Ferry County Post Draws Crowded Field Two Republicans, Three Democrats Hope To Unseat Incumbent County Commissioner

Five men want Ferry County Commissioner Jim Hall’s job, and he thinks some of them just need the money.

“I think they’re under the illusion that we work one day a week and we get $30,000 a year for working one day, which is crazy,” said the often-blunt first-term incumbent.

Hall’s rivals, two fellow Republicans and three Democrats, are reluctant to criticize him, but at least four of them say more teamwork is needed to shore up the county’s sagging economy. Three candidates in the Sept. 15 primary election cited the county’s and Hall’s strained relationship with the Colville Confederated Tribes.

“I want to get along with these people and work together,” said Leo Orestad, “an old-fashioned American” who’s running on the Democratic ticket with a platform that might be too conservative for some Republicans.

Here’s a look at the candidates:

Republican Jim Hall, 52, graduated from Republic High School and was a building contractor until he and his wife, Republic City Councilwoman Linda Hall, opened a motel in 1987. The couple has three adult children. Hall was mayor of Republic from 1988 to 1991 and was twice elected as a freeholder in unsuccessful drives to establish a county home rule charter. He is an outspoken champion of property rights.

Although Hall has clashed with tribal leaders over jurisdictional issues in the half of the county that lies within the Colville Indian Reservation, he said the county continues to work with the tribes in many areas and he hopes to mount a joint economic-development effort. He touted his role in securing a new economic-development grant writer for the county, and the lobbying he does at the state capital as a three-year member of the legislative steering committee of the Washington State Association of Counties.

Republican William “Skeeter” Burnett, 55, is finishing his first term as mayor of Republic. He operates a restaurant and lounge and previously worked as a miner, logger, bartender and an auto and mobile home salesman. He graduated from Curlew High School, studied business at the College of Eastern Utah for two years, and is single.

Burnett thinks the county staff should be reduced through attrition, and other cuts are needed to cope with declining tax revenues. He wants to recruit small businesses that could take advantage of the area’s finished-lumber supply, its rail service and its pool of laid-off skilled workers.

Republican Dennis Simmelink, 48, administered federal farm programs in Ferry County for 11 years, but recently resigned to avoid relocating to another U.S. Agriculture Department office after his position was eliminated. Previously, he was a dryland wheat farmer in the Kennewick area, where he grew up. Simmelink earned a bachelor’s degree in geology from Central Washington University in 1972. He and his wife, Rhonda, have a daughter in college and a son in high school.

Simmelink is an elder in the Republic Presbyterian Church and a director of the Pine Grove Water Association. He served five years on the Republic School Board until 1996, where he said he learned to make the sort of painful budget cuts the county government needs.

Democrat Elbert Koontz, 52, came to Ferry County 10 years ago from Poulsbo, Wash., where he was a paramedic-firefighter for 16 years in several fire departments, culminating as acting assistant chief at the Trident submarine base. After suffering a knee injury, he joined his father’s logging operation in Republic and became the announcer for the local stock-car racetrack. Koontz and his partner, Marie, have three school-age children, and he has four adult children from a previous marriage.

Koontz ran for mayor in 1990 and lost by 54 votes. As commissioner, he wants to improve relations with the Colville Confederated Tribes, to cut costs by developing a purchasing pool, and to seek relaxation of the state growth management law.

Democrat Leo Orestad, 59, came to Ferry County 28 years ago from Skagit County, where he graduated from Burlington-Edison High School and attended Skagit Valley College for about six months. In addition to three years as an Army corporal, Orestad worked at farm and other blue-collar jobs before moving to Republic to run the state driver’s licensing office. He retired in 1994.

A veteran of six months of minor league professional baseball, Orestad has volunteered in youth sports programs and served 3-1/2 years on the Republic school board in the late 1970s. He and his wife, Karen, have three adult children. He wants to slash bureaucratic regulations, including building permits for private residences.

Democrat John Walden, who will turn 55 on Election Day, graduated from Republic High School and earned bachelor’s degrees in math and computer technology from Eastern Washington University in 1970 and 1985. He has worked for the county for 13 years, mostly as the computer services director, and would give up that job if elected. Previously, Walden was a mine worker, a carpenter and, mostly, a Forest Service smokejumper. He and his wife, Sarah, have two sons, ages 15 and 20.

Walden wants better relations with the Colville tribes. He touts his knowledge of county government, and proposes to raise money for road work by charging a 10 percent “managerial fee” whenever possible on grants administered by the county.

This sidebar appeared with the story: THE JOB The three Ferry County commissioners pass laws, control the county budget and supervise departments not headed by other elected officials. They are paid $30,000 a year.