Mary Kuney keeps chair position of Spokane County Commission – and this time her fellow Republicans don’t object

Leadership for the Spokane County Commission will stay the same for 2024, after commissioners unanimously voted to keep Republicans Mary Kuney and Josh Kerns as chair and vice-chair, respectively.

It was a stark contrast to just a year ago, when the nominations for chair were contentious. On the heels of a shake-up of the board’s composition that added two new seats, both filled by Democrats, the county commissioners voted 3-2 to elect Kuney, a Republican, as their chair. Kuney voted for herself alongside Democrats Amber Waldref and Chris Jordan, while Republican commissioners Kerns and Al French opposed her selection.

Following last year’s vote, Kerns and French issued a news release characterizing Kuney’s siding with Waldref and Jordan as “effectively ushering in a Democratic majority.”

Kuney strongly rebuked that claim in an interview with The Spokesman-Review.

French and Kerns also shared concerns over Kuney’s availability to fulfill her duties as chair, which includes leading meetings, reviewing agendas and being the public face of the board due to her additional responsibilities as the president of the Association of Counties. Both commissioners said they worried her travel obligations and other responsibilities, would lead her to miss meetings or participate virtually too often.

The Republican commissioners have served together since 2017, when Kuney was first appointed to the then-three-member commission by Gov. Jay Inslee. Kerns is currently serving his third term, while French is serving his fourth. The trio have rarely disagreed on a vote over the years.

French said the concerns he had last year about Kuney’s availability were a non-issue this time around, since Kuney’s term as president of the Association of Counties has ended. French and Kerns are up for re-election this fall and wouldn’t have the availability to take on the role, he added.

“Commissioner Kerns has a full plate and I have a full plate, and we’re both on the ballot this year, so it makes good sense,” French said.

Fellow commissioners Waldref and Jordan praised Kuney for her work over the past year and said they were happy to cast their vote for her for a second straight year.

“It’s to be expected at times with five commissioners that we have disagreements on important issues, and we have had those, but in your comments, you’ve always handled yourself in a civil, respectful manner,” Jordan said during Tuesday’s meeting. “And I think that’s absolutely critical. I appreciate that.”