The days of Ed Barnes, county commissioner, are numbered. Soon, he’ll go back to his previous life as a civic leader, rabble rouser and, perhaps most important, granddad.
After spending nearly six months as the interim District 3 commissioner, Barnes, a Democrat, is scheduled to step down as soon as the general election results are certified. That’s scheduled to be Nov. 25. He will be succeeded by Republican Jeanne Stewart, who beat Democrat Craig Pridemore in the Nov. 4 general election.
At a going-away party Monday, Barnes thanked Republican Commissioners Tom Mielke and David Madore for appointing him to the District 3 seat, following Steve Stuart’s resignation last spring. Barnes, who prior to his appointment was known primarily as a labor leader and a vocal opponent of Mielke and Madore, said he appreciated the opportunity to see how the county was run from the inside.
“I can tell taxpayers that you are getting your money’s worth,” Barnes said, complimenting the county’s staff.
He was a bit more pointed when talking about Mielke and Madore: “I do plan on coming back to commission meetings on Tuesdays,” Barnes said, referring to the day on which the commissioners regularly meet. He said he will return to provide public comment, which he said would teeter between criticism and praise — but only when it’s warranted.
Prior to his appointment, Barnes had gained notoriety for speaking during most public meetings, often voicing criticism of the commissioners and Environmental Services Director Don Benton, who’s also a Republican state senator.
In his short time as a county commissioner, Barnes was known for butting heads with Mielke and Madore, and complaining about being left in the dark about certain decisions. Not one to mince words, Barnes often accused Madore of adding resolutions to the agenda at the last second.
While the commissioners rarely saw eye-to-eye, Mielke, the board’s chairman, said he’d grown fond of having Barnes there.
“I enjoyed going to board time (meetings) with Ed,” Mielke said. “We got into some good discussions.”
Mielke joked that he supported appointing Barnes to the board in June to “teach him a lesson.” He said the two would sometimes beat up on each other, but it was always done in good fun.
Madore didn’t attend the going-away party because of a prior engagement.
After months of being on the losing end of a few 2-1 decisions, Barnes said he looked forward to returning to his nonpolitical life. Reflecting on his time on the board, he said he learned about “the good, the bad and the ugly” of county governance.
“The bad parts were when (Mielke and Madore) didn’t look at the big picture,” he said.
He lamented not being able to convince Mielke and Madore to sign off on a resolution thanking the people who worked on the Columbia River Crossing project.
Barnes said he will continue speaking out on the issues for which he is passionate: Returning the fees that developers pay, dissolving the Department of Environmental Services and cheerleading for a replacement bridge across the Columbia River.
