EPHRATA - Grant County Treasurer Darryl Pheasant announced this week that he will seek his eighth term for the position. He will be running as a non-partisan candidate, he stated in a press release.

Pheasant, 55, is from the Ephrata area and was elected to the post in 1986.

"I want to continue my efforts in providing efficient, cost effective services to the taxpayers in Grant County and beyond," he stated in a release.

As his strengths, Pheasant cites the creation of an investment pool for county funds, his experience working with and modifying the county's tax software, and his ability to run his department with fewer employees, even as the county's population increases.

"Taxpayers cannot afford an inexperienced treasurer with little financial experience for all the different financial and investment duties that I have taken on. Taxpayers should have a treasurer that is accessible and able to answer their many questions," he stated.

Pheasant also volunteers his financial knowledge and has served as treasurer of the Ephrata Rotary Club and the United Way of Ephrata/Soap Lake and is current treasurer for Ephrata Youth Assets and president of the Masquers Theater in Soap Lake.

Pheasant is the vice-president of the Washington State Association of County Treasurers.

Pheasant is the only candidate to file official paperwork to run the position.

Casey Cooper, of Moses Lake, is seeking the position as a write-in candidate, according to Pat Witham, of the Grant County Historical Museum. (The museum is hosting a political rally Wednesday) Cooper could not be reached for comment. He is also running as a precinct committee officer for the Grant County Republican Party.