Editor's Note: To watch the full forum, please visit: https://bit.ly/2024GCFORUM

MATTAWA – Republican candidates for Grant County Commission Seat 1 faced off to answer questions at Wahluke High School on Sept. 12 to determine which of them will take on the role after Commissioner Danny Stone opted to forego a reelection bid.

Kevin R. Burgess and Amador Castro are running for the seat and agreed to participate in a forum hosted by the South Grant County Chamber of Commerce, Wahluke School District and the Columbia Basin Herald. The forum was moderated by Columbia Basin Herald Managing Editor R. Hans “Rob” Miller.

During introductions, Castro said he was going into his 15th year of being a high school teacher and is also a small business owner. He has raised two successful daughters and is raising his third daughter who has special needs. Castro said he wants people to understand that he is a fighter. He said he has taken on the Moses Lake School Board to fight for the rights of his daughter. He said he will fight for the people of Grant County.

Burgess said he is a lifelong resident of Grant County and has been married for 25 years. He has four children whom he has raised with his wife. He has been a foster parent for about 10 years and has one adopted daughter. He also owns a real estate office in Moses Lake and has operated a coffee stand in Moses Lake in the past.  

Transportation infrastructure  

The first question of the forum asked what could be improved regarding transportation infrastructure in Grant County.  

Burgess said he met with Sam Castro, the county’s former director of Public Works recently and there are processes in place with the road department, where county employees are doing the work and saving the county money while working to ensure roads are safe and well maintained. Burgess said he would like to continue with that. He also said it is important to find a good replacement for Sam Castro as the county moves forward. 

Amador Castro said he would work with the Public Works Department to see what could be improved. He said he hasn’t really gotten to know all the processes and how everything works. "That’s something that I would look into to see what I can do, because I am never going to be a person to make promises and say things I can’t actually perform on,” Castro said. 

Solid waste services 

The second question of the forum regarded solid waste services in the less populated portions of Grant County. Closure of transfer stations on the far north and south ends of the county have led to problems like increased litter and inconvenient processes to get trash to the county’s landfill. 

Castro said he has talked to some people about this, especially in Mattawa and he would like to see what the commissioners could do to get a transfer station open in the area. He said it is hard for people to drive all the way to Moses Lake or Ephrata, especially with the road conditions, to dispose of trash.  

Burgess said the issue had come up when he met with the former public works director for the county. Afterward, his understanding is that the county is charging less than it costs to operate its Ephrata landfill and operate transfer stations. While he acknowledged that costs would go up for citizens, it would likely be necessary to increase trash rates to ensure the landfill remains operational and services are set up for more rural areas.

Burgess said something needs to be figured out, which could be increasing the rates or finding a way to have a transfer station in the southern area of the county.

Health care 

The third question of the forum related to health care and healthcare access in rural communities. Candidates were asked what they feel should happen and what the county could do to help residents in rural areas access health care more conveniently. 

Burgess said that this question was “definitely out of my wheelhouse.” He said he does not know how the county can help other than working with hospitals and clinics to address the challenges health care faces and there should be meetings to talk about what the issues are and come to a solution. 

Castro also said he was unsure how to address the issue. However, he said the commissioners could work with different hospital boards to see how the county could support moving facilities into rural areas. He said personal experience has shown him that improving access is needed with portions of the county needing insurance in case they need to be flown via helicopter to receive care. 

Strays 

While Grant County Animal Outreach will be getting a new shelter soon, it is likely that the current stray population in the county will quickly fill the new facility. Candidates were asked how the issue of stray pets could be addressed. 

Castro said he was a huge supporter of Grant County Animal Outreach and loves what they do. He then said that he doesn't understand all the processes but if there is a way to make sure that there are clinics to help owners get their pets spayed and neutered that would help with the constant breeding of animals. He said if the county could find a way to navigate the breeding issues, that would solve a lot of the problem.  

Burgess said that he has had chickens and goats killed by stray dogs. He said he doesn’t know how to educate people to keep their animals in their yard but there should be enforcement through licensing and Animal Control. There appears to be no enforcement in the county most of the time.  

Gang violence 

Candidates were asked what could be done to address gang violence in Grant County. Multiple shootings have seen teens injured and arrested in Grant County in just the past few weeks.  

Burgess said his son had recently dealt with a homeless person harassing a tenant at a rental property. Law enforcement eventually arrived, and the man was arrested. 

Burgess said he would like to see law enforcement patrol areas where homeless area residents reside to address drug and criminal activities at those locations. He added that he believes there is a truck that delivers drugs to a homeless camp behind the movie theater in Moses Lake, which is one of the locations he’d like to see more heavily patrolled. The Moses Lake Police Department said it was unaware of that type of activity behind the theater. 

Castro said that he would like to see a facility open where juvenile offenders can be held. A teacher himself, Castro said he would like to see money going to the schools and teachers to show students there are different paths. He would like to see preventive education in third or fourth grade classrooms to curb the problem early.  

“We can prevent a lot of this stuff from happening when they become teenagers. I mean, that's when it’s the most impactful in a student’s life is the younger ages,” Castro said. “I would love to see funding for that so we can get these police officers working inside of those schools, working with our students.”  

Best things 

The final question of the night for the candidates was what their favorite thing about Grant County is. 

Castro said the scenery was his favorite. He said that this summer he had some Japanese students here and took them around the county, and they loved it. He said that you can go anywhere, north or south and it’s just beautiful.  

Burgess said he could go 20 minutes in any direction to go hunting or fishing and there is a variety of recreation countywide, and he loves the community.

    Kevin R. Burgess, Republican candidate for Grant County Commissioner Position 1 said he’d like to see more patrols by law enforcement where the homeless residents of Grant County congregate to address drugs and crime in those areas.