Adams County Commissioner District No. 1 candidates: Opponent John W. Hunt

John Wesley Hunt

Age: 55

Education: High school graduate, law enforcement academy graduate

Profession: Retired law enforcement officer

Spouse: Heidi

Children: TJ, Ann Marie, Heather

John Hunt is running as the opponent for incumbent John Marshall in the role of Adams County Commissioner District 1. Hunt did not file for election for the position, but instead is on the ballot because of write in votes during the Primary Election.

Hunt stated while he did not file as a candidate, if elected, he will serve in the role to the best of his capability and work hard to improve the county through growth and communication.

If elected to the position, Hunt said his long-term goals for the county revolves around a unified vision from leaders in the county and improved communication. During Hunt’s role as Adams County Sheriff, he said between his department and the commissioners, they never had a plan.

For Hunt, his goals would start with an immediate meeting between the commissioners and the county’s department heads to determine goals for individual departments and how they can work together to succeed and move forward.

Many issues strive from a lack of funding, but Hunt said having a discussion and starting to prepare for the future needs of the county could allow for an opportunity to budget for those plans.

From his experience in law enforcement, Hunt said he can personally attest for the needs of upgrades within the department to help plan for the future and provide the highest level of safety possible to residents.

As the lack of water grows as an issue in Eastern Washington, Hunt said if elected he would have to educate himself on the needs and the options for the county. Hunt said the county is challenged with the cost of feasibility studies, water laws and the cost surrounding wells, but water is a necessity.

Adams County’s growth has remained fairly stagnant in the past, but Hunt said the county needs to focus on growth and attracting new businesses and people to the county. Without increased access to water, the county is limited in development and the potential to succeed.

Hunt’s qualifications for commissioner include 31 years of service in county government through his roles with the Adams County Sheriff’s Office.

Through his time with ACSO, and while serving as sheriff, Hunt said he gained an understanding of how the county government is run and the needs of the elected officials serving the county.

During his time with ACSO, Hunt said he never felt satisfied with how the government ran.

One of the biggest changes Hunt said he would implement would be working closely with elected officials and department heads.

Hunt’s experience in a government leadership role allowed him with an opportunity to work first hand with other officials, and also he learned how to become an effective communicator.

Hunt said currently the discussions happening at the county level are adversarial, but he is confident he could work with officials to eliminate the negative atmosphere and improve the balance of conversation.

Hunt stressed the importance of the line of communication needing to improve between departments to lead the county into a more prosperous future.

With juvenile related crimes on the rise, Hunt said the implementation of different programs is important and a benefit to the county. During his time with ACSO, Hunt served as a member of Fight Crime, Invest in Kids.

The program focused on families and the lifestyle choices they made at home, which affected the children, Hunt said.

The majority of the current programs help juveniles after an issue, Hunt said, but it is important to target high risk families earlier in the child’s development in order to reduce the potential of the child committing a crime.

Hunt said if elected he would be interested in bringing back a program similar to Fight Crime, Invest in Kids.

If elected, Hunt has three main goals he would make a priority in the role as county commissioner. The first goal he finds the most important is abolishing the adversarial environment of the office and improve the amount of communication on all levels.

The second goal for Hunt is creating long term goals for all the departments, and being able to create a master plan of where the county is heading in the future. This plan would allow for the commissioners not only to budget for future improvements, but also understand what is the most important for each individual office.

Hunt said his third goal is to bring more small businesses into the county. While the panhandle of Adams County sees consistent growth, the eastern portion has struggled to attract new businesses.

The county needs to continue to grow, especially in the smaller communities to allow them to remain viable, Hunt said. The area needs small businesses with dedicated owners who are interested in being a part of the community, Hunt said.

Hunt stated he believes small businesses coming into the town will help the town’s longevity more than corporate businesses locating in the area. Hunt said if elected, he would look into options to make the county more desirable to businesses looking to relocate or expand.

In terms of the budget and reserves, Hunt said six months of reserves is adequate for the county. He said if elected, he will need to educate himself in terms of the budget for each department, as his knowledge lies primarily in the budget he created when working for ACSO.

Because of his experience with ACSO, a project Hunt views as a priority is making a plan for the failing jail facilities.

During his time as sheriff, Hunt had the National Institute of Jails complete a study, which addressed not only the issues with the physical building, but also the concerns of inmate and staff safety in the facility.

With the growing cost of constructing jails, Hunt said realistically a portion of the money for the project would need to come from a bond, which would leave the design to construct new in the hands of the taxpayers.

Currently, Hunt said the facility has to send inmates to two separate facilities because of overcrowding in the local jail, and the county continues to spend money outside of its borders to house these inmates.

Hunt added if the plan to build a new facility was approved, it would be at least five years until the entire project could be completed.

In terms of economic development, Hunt said it is the county commissioners role to support the efforts of the Economic Development department. As a county, Hunt said the largest weaknesses are new businesses and growth.

If elected, Hunt said he would focus on finding the potential regulations that are hurting the county and stopping development, or researching ways to help start-up businesses come to the area.

Through the support of the commissioners, the Economic Development department could focus their efforts on attracting new businesses or finding the needs for companies to relocate or build in Adams County, Hunt said.

Hunt emphasized the importance of creating a facilities master plan for the county, as one is not currently in place. For years the discussion surrounding the creation of a justice center has circled the conversation, but a plan never was made.

Hunt said a justice center would house all of the offices involved in criminal cases, including the court room, jail and sheriff’s office in a single facility. This would be more cost effective, Hunt said, but it would also allow the commissioners with an opportunity to reevaluate the needs within the courthouse.

Fiscally, Hunt stated every department in the county is underfunded, but it he stated it is virtually impossible to fully fund every department. While being fully funded is near impossible, providing employees with a fair and competitive wage is something Hunt believe has been overlooked.

Hunt said Adams County is one of the most underpaid county governments in the state. Because of the low wages, the county suffers from high turnover rates and struggles to attract individuals interested in working for the county on a long term basis.

“We need to be better to our people. We need to do our best to provide them the best wages and benefits that we can,” Hunt stated.

As election day approaches, Hunt said he would like voters to know he is a Republican candidate, even though the ballot lists him without a party preference. As a write in candidate, state law does not publish the candidates political party on the ballot.

Hunt said while he did not seek this position, if elected, he will give the job 100 percent like he has always done and work with everyone the best he can.