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In Our View: Olson, Green For County Council, District 2

Republican, Democrat would bring experience to new county council seat

The Columbian
Published: July 16, 2015, 12:00am

For an off-year election, this year’s ballot provides much intrigue — in large part thanks to the Clark County charter approved last year by voters. In addition to the creation of a county chair position, a councilor will be selected to represent newly carved-out District 2 in northwest Clark County — including Ridgefield and La Center.

The Columbian recommends Republican Julie Olson and Democrat Chuck Green in the five-person primary for the District 2 seat. The top two vote-getters in the Aug. 4 primary will advance to a two-person runoff in the Nov. 3 general election.

As always, this is merely a suggestion. Voters are well-equipped for examining the issues and the candidates, and we recommend The Columbian’s video of the Editorial Board’s interview as an effective tool for assessing the candidates.

Olson, who has experience on the Ridgefield School Board and in private industry, brings a conciliatory and thoughtful demeanor to the race. She ranks land-use planning as a primary topic of concern for the county, saying the state’s Growth Management Act “had the effect of limiting the freedom of rural landowners to use their property as they wish,” but she also is reluctant to express a firm opinion regarding the options being considered by the county.

Regarding the county’s fee-waiver for developers, she said measurements for assessing the program should be improved, and that there is not enough information for judging the program’s effectiveness. Philosophically, she emphasizes that she would support “anything that removes barriers to growth.”

Green has vast experience in transportation issues — including six years as the county’s transportation manager — and has been involved with planning for the now-defunct Columbia River Crossing and for C-Tran’s burgeoning Bus Rapid Transit program. He lists improvements to the Interstate 5 corridor as the top transportation priority, and he stresses the need for improved relations in the county’s interactions with other organizations. “While the county council has been figuratively burning bridges with the south side of the river (Oregon), I have been maintaining those relationships,” he said.

Mike Pond, a Democrat, is an energetic candidate who is well-versed on the issues. He opposes Alternative 4 to the Growth Management Act, which was developed unilaterally by councilor David Madore, and says, “It takes us down a dangerous path with sprawl.” He stresses transportation and infrastructure as priorities, and says, “Clark County is begging for change and progress.”

Tanner Martin, who acknowledges no party preference, criticizes government for “not creating a culture of saving money,” and says his transportation priority would be a bridge connecting Washington and Oregon that would be located west of Interstate 5.

Mary Benton, a Republican, is the wife of Don Benton, a state senator and director of the county’s Department of Environmental Services. She declined an invitation to meet with The Columbian but stresses in her campaign materials that “unnecessary tax burdens will only hurt my fellow Clark County residents” — specifically property taxes — and that there is more the county can do to protect property rights.

A crowded field competing for a new position in a newly created district generates much uncertainty as to how the race for Clark County Councilor will play out. But Julie Olson and Chuck Green would be the best candidates to advance to the general election.

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