Changes coming to county government

A little over two years ago, Thurston County government was stuck in a fog of regulations, incriminations and liberal policies that verged on violation of due process and private property rights.

The county was controlled by three liberal Democratic women – Sandra Romero, Cathy Wolfe and  Karen Valenzuela, whose agenda echoed that of downtown Olympia and those liberal cities all along the Pacific Coast.  They all lived within a few miles of each other and they all came from the urban area.

Residents in South County, in Rainier, Yelm, Tenino and Littlerock, not only felt left out of the county government process, but operated under restrictive rules that might have some merit in urban areas, but not in rural areas.   Those county commissioners seemed deaf and blind to the pleas of  rural residents.

That has all changed.

It started  with the 2014 election, when a relative unknown named Bud Blake, running as an independent, challenged Valenzuela – – and won.   It was a major shock to the county political system.   Such a shock, that both Wolfe and Romero decided to retire this year.

Now, if election trends continue, two other “independent” candidates will fill those positions.   Both Gary Edwards and John “Hutch” Hutchings are leading their respect races for county commission.  Both are conservative as is Blake.  In a period of just two years, the Thurston County Commission will have gone from one of the most liberal bodies in the state, to one of the most conservative west of the Cascades.

Reason for the changes will be explained in a later post, but be aware there will be changes aplenty.