The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

DAYTON-There is now a two-way race for the District 3 Columbia County Commissioner seat in this year's November election. The winner will replace retiring commissioner Merle Jackson beginning in January.

Dayton native Dain Nysoe, who currently serves on the Dayton City Council, has filed to run against Chuck Amerein, who announced his candidacy earlier this year. Nysoe filed as a Democrat, and Amerein, as a Republican.

Nysoe said economic development is at the top of his list of priorities.

"Our tax base is stagnant, and yet the demands on both city and county resources continue to increase. So in order to meet those increased needs you have to increase your tax base, and in order to do so, you come back to the economic development issue," he said.

Nysoe said having the Columbia Pulp Mill in the county is a real asset. "It is going to provide good wage-paying jobs. Those are the types of things we need," he said.

Nysoe added that the county would also benefit from providing incentives and opportunities to attract young people to stay, live and work in Columbia County.

Another sign of successful economic growth and development is the ability to offer decent housing to people who want to move here, he said, which will have the added benefit of boosting the property tax base.

Nysoe said that if elected he will focus on upgrading and maintaining the fairgrounds, the county roads, and other vital infrastructure, as well as providing support to county employees through fair compensation and opportunities for growth.

"I'm willing to listen to people's ideas, and I think that's healthy for the community to have some diverse ideas, and then to gain from those ideas as you go on," he said. "I don't think we are in danger of losing our rural heritage as a community just because we incorporate some ideas, from outside the area."

Nysoe, who said he is a fiscal conservative, pledges to manage the county's limited resources expediently, and help hold the state legislators accountable over issues that constrict the county's ability to be solvent and functional.

"Why should the state get all the benefit when the local community gets none, or a very small portion of it?" he asked.

Nysoe said the key to being a good public servant is being a good listener. He said he has been listening and serving various communities over the course of his working career.

Nysoe earned a BA in Economics and Political Science from Eastern Washington University in 1974, and an MA in Public Administration in 1985 from City University, in Seattle.

He served as Chamber Director for the Cities of Bremerton and Pendleton, and he was the Marketing Director for the Kitsap County Parks Department.

He also taught Political Science at Tacoma Community College for eight years, before returning to Dayton and working as Director for Correctional Industries at the Walla Walla State Penitentiary.

Retired since 2010, Nysoe manages the family farm at Hiland. His is the fourth generation of the family to farm in Columbia County and serve in local and state politics.

Nysoe's grandfather, Dewey Donohue, served as a county commissioner, and also represented southeast Washington in the state House of Representatives and Senate. His uncle, Hubert Donohue, was also a state representative, he said.

"The county has been very good to my family over those four generations," Nysoe said.

Nysoe and his wife, Claudia, have two sons, Brent and Tyler, both graduates of WSU.