Millwood Council Incumbents Seeking New Hitches

The race for the open seats on the Millwood Town Council features three known quantities and a mystery man.

Glenn Bailey, Frank Cook and John Ely are all incumbents, seeking four more years in their respective seats.

Robert Shollenberger is challenging Bailey for Position 2. Cook and Ely are unopposed.

All the races are non-partisan.

The incumbents have lived a combined 60 years in Millwood and have served on the council a combined 14 years.

Not much is known about Shollenberger, who could not be reached for an interview despite repeated attempts.

The three incumbents are running on platforms that include preparing the town of 1,700 for the future while retaining the good things from its past.

Bailey, 61 and a 30-year resident of Millwood, said revitalizing the downtown area would be one of his top priorities if re-elected.

New street lights and sidewalks in the business core along Argonne Road would be part of the revitalization plan, said Bailey, who has served on the council since 1989.

He also would work to make sure the town’s planning policies were in line with the state Growth Management Act while maintaining Millwood’s small-town flavor.

“I hear people say they want to keep the town the way it is, and I hear them,” said Bailey, adding that he, too, is enamored with the “nostalgia” of the town.

Cook, 57 and a 23-year resident, has made the completion of the town’s sewering project his No. 1 goal.

The entire town is scheduled to be served with new water and sewer lines by the end of 1996.

“I’d like to see this through on the sewering,” said Cook, an electrician at Eastern Washington University and two-term councilman.

He also supports a revitalization project, saying it would “dress up” downtown.

Ely, 44 and an 8-year resident, wants to update Millwood’s land-use policies and come up with a plan to deal with traffic, a growing concern in the town.

Thousands of cars stream through Millwood on Argonne every day, dividing the town and causing headaches, said Ely, marketing director for American Aviation.

He said he would use his position as councilman to lobby state and local agencies to help find a solution to Millwood’s traffic woes.

“My opinion is that sometime, somewhere, we’re going to have to build another bridge across the river,” said Ely, who was appointed to the board earlier this year.

The Argonne Road bridge in Millwood is one of the few in the Valley that crosses the Spokane River.

, DataTimes MEMO: See individual profiles by name of candidate.