Where Pasco council candidates stand on growth, Costco, cannabis and homelessness

Pasco City Council could see substantial turnover this year with four of its seven seats up for reelection Nov. 7.

Eight candidates are vying for four seats in public office in what is one of the fastest growing cities in Washington state.

Seven elected officials serve on the Pasco council, six representing neighborhood-based “council districts” and one serving all citizens in an “at-large” capacity. Voters will choose their favorite candidates in both their district election and the at-large position.

Pasco City Council members are paid about $1,100 a month. The mayor, who leads city meetings and largely serves in a ceremonial role, makes $1,400 a month.

While city council races are nonpartisan, the Franklin County Republican Party has weighed in to make endorsements for these seats. Its choices include Peter Harpster, Charles Grimm, Leo Perales and David Milne.

Leaders with the Franklin County Democratic Party say they plan to continue their tradition of not endorsing in nonpartisan races.

City council at-large

Peter Harpster and Kim Lehrman are vying for the city council’s sole at-large seat.

It’s a popular race that’s attracting a healthy wave of attention, ad spots and cash donations, and could tip the liberal-conservative balance on the city council in either direction.

Zahra Roach, the current seat holder, has chosen to not seek a second term and is endorsing Lehrman.

Harpster is a self-employed project manager, who believes his expertise and perspective in land development consulting is needed on the city council.

Lehrman is a Chiawana High School teacher who serves on the Pasco Planning Commission and is running on her good stewardship in the education community and her grassroots organizing capabilities.

The vote to lift Pasco’s ban on cannabis retailers has been one of the more contentious decisions made by the body in recent years. Both Lehrman and Harpster question if it was the right choice at the right time.

Studies show allowing retail cannabis businesses to sell to people 21 and older can reduce black market access to youths, Lehrman said. But she’s still unsure how she would have voted on the issue, given what she knew about the issue and her moral values.

Harpster said he would not have voted in favor of the ordinance that allows cannabis retail sales in commercial and industrial zones.

“I don’t want people walking around my city with clouded minds,” said Harpster, who also currently serves on the Franklin County Planning Commission.

But Harpster says the book is closed on the issue and there could legal costs if the council were to go back on its vote at this point.

Four cannabis retailers plan to open stores in Pasco in the coming months. Those stores could support nearly 100 family wage jobs.

Neither candidate lays blame on the city for Costco pulling out from a private development deal in the Broadmoor area. The Issaquah-based warehouse club is now eyeing a Queensgate area property in Richland.

Both applaud the city’s use of tax incremental financing to build up roads and infrastructure in the west Pasco area. The tax swap will help turn $30 million of previously undeveloped sage and sand dunes into a nearly $2 billion development.

“This will open up opportunities for future businesses,” said Lehrman.

Harpster said the door is still open for Costco, but he feels the retailer is playing games with property owners.

“(The Richland) location is not nearly as good as the Broadmoor area. And if they don’t come, somebody else will — hopefully Chick-fil-A, Trader Joe’s, Cabela’s, Target — there’s a number of retailers who are still interested in the Broadmoor area, and we’ll get something out there,” Harpster said.

Harpster, who grew up in Pasco, said downtown has been cleaned up a lot. The community needs to continue work on the homelessness issue and cracking down on public drug use, and says opening of the Columbia Valley Center for Recovery will help carry the city’s momentum.

Lehrman said downtown businesses need their support. At the same time, the city needs to remove barriers that stymie the construction of affordable housing.

Council District No. 2

Incumbent Joseph “J.R.” Campos is looking to earn his first full term this November after being appointed to his seat last year.

But Charles Grimm, owner of Grocery Outlet off Road 68, is running as a conservative alternative.

Council District 2 encompasses large portions of Southeast Pasco and neighborhoods that lie along the Columbia River.

“I feel like I am the person that knows what that District 2 needs the most,” said Campos, who works as a planner with Washington River Protection Solutions. “Since 1987, I’ve lived in Pasco. I’ve seen it’s growth.”

He’s running on his time on the Pasco City Council and planning commission, and as someone who knows the area’s diverse set of strengths and challenges.

Grimm says his run is about “protecting our quality of life” and establishing a more forward-looking leadership on the Pasco City Council.

His candidacy was sparked by disagreement over the statewide COVID lock downs in 2020 and 2021. Grimm has also been critical of the city council’s flip-flop decision on cannabis, and believes there was a lack of direction from the council.

“We need leadership in Pasco,” Grimm writes in his Voters’ Pamphlet statement. “I believe in servant-style leadership that listens to the people I serve and asks tough questions on their behalf.”

Campos disagrees with Grimm’s assessment on cannabis and city leadership. He believes the council is very collaborative and made the right decision to let the public marketplace decide the fate of cannabis shops within the city.

“If somebody had voted on a budget issue and then caught a glaring mistake, you would want us to come back and fix that budget issue,” Campos said. “Democracy’s not a game where you just play the game, win once and walk away from the table — you continually play the game, it never ends.”

He believes the vote opening up cannabis retail to commercial zones was more of a middle ground than narrower proposals — it opens up business opportunities across the city and the city also increased buffer zones between cannabis shops and schools.

Campos said implementing the city’s draft housing action plan will be his next priority on the city council, if reelected.

“The housing action plan should directly contribute to seeing our homeless issue, hopefully, take care of itself. Part of that is our inventory of housing,” Campos said.

Grimm said he would like the city to examine its processes to ensure there isn’t any unnecessary red tape or superfluous fees for developers. Grimm said he’s also had to deal with confusion about an insert permit of his own that he filed with the city.

