Election ushers in Brickner as third mayor in city history

Election ushers in Brickner as third mayor in city history

By Craig Howard Splash Contributing Editor

The last time a general election featured a close race for Liberty Lake mayor, the vote also included a quintet of City Council seats on the ballot.

In 2007, Wendy Van Orman unseated sitting Mayor Steve Peterson by 61 votes. Each incumbent council representative, meanwhile, ran uncontested.

A dozen years later, a few things rang familiar about the autumn decision while others varied widely.

Last month, Peterson – Liberty Lake’s inaugural mayor and a fourterm leader – found himself running for re-election again, this time against Shane Brickner, a council member since 2012 and mayor pro tem for the past four years. While a majority of council positions were up for grabs as they were in 2007 – four out of seven this time around – this ballot included competition for each seat.

Even though the latest general election was not certified until Nov. 26, a consensus was established well before that as a majority of voters selected a new mayor and two new council members while sticking with two familiar faces around the dais.

Brickner, who has served as a volunteer officer with the Liberty Lake Police Department since 2006, was selected by over 56 percent of the electorate to become only the city’s third mayor since incorporation in 2001.

“I’ve thought about running for mayor for quite a while,” Brickner said after his victory. “I’m excited. This is a great opportunity.”

Brickner was joined in the winner’s circle by returning council members Cris Kaminskas and Dan Dunne as well as newly elected council representatives Annie Kurtz and Phil Folyer.

Brickner admitted taking “a huge gamble” in running for mayor instead of seeking re-election as a council member. Had he lost, Brickner would have packed up his City Hall nametag.

In Liberty Lake’s “strong mayor” form of government, Brickner will be responsible for hiring and releasing city staff, crafting the preliminary budget and representing the city at a variety of events, among other duties. He will not, however, have a vote as he did as a council member – except in the case of a tiebreaker.

Brickner said he is looking forward to working with the city’s governing board.

“I think we’ll have an extremely strong City Council and it’s my job to support them,” he said. “It’s about how we work together and how those ideas are shared. We may not always agree but we can be professional and supportive and get our goals accomplished.”

Peterson, who has served as mayor for 15 of Liberty Lake’s 19 years as a city, said he hoped to be remembered “as a leader who worked for the citizens and the betterment of the community.”

“When you became mayor, you don’t have a vote but you have a vision,” Peterson said. “You have a vision and you try to put the pieces of the puzzle together. The mayor’s job is to put together a good team of people and deliver services in the most efficient, cost-effective manner.”

Under Peterson’s leadership, the city purchased the Trailhead golf course that would become a consistent revenue generator, built a pedestrian bridge over I-90, completed the trail system, established a pair of funding mechanisms that have been catalysts to development on the north side of the city, constructed Town Square Park and brought on three new schools.

“We have good schools, good roads and a safe, clean, green community,” Peterson said.

Dunne took just over 53 percent of the vote to edge Holly Woodruff, current president of Friends of the Liberty Lake Library, for Pos. 3 on the council. Dunne served three years on the city’s Planning Commission before becoming a council member in 2013.

Dunne said it would be important to keep Liberty Lake “the city we want to live in while it grows.”

“I believe there is a lot more to be done still,” he said. “I’m enthused about helping and supporting our new mayor to be successful. I’m also very grateful for all Steve Peterson has done for this city.”

Both Dunne and Brickner said the city will be keeping an eye on how the passage of I-976 will affect transportation funding in Liberty Lake, particularly the Harvard Road Bridge widening project and Henry Road overpass. While the initiative will cap the ceiling of vehicle tab fees at $30, the state budget office estimates a loss of up to $4 billion in tax revenue by 2025.

“I have great concerns,” Brickner said. “Things are up in the air.”

Kaminskas, the other council incumbent on the ballot, widened the gap on challenger Tom Stanley, a member of the city’s Parks and Arts Commission, from the primary ballot, pulling away with a margin of just under 61 percent to capture Pos. 7. Kaminskas said canvassing in the River District was her priority leading up to the Nov. 5 vote.

“The past 10 years in Liberty Lake have been great,” said Kaminskas, a council member since 2010. “I think the next four years are going to bring a lot of economic growth in this area and I want to be a part of that.”

Kamiskas said she will focus on engaging the community in the happenings of city government.

“I want to get as much information out to the public in as timely a manner as possible,” she said.

In the Pos. 1 race, Phil Folyer and DG Garcia vied for the seat vacated by Brickner. Folyer, a member of the Planning Commission, earned over 54 percent of ballots to win a fouryear term.

“I expected it to be closer,” said Folyer, a residential homebuilder who has lived in Liberty Lake since late 1999.

Folyer said he is “looking forward to discussions involving capital improvements” while noting that his experience on the Planning Commission will behoove him as he takes his chair in January.

“I feel I’m pretty in tune with what’s going on with the city right now, especially the transportation projects,” he said.

Kurtz, a mom and former social worker and program manager with Child Protective Services, outdistanced Moore by over 59 percent to win the Pos. 5 race. She made the decision to run last October.

“It was something I thought I could contribute something positive to,” said Kurtz who has lived in Liberty Lake for the past nine years. “I’m looking forward to working with everyone and getting some things accomplished.”

Kurtz said she would like to make “sustainable community engagement” a priority. She also voiced support for being part of a council that “works for the city and not in little micro-groups within the council.”

A retired executive, Moore was appointed to council in 2014 and is credited with generating the initiative for the city’s strategic plan as well as being the catalyst for a regular financial scorecard that shows the latest municipal revenues and expenditures.

Kurtz said it was clear on the campaign trail that Moore had developed a high level of respect in the city he serves.

“I’ve never heard anyone say a single negative thing about Bob,” she said.

When the new mayor and restructured council convene for the first time in early January, they will be part of a pay scale shift approved by an independent salary commission in May. Council pay will go from $400 to $720 a month while the mayor’s compensation will increase from $1,250 to $2,250.