The race between Republican Spokane County Commissioner Mark Richard and Democrat Brian Sayrs pits two knowledgeable candidates with a passion for public service.

Four years ago Richard was a newcomer to elective office, and critics suspected he would merely smooth the path for developers. He had been the governmental affairs director for the Spokane Association of Realtors and Spokane Home Builders Association. It’s safe to say his bias is toward development, but Richard has branched out to be an effective leader on issues such as mental health and criminal justice. He also has allowed pragmatism to overcome the conservative instinct to reflexively oppose any tax increase.

Richard took the lead in proposing and selling the 1 percent local sales tax for county mental health programs. Since its passage, the county has used that money to screen jail inmates for treatment, reopen a crisis triage center, provide for longer stays at treatment centers and restore some counseling services. He also is working with the state to find a way to eliminate state fines when the county sends patients to Eastern State Hospital. He notes that those considerable sums would be better spent on patients.

Richard correctly sees the need to address the problems facing the mentally ill before they become crime statistics. Once convicted, it can be difficult for the mentally ill to ever recover. Plus, the strain on the courts and jail is expensive, which leads to huge capital outlays, such as the proposed county jail expansion.

As another demonstration of his pragmatism, Richard said he would not support the state’s 1 percent property tax cap if it were put to another vote. Health care, labor and energy costs rise much faster than 1 percent annually, which means government must continually cut services to balance budgets.

Sayrs, a Liberty Lake city councilman, also doesn’t want the county warehousing the mentally ill, but he is critical of Richard’s approach to development. He wants builders to shoulder a bigger portion of impact fees and is more concerned with the problems associated with sprawl.

He is critical of the questionable Spokane Raceway Park purchase and would look into ways of getting the track back into private hands. He thinks the purchase of the surrounding acreage was a good deal and shows potential for future use as recreational space.

Sayrs is a solid candidate, but we think Richard’s actions in office merit four more years.