“We should be serving the people. That’s the essence of what we should be doing,” Grimm said. “I don’t want to point fingers, I don’t want to be that hound in the hen house, that’s for sure. But I think it’s something worth looking at.”

Council District No. 3

The race for Pasco City Council District 3 is something of a rematch.

Irving Brown Sr. and Leo Perales both ran for this seat back in 2021, but were beat out by Nikki Torres.

She ultimately resigned from the seat less than six months into her service to run for a seat in the Washington Senate. The city council voted to appoint Brown to the vacancy in July 2022.

Council District 3 encompasses northeast parts of the city, including the Tri-Cities Airport and Columbia Basin College.

Brown is human resources manager who works for Oasis Farms in Prosser.

“Pasco stands at a crossroads,” Brown writes in his voter’s pamphlet statement. “With a booming population, we are facing important decisions about planning to manage this future growth wisely.”

Brown’s priorities for a first term include strengthening the city’s economy with “pro-growth policies and planning,” promoting budget savings without compromising services, and expanding on the city’s culture of diversity and inclusion.

An assistant manager with Atlas Technical Consultants, Perales is running to provide the next generation the same opportunities that current Pasco residents have taking advantage of.

His top priorities include connecting the homeless with drug and mental health services; cracking down on panhandling and camping; studying and implementing policies and procedures to make housing more affordable in Pasco; and reforming oversight of the Tri-City Animal Shelter.

“I want our city to be the safest in Washington, with well-funded police, fire and public works services. I want us to be a business and developer-friendly city hall that facilitates growth and (does) not stifle it. I want people to be able to go to downtown and feel safe without seeing homelessness and illicit drug use that’s been pretty rampant in the downtown area,” Perales said.

Perales has criticized Brown on his thin voting record.

Since moving from California to the Tri-Cities in 2008, Brown has only voted in four elections.

Perales, who has voted in more than two dozen local and national elections since 2010, says Pasco residents have the “obligation to vote” and remain civically engaged in the community.

“My opponent hasn’t been an active voter in our community and has been essentially uninvolved at the local level,” Perales wrote in an Oct. 2 post to Facebook. “I believe this should be known prior to casting ballots come Nov. 7 and that Mr. Brown should respond as to why he hasn’t been actively voting since he’s lived in Pasco since 2008 as his bio claims.”

Brown said Perales’ assertion that he’s not involved in the community is “way off-base,” calling the critique a “clear smear effort.”

“I was just busy with life,” Brown told the Tri-City Herald. “As a single dad, my focus was on raising my children. I didn’t have the opportunity to entertain deep political issues.”

Perales says more oversight is needed at the Tri-City Animal Shelter. Last winter, five dogs declared dangerous were euthanized at the shelter, sparking broad condemnation and criticism from animal lovers across the Tri-Cities.

He agrees with concerned citizens that there needs to be a citizen oversight board. If elected, Perales says, he would also advocate for more efficient and quick volunteer training, mandatory audits of the facility’s data, policies and procedures, and more transparency.

Perales says Pasco is in a housing crisis. The city needs to create more flexible zoning for housing types, engage with the developer and builder community in the creation of long-term plans, and take advantage of state laws promoting housing diversity.

Brown says the city needs to partner with regional partners to reduce the number of incidences of homelessness and use programs created through the 0.1% mental health sales tax to benefit Pasco residents.

Brown says the city also needs to implement a comprehensive police master plan to ensure sustainability, safety for the public and officers, crime control and compliance with local and state legislative mandates.

Council District No. 5

Incumbent David Milne is seeking a third term on the Pasco City Council. He will defend his District 5 seat against challenger James Czebotar.

District 5 encompasses neighborhoods in the southwest part of the city, including homes around Chiawana Park and Chiawana High School.

Milne is a small business owner who started Milne Nail, Power Tool and Repair more than two decades ago. Today, it’s the largest independent tool store in Southeastern Washington, he said.

He’s actively involved in the Rotary Club of Pasco-Kennewick, the See 3 Slam basketball tournament, the Pasco-Colima Cooperation and Friendship Agreement, and the Franklin County Republican Party.

“America is a great country and I feel it is my civic duty to be involved in our community when given the chance,” Milne said in his pamphlet statement.

Public safety is Milne’s top priority for the city. He’s also running to provide “smart growth” over the Broadmoor area developments, oversight of the Tri-City Animal Shelter, to keep taxes low and ensure a “small government footprint in our community.”

Czebotar is a senior information technology engineer at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, having previously assisted local governments with software and digital forensics work. For more than a decade, he has served on the Tri-Tech Computer Science Advisory Committee.

“Effective city government must be transparent and inclusive,” Czebotar said in the pamphlet. “As a past employee of Benton County and Mid-Columbia Libraries, I strive to be an effective and fair steward of public resources — your tax dollars. I believe in using local talent and open source technologies as opposed to remote outsourcing, opaque contracts and proprietary solutions.”

Czebotar says the city will need to get serious about addressing mental health disparities and substance abuse — the causes of homelessness — to clean up downtown.

“These issues will need to be addressed if you want to help these people. There is no other real solution than addressing the causes, rather than trying to scapegoat them,” he said at the Pasco Chamber of Commerce forum.

If elected, Czebotar says he would pursue data-drive outcomes, promote an inclusive community for those moving to the area, and would seek to resolve the weaponization of anonymous code enforcement complaints.

Voting

Ballots for the Nov. 7 general election have been mailed and must be returned either into a county-certified drop box by 8 p.m. election day or drop it in the mailbox so that it’s postmarked by election day.