Drive For Valley City Led By Veteran Activists
CORRECTION: Thursday, May 11, 1995 The age of Joe McKinnon, a leader in the Valley incorporation effort, was incorrectly reported in Saturday’s Valley Voice. He is 53. Also, McKinnon was recalled in the early 1960s from a national committeeman post with the College Young Democrats of America, not the postition stated in the story.
The triumvirate that makes up the leadership of Citizens for Valley Incorporation has long been active in local issues.
From Joe McKinnon’s reign as a Democratic Party stalwart to Sue Delucchi’s stint on the Boundary Review Board to Howard Herman’s days on the Spokane County Library Board, the three leaders have kept their hands immersed in the doings of the Valley and local government.
McKinnon and Herman have lived a combined 109 years in the Valley. In 1964, the two Democrats ran unsuccessfully for the same seat in the state House of Representatives.
Delucchi, a 16-year Valley resident, is the newcomer of the group.
The three have come together focused on a common goal - the creation of a city in the Spokane Valley.
A glance at their backgrounds:
JOE McKINNON
McKinnon, 54, and a Spokane Valley native, has been fighting some political fight for most of his life.
In the early 1960s, he was recalled as treasurer of the College Young Democrats of America when his constituents weren’t satisfied with some of his actions. He sued to be reinstated.
He has twice run for elective office and lost, the first time being the 1964 try for the state House of Representatives, the second being a 1984 go at county commissioner.
In 1980, McKinnon made it known that he was interested in the county assessor job that came open at mid-term, but county commissioners appointed someone else to fill the post.
McKinnon got his big political break in 1976 when Washington voters elected Dixy Lee Ray governor. Ray made him her Spokane aide as a reward for his hard campaigning in Eastern Washington. The job turned out to be short-lived, as Ray was ousted after one term.
Considered a fiscal conservative, McKinnon has sometimes clashed with the more liberal side of the Democratic party.
He reportedly receiving death threats in 1977 after he won a close race to head up the Democratic Party of the 4th Legislative District.
He currently works as an agent for Vern Byrd and Associates, a Spokane real estate firm.
HOWARD HERMAN
Herman, 68, moved to the Valley with his family when he was 13 and never left.
His trademark suspenders come from his early job as a journeyman plumber, which he gave up after getting his law degree from Gonzaga University in 1962. He hung out his attorney shingle at the Valley Law Building, 10819 E. Sprague, in 1963.
Herman served on the Spokane County Library Board in the 1970s and on the Valley Fire Civil Service Commission in the 1980s.
He too has sought elective office, running unsuccessfully for the Statehouse in 1964 and Superior Court judge in 1988.
In 1982, Herman applied for the part-time District Court judge position at the Millwood court but was passed over.
As the attorney for Citizens for Valley Incorporation, he earned a reputation as a crafty litigator by out-maneuvering attorneys hired by Kaiser Aluminum and other opponents of incorporation.
SUE DELUCCHI
Spokane Valley incorporation is just the latest activity Delucchi has thrown herself into.
The political consultant for Citizens for Valley Incorporation has been active in civic and social issues since the mid-1970s, when she was elected secretary of the American Association of University Women, San Luis Obispo (Calif.) branch.
Since moving to the Valley 16 years ago, she has organized parent support groups in the Central Valley School District, helped begin a Valley chapter of the AAUW and founded Valleyfest, a popular community festival.
She’s also been involved with such groups as Citizens for a Valley Sewer, Citizens to Protect Our Drinking Water and Citizens for Facts on Incorporation.
In 1988, she ran unsuccessfully as a Democrat for a seat in the state Legislature.
Delucchi’s been unemployed since she was laid off from her job as a lobbyist for Momentum, a local business group, a year ago.
She suspects her age, which she won’t reveal, has something to do with the difficulty she’s had finding work.
“It’s tough for a woman, especially one my age, to find work in this town,” said Delucchi, who won’t say but is probably in her mid-40s. “Nobody seems to want us old broads.”
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