Incumbent Spangle Councilman Kevin O’Grady is facing a primary election challenge from two contenders.

They are Joseph D. Coombs and Jeneal Layton.

O’Grady is finishing up his first term on the Spangle City Council. He has lived in Spangle for 10 years and runs an upholstery shop in Spokane.

He has been involved in planning construction of a new $1.2 million sewage treatment plant that will be completed by next year.

The limitations of the current sewage treatment system have prevented Spangle from allowing construction of new homes or businesses.

The new plant will have a capacity to handle up to 600 residents, about double the current population.

“Real estate will jump in this town,” said O’Grady, who is eager to see growth, but only if it’s well planned.

“Growth is going to happen,” he said.

“If it stays the same, it just gets stagnant, and then everybody complains.”

Coombs, a Washington State University graduate, has lived in Spangle for seven years. He operates a consulting business specializing in professional assessments of crop damage.

Earlier in his career, he managed farms under trust through Seafirst Bank.

He said he worked closely with the Spangle council to develop the current sewer treatment project. He said it is important to plan for local services as growth starts to occur.

“Let’s have some positive growth,” he said.

Coombs ran for mayor two years ago and got the same number of votes as Mayor John Logan. The race was decided when they drew straws, he said.

The third candidate, Layton, is the wife of a former maintenance man in Spangle who resigned earlier this year in a controversy with the council.

She was not available for an interview.

, DataTimes