Has nearly eight years of experience

EPHRATA - Grant County Public Utility District Commissioner Tom Flint announced Thursday he is running for re-election after serving PUD district A at-large for seven years.

"I continue to have a passion and vision to protect our valuable projects in Grant County and to preserve the hydropower benefits for the 'customer-owners' of Grant County PUD," Flint stated.

His commissioner role has brought him to work on power generating issues locally and nationally.

"I am proud of my accomplishments over the past seven years," Flint stated. "During my tenure, Grant County PUD has defeated multiple challenges to our federal license to operate the Priest Rapids Hydroelectric Project. Delivering the Priest Rapids license application, the largest application of its kind in the U.S., I am proud to be part of the leadership during this time."

He's also managed the PUD during a severe drought in 2001, helped create a utility risk management system, approved wholesale power purchase contracts allowing the PUD to use more power and ensured fiber-optic construction continues.

Flint plans to work toward encouraging the state to view hydropower as a viable renewable resource, complete the fiber-optic construction and complete the turbine project at each dam.

His participation with hydropower and electric utility issues began in the late 1990s when he led a grassroots movement to protect electric generation facilities. Flint stated he collected more than 880,000 signatures to prevent the removal of several facilities in a campaign dubbed "Save Our Dams."