The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

DAYTON-Rancher Marty Hall will face incumbent Commissioner Mike Talbott, for Position 2 on the Board of County Commissioners in the November general election.

"I want to do what I can to keep Columbia County a good place to live, to do business in, and to attract more families with good living wage jobs," Hall said.

Hall said the most important issue facing the county is the budget shortfall because of damages to county from the recent flood, and from the consequences of the COVID-19 challenge, which he called a "tsunami effect".

He said agriculture will also be hard-hit because of the COVID-19 challenge, and that worries him.

Agriculture is the heart of the community, Hall said.

"Our strength is in the things that grow in the county," he said.

Hall said he would like to see the creation of more value-added agriculture in the county.

For instance, he said his family is looking into additional ways to market the meat grown on their cattle farm.

"You can get more out of the land you have," he explained.

Hall said sharing the county's bounty of natural resources through tourism can be good or bad, depending on the circumstances, but spin off businesses from recreational opportunities is usually beneficial.

A good city/county partnership is important.

"As the city rises or falls, so does the county," Hall said.

With regard to housing availability, Hall said there are plenty of houses in Dayton for families with good jobs, but some of them need work.

"We need the type of housing to attract the kind of people we need," Hall said. "Which comes first the chicken or the egg?"

He summed up his philosophy by saying, "We have greater success with the little, small steps,"

Hall has been ranching with his father-in-law, Don Howard, "on the Tucannon" since 2001. He is a twenty-five-year member of the Columbia County Cattlemen's Association, and he serves as a volunteer firefighter with Columbia County Fire District No. 3. He also attends the Starbuck Community Church with his wife, Ilene, he said.

Mike Talbott

If re-elected in November, Mike Talbott will serve a third four-year term on the BOCC.

Talbott said the county's reserve budget was only $300,000 when he was first elected in 2012. That figure has increased to $1,700,000 at the end of last year, which will help considering the financial issues the county is facing because of the recent flood and the COVID-19 situation.

Talbott said the decision to run for re-election was tough for him, but not to run would leave the two junior commissioners, Chuck Amerein and Ryan Rundell, without the voice of experience.

"There are some tough times ahead because of declining tax revenue, which will require experience to solve," he said.

Talbott said the commissioners have taken an early, hard look at the current expense budget, and they have managed to slash $100,000 from the current expense.

"We jumped right on it," Talbott, a financial conservative, said.

The county has also chosen to leave some positions unfilled, and is putting the long-hoped for HVAC system at the courthouse on the back burner, he said.

He said he is hoping the county can spring back and continue to focus on economic growth. He would like to see the expansion of agriculture-based business, and manufacturing, at the Blue Mountain Station, and elsewhere in the county, and he welcomes tourism.

He would like for local youth to have more job opportunities, as well.

Prior to the COVID-19 challenge discussions had taken place between the county engineer and the Dayton School District superintendent about creating an internship program, for youth, who could be interested in becoming an engineer and working for the county.

Talbott spends much of his time at the courthouse talking with county employees.

"You get a good feel for what's going on," he said.

His prior service to the community includes two years on the county Planning Commission, 17 years on the Dayton School Board, and six years on the Columbia County Grain Growers board.

He currently serves as Chairman of the Columbia County Public Transportation board, and is on many other committees, including the Walla Walla Watershed Management Partnership, and the Port of Columbia Economic Development Steering Committee.

As Chairman of the Columbia County Health Board Talbott has been working closely with the county Medical Director, Dr. Larry Jecha, and the county's Public Health Director Martha Lanman regarding the COVID-19 situation, and re-opening the county for business.

Ryan Rundell

County Commissioner Ryan Rundell was appointed by the BOCC in 2019 to fill the remainder of Norm Passmore's term on the BOCC, which is over at the end of December, 2020. He is now running unopposed for his first four-year term in Dist. No. 1 in the November General Election.

Rundell said he wants to continue serving the community by working on issues facing the county.

He is in agreement with the other two candidates about the most important issues facing the county.

"I have learned a lot and I feel like there are things I can contribute and I want to follow through," he said.