Council candidate wants vote on disincorporation

A candidate who filed Thursday for the Spokane Valley City Council race said he would seek a public vote on disincorporation if elected.

“I think we need to put this idea of whether we are going to be a city or not a city behind us,” said Chuck Parker, who is running for the position six seat, which Councilman Mike Flanigan will not seek for a second term.

“I’m not running to disincorporate the city,” he said. But a vote on the matter would end some of the division within the Valley, he said, adding that disincorporation supporters told him they would end their efforts to dissolve the city if the issue made it to the ballot.

Parker, 56, also said he wants voter approval for any new tax increases and said he supports maintaining or boosting the level of Spokane Valley Police service if he’s elected on Nov 8.

Retired after 23 years in sales for Philip Morris, Parker is a substitute teacher. He holds a degree in recreation and parks administration from Eastern Washington University and a master’s in teaching from Whitworth College.

His background in parks and business, particularly personnel and management, qualify him to address city issues, he said.

“I feel like I can represent the people, and listen and form my opinion based on their input,” he said.

He has not held office before. If elected, he said, he would try to bring government and city planning to a more grassroots level.

“I wanted to give something back to the community,” he said.

“This gives me an opportunity to be a part of the city and its development and set the bar for the future.”