bachelor’s from Western Washington University, where he met his wife, and two master’s degrees from Central Washington University.

After moving to The Dalles in 1974, McGlothlin quickly fell in love with the Gorge, planting roots that have grown for 52 years. Here, he’s continued his work in music and education, serving as a band director, starting his own music company, and working as a principal, technology leader, and school administrator. During his tenure at Columbia High School, he earned recognition as the Southwest Washington Principal of the Year.

McGlothlin has served on numerous boards and commissions in The Dalles, including with the Chamber of Commerce and Wasco County Juvenile Services. He has additionally played an instrumental role with The Dalles Lions Club, where he focuses on serving the needs of local students. “It’s to give. It’s a means to serve the community,” McGlothlin said. “If one life has breathed easier because I’ve lived, then I have known success.”

A city councilor since 2010, McGlothlin has been around for The Dalles’ latest projects, including the Dog River pipeline endeavor. His run for mayor was borne out a desire to see more ongoing projects completed, and a loyalty to Mays, who he said he’d never run against.

Of the issues facing The Dalles, McGlothlin says houselessness is near the top of the ladder, and that the community should not accept it. “The underlying problems are drug addiction and mental health,” he said. “We need to find solutions to help these people.”

Potholes and street conditions are another concern. “Streets and infrastructure are the primary reasons we have city government,” McGlothlin said. “You pool all your money because it’s impossible for any individual or group to pay the cost of the asphalt, machinery, and personnel to put in the streets.”

Asked about data centers, McGlothlin quickly shut down the notion that Google is in the city’s pockets and said that social media has contributed to misconceptions, convincing people that the tech giant is outright evil.

He believes that technology’s demand for electricity and water has gone down in recent years, and is proud that the city has generated and repaired the infrastructure to handle consumption well into the future. “100 years from now, they’ll look back and thank us for the efforts to build them,” McGlothlin said. “We have significant water supply for whatever industrialization comes to our area.”

Pointing to one of last year’s arrests as an example of federal overreach, McGlothlin also stressed that immigration enforcement is necessary — if done humanely. “Individuals in our country that are threatening others, hurting people, or taking services that other people need, aren’t going in the right direction,” he said. “But we need a systematic approach where people’s constitutional rights are preserved.”

McGlothlin pointed to the citizens — “honest individuals that have gathered and built a community for almost 20 years” — as reason to fight for The Dalles. “If I sit back, do nothing, and complain, I’m not contributing to the best interest of anyone,” he said. “I want to make sure every kid has a chance to grow up to find happiness.”

       Joe Slusher

A third-generation Wasco County resident, Slusher was born, raised, and graduated high school in The Dalles. While briefly attending college, he partcipated in a “businessman’s bootcamp,” a crash course on marketing, publishing, and sales.

According to Slusher, he eventually worked as a district manager in marketing and sales for the largest publisher in the country. He’s also served as an energy analyst with the Northwest Public Power Association, spent a decade with the Mid-Columbia Community Action Council, coached youth soccer, and provided income tax assistance for seniors.

Now, Slusher owns and operates Sign-Age downtown, printing and engraving designs for shirts, banners, signs, and vehicle vinyl. He also sells political shirts online, including Charlie Kirk merchandise.

Although he has no experience in government, Slusher believes “you need to leave something better than you found it,” and wants to help fix the city’s issues, including its culture, vision, and sense of direction.

His top priority is revitalizing commerce downtown, which he said has been “infiltrated” by houseless individuals, referencing repairing smashed windows and cleaning up human waste. “I’m more than happy to help them, but they can’t dictate policy,” Slusher said. “You can’t get people off drugs that have mental problems until you get them stable.”

Slusher feels The Dalles’ executive branch has done a “terrible job,” especially with parking-related code enforcement, and presented a five-step solution to improving downtown.

One of his campaign’s top-sellers is an ambitious plan to build a year-round aquatic center, which would give local youth something to do outside of seasonal activities.

Slusher is very critical of Google’s presence in town, especially since water capacity has been an issue since he was a kid. “I feel like they’re this giant tick, sucking up water and electricity and putting nothing back,” he said. “We need to put the brakes on it.”

He proposed a weekly podcast that illuminates what’s going on behind the scenes at city hall and routine, youth-forward public forums on the issue. “Do we leave them a big mess, or do we guide them to make this town a nicer place?” Slusher said.

On ICE, Slusher believes that “people who have been here deserve to be here, but they need to do the right thing,” and won’t get in the way of an arrest. “Most of the time when ICE goes after someone, they are already in trouble,” he added.

Slusher said making a change to The Dalles — a city he feels is unrecognizable from the one he grew up in — is not only his passion, but his assignment. “Everybody has their superpower,” Slusher said. “Mine is that I know a lot of people. My family’s been here forever. There’s something that needs to be fixed.”

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