2023 Primary Candidates

By Nina Culver Splash contributor

A Liberty Lake City Council race and a Spokane Valley Fire Commissioner race have both attracted three candidates, which means the races will appear on the primary ballot in August with the two candidates with the most votes advancing to the general election in November.

The Liberty Lake council has been embroiled in a controversy this year about whether or not the city council should have final say on library policies, including whether or not to ban books. The library has been overseen by an appointed board of trustees since it was founded. A slim majority of the council recently voted to give itself the authority to take decision making away from the trustees, but Mayor Cris Kaminskas vetoed the legislation. The council was unable to override her veto, leaving the decision-making power of the trustees intact.

Council incumbent Dan Dunne is being challenged by political newcomer Larry Marshall and Keith Kopelson, who previously served on the council after he was appointed to a seat in 2012 and then elected in 2013.

Dunne, who worked as a mechanical engineer for 25 years before switching to an information technology position at Washington Trust Bank five years ago, has served three terms on the council. He voted against taking power from the library trustees and said that it is this issue that convinced him to run again.

Dunne said he’s normally a supporter of term limits and believes in making room to allow others to serve, but he was approached by quite a few people who asked him to remain on the council because of his support of the library trustees. “I’m a term limits guy, but what I hear is that no one represents people like I do,” he said.

The appointed trustee board has worked well since the library was founded, Dunne said. The city council sets the library’s budget, but the trustees are in charge of creating policy. Dunne said he believes that allows the trustees to avoid political issues and that he’s concerned that people wouldn’t want to serve as a trustee if it was simply an advisory board that had to have everything approved by the city council.

Dunne said he believes good people wouldn’t want to serve as a trustee under those conditions. “I think it’s important that the board have some degree of autonomy,” he said.

Kopelson, a former small business owner who currently serves at the Liberty Lake Portal building manager, said he enjoyed his previous time on the council and wants to serve again. “I loved it,” he said. “I really enjoy serving the community. I feel like I have a good pulse on what people are interested in.”

He describes himself as a financial conservative and said he believes his experience could be an asset on the council. “I really, really want the city to be debt free,” he said.

Kopelson said he doesn’t believe libraries should ban books, but they have a responsibility to protect children. His solution would be to have the library rate books and have the “problematic” ones set aside with restricted access. Overall, he said he believes that the country as a whole is “too liberal” when it comes to children.

Kopelson also said he did not support the recent effort to give the city council control over what books should be banned. “I don’t think the council should be involved in selecting a specific book,” he said.

Larry Marshall was born and raised in Spokane and lived in several states, including Montana, before returning to the area three years ago. He worked in heavy construction, repairing unsafe dams and mines for many years before running an antique mall and an engineering survey firm in Helena, Montana for decades. He is currently retired.

Marshall describes himself as an independent who leans conservative. He said he sees serving on the council as a community service and a way to speak for the people. “I’ve always been involved in the communities I’ve lived in,” he said.

He said he recently attended a council meeting where the library issue was discussed and said he was glad to see the mayor attempting to create a consensus as she vetoed the legislation concerning taking the power to create policy away from the board of trustees. “I was very pleased with what the mayor did,” he said.

Marshall said he believes the library should be banning books that encourage immorality. “I believe we should censor books,” he said. “I want to stand up for parents and grandparents to make sure the kids are protected.”

The retirement of longtime Spokane Valley Fire Commissioner Bill Anderson has opened up a vacant seat that has attracted three candidates who are well known in the community. Those seeking the seat are former Spokane Valley Mayor Diana Wilhite, former firefighter and state representative George Orr and recently retired firefighter and arson dog handler Rick Freier.

Orr, who is also a former school board member, said he decided to run because several of the fire commissioners currently serving have had no firefighting experience. He believes that experience is important. “None of these folks have had much to do with the fire service,” he said. “They don’t go to the fire scenes.”

Orr said there are a few issues he would like to see addressed, including the fact that the nearest railroad spill containment equipment is kept in the Tri-Cities even though trains loaded with oil and other hazardous liquids go through Spokane and Spokane Valley daily. “We need to talk about it,” he said.

Orr said he wants to have open communication between firefighters, commissioners and the public. He believes in visiting fire stations to hear about issues that are important to firefighters. “I want those commissioners to be proud of those employees,” he said.

Freier just recently retired due to health issues, but said he’s not done with being involved in his community. “I’m young,” he said. “I’ve got more to give, I think. I think it would be a nice way to give back to the community that’s given me so much.”

He is well known for visiting middle school classrooms across Spokane Valley to teach kids about fire science. For about five years he was arson dog Mako’s handler and would often visit schools and special events with Mako. “Service is a big driver for me,” he said. “I’ve got the heart of a teacher. That’s why I started the middle school program.”

Freier would like to focus on fire prevention, which he did for several years while he worked for Valley Fire and wants to continue in some form. “I think that’s my number one mission,” he said.

He would also like to see the department acquire a new arson dog if someone in the department is willing to become a dog handler. While he worked with Mako, the dog was a regional asset and the duo were on call 24/7 to respond to fires across the Northwest. It requires a significant time commitment, Freier said. “I would support it if someone wants to step up,” he said.

In addition to her time as a Spokane Valley council member and mayor, Wilhite previously served as a Valley Fire’s civil service commissioner. She said she has the policy making and budgetary experience to serve on the fire commission and doesn’t believe that experience as a firefighter is necessary to serve as a commissioner.

“That’s something I did for nine years on the city council,” she said. “I don’t think being a fireman gives you a leg up on the commission.”

Wilhite said she is also running because she believes the male dominated commission should include a woman’s viewpoint. “I’m running because I wanted to see some diversity,” she said.

Wilhite previously ran Safeguard Business Systems with her husband for many years, but is currently retired. She also serves on the board of directors for Vera Water and Power.