Whitman County Commissioner District 2 Primary Results

Pat O'Neill (D) 584 votes (56.3163%)

Jerry Finch (R) 453 votes (43.6837%)

There are still 1,200 Whitman County votes to count, so the totals will change, but there is no indication how many are left to count from District 2. The overall percentage probably won't change much.

It is a bit surprising that 8-year incumbent commissioner Jerry Finch is trailing by double digits. Both men have been waging a fairly low-key campaign, with each filing with the PDC in the under $5,000 spending category.

Just come quick observations:

The whole county will vote for the commissioners in the general election. Given Whitman County's strong Republican makeup, this can only help Jerry. There is no real cause for alarm. A 130 vote difference is nothing with a much larger electorate come November. Given the fact that only approximately 1,000 people cast votes, it is hard to read much into these primary results.

Local races like this are often about personality rather than party, and Jerry's "tell it like it is" style can sometimes rub people the wrong way. Highly publicized stories about handicapped voting at the courthouse and county-funded SUVs for commissioners cannot have helped.

I've always said that in order for a Democrat to win countywide office, they cannot be part of the ultra-leftist WSU/Pullman clique. Pat O'Neill is a retired aircraft mechanic who lives in Colton. He has not advocated any outrageous policies, only proposing more government transparency and improved communications.

Jerry knew his stance on the Rural Residential Zoning Ordinance passed last year might cost him support with conservatives, and that very well may be the case here.

In any case, Jerry's campaign will now need to turn it up a notch and roll up its sleeves to get him reelected in November. It's obvious it won't be enough just to put up yard signs.

Whitman County Commissioner Michael Largent on the Hawkins Delay

Whitman County Commissioner Michael Largent was gracious enough to send the following response to my earlier post on what is holding up Hawkins breaking ground in the corridor. I agree with Michael's assessment below that the rumors are wrong and that delays are inevitable with any project.

Tom -

You are indeed correct in your recent posting that nature abhors a vacuum. The fact that Hawkins hasn't brought in the earth movers in June as earlier hoped and has not said when they would begin major earth moving has fostered speculation as to as to the viability of the project. However, if we don't know why they didn't start in June we should just say we don't know.

Commissioner Greg Partch's comments in Friday's Moscow Pullman Daily News suggesting the national or regional economy may be to blame is simply his speculation. My personal speculation differs from Greg's in that I believe the regional economy remains strong for this project. However, national credit markets have posed additional requirements for Hawkins requiring them to get much further along with their tenant commitments than earlier anticipated before they can have their financing package in order to begin major construction.

The fact remains that we will know the reasons for the delay for sure when Hawkins either begins major construction or tells us something different. In the meanwhile, Whitman County isn't out any money on infrastructure until Hawkins shows us the anchor tenant lease and construction benchmarks are met. The County is protected from the inflationary effects of a time delay by the capping of the County's total infrastructure investment.

What is clear is that the City of Moscow is not behind any of the delay. The one issue we have pending with Moscow on this project is the question of the delivery of water to the project. The timing of the resolution of this issue is not related to whether Hawkins can begin construction or not. The City of Moscow has been nothing straightforward with us since the election of the new council and a pleasure to work with. We may not always agree but it is now a respectful working relationship.

If in fact the project itself is in danger I would like someone to explain to me why there are construction rigs at the site right now preparing to drill a well at considerable expense. While construction delays are frustrating, this project is going to happen.

Michael Largent
Whitman County Commissioner