Reid Will Face Harris, Kiver

Democratic party activist Kathy Reid has won the chance to run for Spokane County commissioner in November.

Reid held a healthy lead over fellow Democrat Dennis Crumley in Tuesday’s primary. She will face Commissioner Phil Harris and long-shot candidate Phil Kiver of the Reform Party in the upcoming general election.

Harris garnered 41 percent of the vote, while the two Democrats combined netted 56 percent. But Reid said Tuesday’s results may not foreshadow Harris’ performance in November.

Only people who live in Commissioner District 3 - the northwestern third of the county - voted Tuesday. The general election is decided by voters countywide.

“Harris is likely to be stronger in the Valley and North Side,” which are traditional Republican strongholds, Reid said.

Harris could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.

The primary pitted Crumley, a juvenile corrections worker and union representative, against Reid, a retired nurse. He’s a political newcomer; she’s a longtime party activist and veteran of many campaigns.

“I don’t go on vacations. I don’t have a place at the lake,” Reid once said. “I do politics. That’s my hobby. I love it.”

While most of her work has been behind the scenes, Reid ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the Legislature in 1980. She won an election for port commissioner in 1982, but Spokane County voters decided during the same election not to form a port district.

Reid was one of 25 freeholders elected in 1992 to draw up a plan for consolidating Spokane city and county governments. In the end, she joined five others in writing a minority opinion that called for less-sweeping changes.

Reid co-chaired the anti-consolidation campaign. Voters rejected the consolidation proposal by an overwhelming margin.

County residents can expect some fiery commission meetings if Reid wins November’s race against Harris and Kiver. She was perhaps the most outspoken of the freeholders, seldom mincing words during disagreements.

“I’m used to manipulators. In fact, I’m considered pretty good at it,” she said during one especially contentious meeting. “But I’ve never seen such amateur, flagrant manipulating as I’ve seen on this board” of freeholders.

During their primary campaigns, Reid and Crumley avoided attacking each other. Instead, Reid directed her criticism at Harris, accusing him of nepotism, favoritism and poor leadership.

Reid said Tuesday that she admires the two other commissioners.

“I think (Democrat) John Roskelley is a wonderful county commissioner,” she said. “Even though Kate McCaslin is a Republican, I think she’s done a good job.

“I’d love to work with the two of them.”