Candidates vie for positions on Airway Heights council

Matthew S. Pederson, Airway Heights City Council member and deputy mayor, would like to drop the “deputy” from his title.

Rick Jacks, also a councilman, would like to add the word “mayor.”

Pederson, 31, and Jacks, 52, are running for City Council Position 1, which also is the mayor’s job, in the Nov. 8 nonpartisan general election. Others on the ballot for council seats are incumbent Patrick Rushing versus Jennifer Daily for Position 2; Larry Haskell versus David Wooten for Position 6; and incumbent Don Mitchell, who is running unopposed in position 4.

The mayor’s job is recognized as the head of the city for ceremonial purposes and has no regular administrative duties. It opened when Dale R. Perry decided not to run.

Perry is under investigation over his financial dealing with Orville Moe, the operator of Spokane Raceway Park. Either Jacks or Pederson will be the third mayor since Airway Heights went to the council-manager form of government in November 2000.

Pederson, who began serving four years ago, was first to throw his name in the hat. On the last day of filing, Jacks, a councilman since October 2003, decided to run for mayor.

“People were saying to me, ‘Rick, please, please, please run. We need fresh blood,’ ” said Jacks, who works in property management. “So I stepped up to the plate.”

But no matter what the outcome, Jacks will be safe.

If he wins, Jacks will become mayor and Pederson will be out of a council job. Jacks’ current Position 5 chair will be filled by appointment. If Pederson becomes mayor, Jacks will continue to serve in Position 5.

After two years together, Jacks said he and Pederson’s philosophies differ.

“He’s aligned himself with old guard. And if young blood aligns with old guard, it’s no longer young blood,” Jacks said.

“I think what the council needs is fresh ideas, and that’s what I’ve brought to council.”

Pederson, an Airway Heights native who is employed at a family-owned restaurant in town, said he’s heard Jacks make similar comments and was quick to add: “I’m very progressive, very growth-oriented and very family-oriented. The progress we made in the last four years should more than answer the question.”

Among the big concerns in Airway Heights is the construction of the city’s own wastewater treatment plant. The city purchased 75 acres last January for construction of a facility, expected to cost between $28.5 and $35 million.

Currently the city of Spokane treats Airway Heights sewage. However, the contract is up for renegotiation in 2012. The target date for an Airway Heights plant was pushed up from 2010 to 2008.

All the council members and candidates appear to be behind the project.

Position 2: Rushing vs. Daily

Rushing, a Postal Service worker in north Spokane, is running against political newcomer Daily. He said he has not met Daily, and it seems unlikely the candidates will hold a forum, since none is planned and absentee ballots are arriving next week.

“If we get a sewage and water plant, the rest will take care of itself,” said Rushing, 48, who has served six years. “If we don’t get it, we won’t have the capacity to provide the needs.”

Daily is a 31-year-old wife and mother who would join Stacy Daniels as a young working mom, on the council. Daily, whose husband, Jeremy Daily, was raised in Airway Heights, manages a Starbucks shop in the Spokane Valley.

“I feel that in making decisions, you have to talk to people and see what they want and not (go on the assumption of) what I think they want,” Daily said.

Position 6: Haskell vs. Wooten

In a third contested race, Haskell, 51, and Wooten, 52, moved on after surviving the Sept. 20 primary.

Haskell served on the council as deputy mayor from October 1999 to April 2002. He left the council when he was called back to active military duty.

Haskell is a Spokane County deputy prosecutor, which he believes would benefit council and city attorney Stanley Schwartz when legal matters arise. He, too, stressed the need for a wastewater treatment plant.

“I hope I can convince voters how a sewer treatment plant works in conjunction with getting bigger businesses,” Haskell said.

Wooten, who moved to Airway Heights from Charleston, S.C., more than seven years ago, works at Fairchild Air Force Base as a civilian graphic illustrator. Wooten stressed one of his major concerns is staying within the city budget.

“I like the city, and I like the City Council,” Wooten said. “They work well together, and I want to be a part of that.”

Wooten, Rushing and Jacks were endorsed by the city employees’ union.