Spokane County Commission leadership continues for fourth consecutive year, despite odd interaction during vote

The new year tends to bring about change, but that won’t be the case for the Spokane County Commission.

Commissioners Mary Kuney and Josh Kerns will retain their roles as chair and vice chair, respectively, following a vote by the governing board at their first legislative meeting of 2026 on Tuesday.

In addition to serving as the voice of the board, the chair helps set agendas and schedules for public meetings and then oversees them. The vice chair takes over those responsibilities in the event the chair is unable to. 2026 will be the fourth year in a row Kuney and Kerns have been tapped for the mostly ceremonious roles.

Kerns was elected unanimously, while Kuney received an “aye” vote from every member but Commissioner Al French, who appeared via a Zoom teleconference call and recused himself. Commissioner Chris Jordan nominated her, and in the following call for all ‘aye’ votes, French did not specify his reasoning for recusing himself.

“Did we hear Al?” Kuney asked the room after the commissioners sounded off. “Al, I don’t know if I’m hearing you or not.”

“Yeah, no, you didn’t get to the nays, or,” French said via Zoom. “I’m recusing myself from this vote, thank you.”

French did not return an inquiry regarding his recusal ahead of deadline for publication. Kuney did not return a separate request for comment.

The brief interaction at the meeting Tuesday echoed a conflict over the same vote for chair and vice chair of the commission in 2023, when French and Kerns decried Kuney’s decision to vote with Democratic commissioners Amber Waldref and Jordan to appoint herself chair.

The Republican commissioners characterized her vote as “effectively ushering in a Democratic majority,” while also voicing concerns about Kuney’s travel obligations and other responsibilities related to her role as president of the Washington State Association of Counties that year. Kuney strongly rebuffed those notions.

The commission has had few public disagreements in the years since, and voted unanimously to reappoint Kuney and Kerns to serve a second and third year in the role in 2024 and 2025.

The current iteration of the Spokane County Board of Commissioners has worked together since 2022, when Jordan and Waldref were elected to the board after redistricting introduced their seats to the formerly three-member board. Kuney, Kerns and French have served together since 2017, when Kuney was appointed by then-Governor Jay Inslee to fill a vacancy.

Both Kuney’s and Waldref’s seats will be up for reelection later this year.