County chair candidates weigh in on transportation issues

Meet the Candidates

Clark County Council Chair: All registered voters in Clark County will vote for this at-large seat. Only two will go on to the general election in November, regardless of party.

Tom Mielke

Party: Republican.

Age: 73.

Work experience: Owner of Tom Mielke Trucking Co. from 1978 to 1994, as well as 17 years as a power line construction inspector for Spokane-based Washington Water Power Co., now Avista.

Political experience: Current Clark County councilor, first elected in 2008. Previously a state representative for the 18th Legislative District from 1997 to 2004.

Education: Studied at Eastern Washington State College, Columbia Basin College and Washington State College.

Website: www.tommielke.com

Jeanne Stewart

Party: Republican.

Age: 68.

Work experience: Worked for US Bancorp for 13 years, and owned a small manufacturers sales agency, the David J. Stewart Co. Inc., with her late husband.

Political experience: Current Clark County councilor, first elected in 2014. Previously a Vancouver City Council member from 2001 to 2013.

Education: Associate degree in arts and science, with an emphasis on business, from Clark College; continuing education credits at Portland State University and Clark College.

Website: http://jeannestewart.org

David Madore

Party: Republican.

Age: 63.

Work experience: Founder and chief executive officer of US Digital, which designs and manufactures motion-control sensors and solar power applications.

Political experience: Current Clark County councilor, first elected in 2012.

Education: Western High School, Anaheim, Calif.

Website: www.davidmadore.com

Mike Dalesandro

Party: Democrat.

Age: 35.

Work experience: Experience in logistics and operation management; currently a supply chain analyst for Boise Paper.

Political experience: Current Battle Ground City councilor, first elected in 2013. Previously a member of the Battle Ground Planning Commission from 2008 to 2013.

Education: Has a degree in business management from the University of Phoenix.

Website: http://mike4councilchair.com

Marc Boldt

Party: No party preference.

Age: 60.

Work experience: Truck driver.

Political experience: Clark County freeholder helping develop the home rule charter in 2013, former Clark County commissioner, 2004 to 2012, state representative for the 17th Legislative District from 1994 to 2004.

Education: Graduated from Evergreen High School; attended Yakima Valley Community College and Clark College.

Website: www.marcboldt.com

Transportation in a post-Columbia River Crossing world remains a political litmus test in Clark County.

Projects along Interstate 5 and other roads that run through the state, as well as multistate projects such as the failed CRC project, have drawn often controversial responses from county leaders. Though the county only has authority over county-owned roads, the council can try to influence policy and advocate for projects at the state and federal level.

Here are talking points on key issues from the Clark County council candidates for the at-large chair to help voters decide for whom to support in the upcoming primary election:

o Tom Mielke, Republican: Mielke criticized the state Legislature for Clark County’s transportation woes, particularly with regard to the $16.1 billion transportation package the House approved Friday in Olympia.

“Clark County was basically screwed,” he said of the package.

The package makes $50 million available to improve the Interstate 5 interchange at Northeast 179th Street, but that money won’t become available until 2023. That’s too little, too late, Mielke said. He and fellow councilor David Madore have touted the project as one of the most important job-building projects in the county. A Killian Pacific analysis of 1,600 acres of land surrounding the interchange said that 9,200 jobs could be created there, but much of that is in urban holding, which means large-scale development is on hold until the interchange is improved. Currently, there is no safe way for building supplies to reach the site.

As for interstate travel, Mielke said he supports a third, and even a fourth bridge across the Columbia River. I-5, meanwhile, is fine, he said. It’s up to Oregon to improve its traffic flow south of the bridge to solve Clark County’s problems.

“We don’t have congestion,” Mielke said. “Portland does.”

o Jeanne Stewart, Republican: Stewart said the region’s biggest challenge when it comes to transportation is relationship building. She said she wants to improve connections across the river to come up with creative solutions to Clark County’s gridlock.

“We need to be communicating,” Stewart said. “It’s to our mutual benefit to be talking about transportation.”

Stewart said her first transportation priority is supporting a third bridge, though she emphasized that she wants it where commuters are going: within the urban core of Vancouver and Portland. She said that bridge must be free of tolls and a light rail component, however.

Following that, Stewart said she would support a new Interstate 5 Bridge but believes it should be a draw bridge to preserve Vancouver’s skyline.

In her role on the C-Tran Board of Directors, Stewart has voted against bus rapid transit-related contracts and resolutions.

However, Stewart said she does support public transportation. Her website said she will “actively support C-Tran’s flexible, affordable and functional bus service.”

o David Madore, Republican: Madore declined to respond to questions about his campaign.

However, his well-documented political beginnings in Clark County trace back to his opposition to the Columbia River Crossing. As a current councilor, Madore has advocated for improvements on the Interstate 5 interchange at Northeast 179th Street.

He also supports a third toll-free crossing in east Clark County. Details of that plan can be found at eastcountybridge.com.

Madore has also been highly critical of the Southwest Washington Regional Transportation Commission and C-Tran board, both of which he sits on. Madore called the bus rapid transit program — which would replace two existing bus routes along Fourth Plain Boulevard with one line — a “boondoggle.”

o Mike Dalesandro, Democrat: Dalesandro called for an end to Clark County’s fee-waiver program — which lifts traffic and developer fees from all non-residential developments in unincorporated Clark County — to direct funds back into the county’s road fund.

The program, he said, runs the risk of drying up the money available for county road improvements.

“We have to take care of what we have,” Dalesandro said. “It’s taking millions from infrastructure.”

Dalesandro also emphasized that it’s not up to Clark County to dictate transportation priorities for the region, instead saying the councilors should support the priority list the Southwest Washington Regional Transportation Council has already developed — and fund the projects it can and “put pressure” on those responsible for the projects it can’t.

As for interstate crossings, Dalesandro said the first priority needs to be replacing the Interstate 5 Bridge with Clark County’s partners in the region and at the federal level. However, it’s time to move on from the Columbia River Crossing, he said.

“Talking about the past isn’t going to get us anywhere,” Dalesandro said.

o Marc Boldt, no party preference: Boldt praised C-Tran’s network of buses, but said Clark County needs improved ways for people to access them — more park-and-rides, for example.

The county should also focus on its own projects instead of attempting to block others, he said. The county should be supporting the bus rapid transit program, for example, because if the City of Vancouver wants it, then it’s their business.

“If the city does good, the county does good,” he said.

Boldt said he would not support a third interstate bridge. Rebuilding the Interstate 5 Bridge has to be Clark County’s top priority, he said, not only for its regional importance, but its importance to the entire West Coast.

“Traffic goes on I-5,” he said. “A person isn’t going to go east to go west.”

Boldt also called for improvements along state Highways 500 and 14.