Commission Candidates Contrast Sharply

Voters trying to distinguish between the two Spokane County Commission candidates only have to look in the bottom of a dunk tank.

Republican Martin Burnette was there; Democrat John Roskelley wasn’t.

It was Sept. 16 at the Spokane Valley’s annual community celebration, Valleyfest, and one of the featured events was a dunk tank. All six county commission candidates running in the Sept. 19 primary were invited to get wet for a worthy cause.

Roskelley was the only one to opt out, although he offered to make a donation.

“There’s enough buffoonery associated with the county commission,” Roskelley said, defending his absence. “I want to bring some dignity back to that office.”

Burnette didn’t relish the idea of spending a half-hour in chilly water but said he went along in the name of community spirit.

“You don’t learn a lot about a candidate when he’s going under water,” he admitted. “But you have to be willing to be humbled. You have to have a sense of humor.”

The dunk tank episode has clearly defined both men running for the remaining year of Commissioner Skip Chilberg’s term. Chilberg resigned from the $55,746-a-year post in May and took another job.

Democrat George Marlton was appointed to the commission on an interim basis but finished last in the primary and will leave office after the general election votes are verified.

Roskelley is fiercely independent, no-nonsense, blunt and even apolitical at times. He’d rather woo voters one at a time in their living rooms than by the masses at debates sponsored by special interests.

Burnette is a go-along kind of guy, soft-spoken, low profile, a man who is prone to give rambling speeches to yes-or-no questions.

Their only similarities appear to be they’re both affable, respect each other and have run squeaky-clean campaigns.

Roskelley is a college-educated, world-class mountain climber who has run his own photojournalism and marketing business for 22 years. He has written three books and numerous magazine articles. His rail-thin but muscular build has served him well while walking neighborhoods and ringing thousands of doorbells.

Burnette’s roots are more humble. No one in his family has a college degree, but he parlayed a high school diploma into an 18-year career as a financial planner who advises clients on insurance and investment needs. He’s tall and hearty.

“If we were to have corporate endorsements,” Burnette said, “Mr. Roskelley would be sponsored by Nike. I’d be sponsored by Pizza Hut.”

Roskelley shows up for candidate debates alone. He is backed by labor and the environmental community.

Burnette shows up at campaign forums with an entourage of family and friends. He has the nod of the Spokane Valley Business Association and conservative talk radio.

While Burnette touts his civic involvement with a number of clubs and organizations, Roskelley points to his seven years as a member of the county Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and his six months on the county Planning Commission.

Roskelley is a strong supporter of the state’s Growth Management Act, saying infrastructure should keep pace with growth. He opposes the burning of bluegrass fields because of the health hazard to respiratory patients. He favors continuing the county’s conservation futures tax, which is used to buy and preserve pristine lands.

“We have departments in place to protect people,” Roskelley said. “People want clean air, clean water, a good quality of life. That’s why they moved here.”

Burnette wants to beef up the property tax base by making Spokane County more friendly to developers and by getting rid of onerous restrictions he says chase away jobs or deter them from relocating here.

The Republican said the county should not be in the business of buying land and taking it off the tax rolls.

“This is where Mr. Roskelley and I radically differ,” Burnette said. “He’s strong on preserving ecology … I want smaller government and less taxes.”

The main platform planks for both candidates are balancing the budget while escalating the war on crime, but only Roskelley has come up with specific ways to pay for it.

He suggests shortening jail sentences for non-violent offenders, monitoring them electronically at night and forcing them to work by day. The money they earn would go to victims and to the county to cover the costs of their supervision.

Roskelley proposes lobbying the state Legislature to increase maximum prison sentences for violent offenders. They should be in jail, he said, instead of rotating in and out of the expensive criminal justice system. He also suggests holding parents financially accountable for their children’s crimes.

“But all of these issues are secondary to leadership,” Roskelley said. “I can’t really do anything unless I have the cooperation of the people (county employees) who can make it happen.

“I haven’t run a multimillion-dollar corporation, but people realize I have common sense, that I care about them,” Roskelley said. “I’m very down to earth.

“People look at mountain climbers and think, ‘Gee, they’re off the wall.’ But mountain climbers must have long-range vision, the ability to set goals, they must be able to accept risk and work under extreme pressure,” he said. “I want to put those parts of me into Spokane County government.”

As a financial adviser, Burnette said his career is grounded more in real people, real money, real problems.

He has no specifics but wants to examine the entire county budget “line item by line item” to eliminate wasteful or unnecessary programs. Burnette also plans to pinpoint potential areas of savings by tapping county employees’ expertise.

The savings, Burnette said, would be rechanneled into law enforcement programs to fight crime.

“Crime fighting is something we can’t afford to back off from,” he said.

Another potential area of savings, Burnette said, might result from dumping the county’s self-insurance program and switching to a private carrier.

Burnette said he also wants to improve efficiency by implementing the latest in computer technology and improving the county’s “Neanderthal” telephone system.

“The path I chose for my education was the free enterprise system,” Burnette said. “My success as a person has been proven out. I hear taxpayers saying, ‘I want my government to live within a budget like I do.”’

If Burnette wins, he’ll join Commissioners Steve Hasson and Phil Harris and make it a Republican sweep of the commission.

Burnette worked for Harris’ successful 1994 campaign, and Harris is returning the favor.

“I feel Martin is a more qualified person for the job,” Harris said.

Roskelley supporters said their candidate is the county commission’s worst nightmare - a bright, articulate watchdog who will hold his Republican colleagues accountable.

“I’m nobody’s good ol’ boy,” Roskelley said. “They don’t want me in there because I’m going to do some snooping around. You’ve got to have another opinion. Someone has to be in there to shake things up.”

, DataTimes MEMO: See individual profiles by name of candidate