SPOKANE, Wash. — Washington state's midterm election is coming up on Nov. 8, 2022. This year, a longtime incumbent is being challenged by a new candidate for Spokane County Commissioner in the newly-drawn District 5. KREM 2's Amanda Roley met with each candidate over tea to learn about where they stand on important issues.
To learn more about Washington state's midterm election, click here.
Amanda Roley
Well, Al French, thank you for joining me for The Tea with Amanda Roley. Happy to have you here.
Al French
Thank you.
Amanda Roley
Thanks for coming.
Al French.
You bet.
Amanda Roley
I see you brought your own tea to The Tea with Amanda. So I gotta ask, what are we sipping on today?
Al French
Oh, it's just, it's self-sweetening tea. Aloha Milo tea.
Amanda Roley
Oh, well, thank you for coming to sip on some tea and spill the tea with me. We'll start off, why are you deciding to run again for another term as Spokane County Commissioner for District 5?
Al French
District 5, you know, there's a lot of good things going on right now. And a lot of that has my fingerprints on. And economic development in the West Plains, you know, financial security with the county, a lot of other things. And I want to keep that going.
Amanda Roley
Kind of touching on this, I mean, West Plains is an area where we've seen a lot of growth. Spokane County, we're feeling the growing pains. What steps would you take to address the current growing pains and prepare for future growth?
Al French
Well, one of the things that we've been challenged by through the state's Growth Management Act is our ability to address the housing need. You know, the state has stood in the way of us being able to provide more affordable housing for the workforce, as well as that in migration that's happening. And then making sure that we keep pace with our infrastructure. You know, I've brought literally tens of millions of dollars of infrastructure money to this county. And I have those relationships, both at the federal level and the state level. And I want to be able to continue to use those relationships.
Amanda Roley
Now, looking at the primary election, I mean, you're running as a Republican and incumbent to the Board of County Commissioner, but the primary election didn't necessarily come heavily in your favor. We saw Maggie Yates get a bit more favor of the vote. And so I wonder, do you think this poses a challenge for you going ahead into the general election?
Al French
I think the anomaly that we had in the primary was that Don Harmon ran as a Republican when he's never been a Republican in his life. In fact, there is no record of him ever being a Republican. He's always been a liberal. And so, early on, he made a statement in the Spokesman-Review that he wanted to regain political relevance. Well, what better way to regain political relevance than to run as a Republican take votes for me, and then carry him over the Democratic Party?
Amanda Roley
Part of your campaign for this election, you've really honed in on the experience you bring to the table. You've even gone as far as listing a resume on your website. So, I mean, what do you want voters to take away from that?
Al French
The big point is experience matters. And I've navigated two governmental entities through a recession. I know how to prioritize, I know how to keep the lights on. And that knowledge and experience is something that I'm the only one in this race that has.
Amanda Roley
Thank you so much and good luck on the general election.
Al French
Thank you.
To watch the extended interview with Al French, use the player below:
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