Power Mapping

This is a four-member board, with six-year terms of service. It meets on the 1st and 3rd Thursday at 7 pm. It is responsible for the Conditional Use Permit process for wind utilities.

Larry Cochran, Chairman

Mr. Cochran is a third-generation barley farmer north of Colfax, in the Palouse. He has been working on his farm for 60 years, he says, since he was four. Mr. Cochran is active in the interests of farming. He is mentioned in news pieces dating back to 2007 for having attended farm bill listening sessions held by his U.S. Representative, visiting the state legislature to discuss natural resource and environmental concerns, and meeting with Senator Patty Murray. He is a regular attendee at Grain Growers’ conventions and WA Association of Wheat Growers events and has received professional recognition.

Current employment: Cochran Farms, owner and operator

Boards and community involvement

• Palouse Conservation District, Chair
• Washington State Conservation Commission, Commissioner, 2015 to present.
• Washington Association of Wheat Growers, Committee Member for Whitman County
• Agricultural Burning and Research Task Force (Department of Ecology), Representing the Washington Conservation Commission. 2018 to present.
  

Rick Finch, Vice-Chair

Mr. Finch has served on the BOA since at least 2009. Prior to that, he was on the planning commission, where he worked on the commercial wind ordinance. He served on the planning commission from 2006 to 2009.

As part of his employment with WSU, Mr. Finch manages and maintains a fleet of 25 electric and hybrid cars; seven of them are fully electric. He believes the fleet will expand and be used as preferred service vehicles when electric vans and pickups are available. He is enthusiastic about these changes, despite the protracted process.

Current employment:  Washington State University, Waste Management Manager and Motor Pool.

Boards and Community involvement

• Whitman County Solid Waste Advisory Committee, Member
  

David Swannack, Member

Mr. Swannack is a wheat farmer in the Palouse. There are many Swannacks in the area, but it is possible that he is the brother of County Commissioner Art Swannack.

Current employment: DavidLeslie Swannack Inc; wheat farmer

Boards and community involvement

• Whitman County Farm Service Agency, County Committee Chairperson (since at least 2009)
  

Ryan Kile, Member

Mr. Kile is quoted in news stories regarding his position with Northwest Farm Credit Services. He is also quoted as a farmer on the Palouse Conservation District website, but no further information was found.

Current employment: Northwest Farm Credit Services, Relationship Manager III and Vice President

Purpose: The planning commission provides citizen review and recommendations on planning-related matters to Planning Staff and the Board of County Commissioners. The nine-member commission is responsible for comprehensive planning, plan amendments, zoning amendments, zone changes, and other land use regulations. All Planning Commission actions are advisory to the Board of County Commissioners, except a denied zone change, which becomes final, if not appealed to the Board of County Commissioners.

Chad Whetzel, Republican, Chairman

Mr. Whetzel had a business license until 2015 as a construction contractor for his business KC Plumbing. He now has a business as a farrier in Pullman, which has been registered in his name since 2020.

Current employment: Whetzel Horse Shoeing, LLC, Farrier.

Past employment: Plumbing

Education: BS, Animal Science.

Brian Davies, Vice-Chairman

No further information found.

Mark Tolman, Member

No further information found.

Dave Gibney, Democrat, Member

Mr. Gibney has served on the City of Pullman Planning Commission as a member and as Chair for a total of 14 years. It is unclear how long he has served on the Whitman County Planning Commission, but he is listed as a member in 2021 for the County’s comp plan update. He was Chair of the City of Pullman planning commission for the City’s most-recent comp plan update as well.

Current or past employment: Unknown

Education: Unknown

Weston Kane, Member

Mr. Kane is affiliated with the Rock Lake Conservation District, but it is unclear in what capacity.

Current Employment: LaCrosse School District, Teacher of Agricultural Science and Technology

Education: Unknown

Matt Webb, Member

No information found.

David Tysz, Member

Mr. Tysz is a former council member with the tiny farming town of Tekoa in Whitman County. He  served from about 2009 to 2016.

Current Employment: Unknown

Past employment: Contracted as the Water and Wastewater Certified Operator for the town of Fairfield, WA around 2011-2012, and the town of Garfield, WA in 2016.

Education: Unknown

Art Swannack, Republican, Lamont, District 1 

Year elected: 2012 

Commissioner Swannack was reelected in 2020, running unopposed. He is in his third term.

In 2009 he unsuccessfully ran for State Representative. He has campaigned for conservative Republican US Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers, and three current state legislators.

Mr. Swannack worked with other regional leaders on Avista’s Integrated Resource Plan and its Clean Energy Improvement Plan. CEIP, approved 2022

Mr. Swannack considers one of his accomplishments–given how COVID affected the region–to be getting the county released from an obligation to develop a mall in the region. He says the relations between county commissioners themselves and with other electeds have greatly improved over the course of his tenure. He boasts a good relationship with Pullman Mayor Glenn Johnson, stating that they can work on issues they don’t agree on and usually find solutions. Johnson is the longest-serving Mayor of Pullman.

Swannack is a lifelong resident of Whitman County and is listed as a governor for Lamont Community Church. He is married to Dr. Jill Swannack, a large-animal veterinarian with a practice in Lamont.

Current employment: Owner, Feustel Farms Inc. Grain and sheep farmer.

Stated priorities and positions are:

• Against “climate change” policies, saying they increase the cost of doing business but “make very little difference in the temperature”. He believes solar and wind aren’t good base load power sources.
• Provide essential services that are efficient and fiscally responsible
• Allow people to have the freedom to live their life as they see fit, while protecting the rights of others
• Implementing a county-wide GIS system to help with land use, making it easier for people looking to relocate or develop property easier
• Expand broadband

Position on solar and wind: He is skeptical that renewables can make a positive impact; believes it is too costly and restrictive on businesses.

During the county’s comp plan update, he expressed the following regarding using farmland for renewables (both solar and wind):

“I was just thinking more that solar has a bigger impact in the picture (than) you have than (sic) wind. But if you go into areas that are lower in production, such as pastureland, that area would not, in terms of the production value versus the income generated.

In the end, it becomes the landowner’s choice versus how much the neighbors are willing to put up with, too. Then whatever environmental impacts, you have different things with solar and wind with the impacts to the environment.”

Past employment: None found

Boards and Associations

• Eastern Washington Council of Governments, Vice-Chair
• Eastern Washington Partnership-Workforce Development council, Vice-Chair
• Pullman Chamber of Commerce, member
• Whitman County Farm Bureau, former president (advocacy organization)
• Washington State Association of Counties, board member (2022-2023)
• Washington State Sheep Producers, former president
• Washington State Association of Wheat Growers, member
• American Sheep Industry Association, member
• Whitman County GOP state committeeman
• Lamont school board member (past)
• Washington State Council on Aging, current representative for counties
• Aging and Long-term Care of Eastern Washington, Chair of the Board of Governors
• Freight Mobility Strategic Investment Board, County Representative (term expires 2024)

Education:  B.S., Wildlife Biology, Washington State University

Tom Handy, Independent, Pullman, District 2 

Year elected: 2020

Mr. Handy beat the two-term Republican incumbent by less than 2% (342 votes). The incumbent led in most precincts outside Pullman, but Handy led in Pullman and Palouse. Notable donors to his campaign include Pullman Mayor Glenn Johnson, Pullman Chamber President Marie Dymkoski, multiple Pullman City Council members. This is his first elected position.

Commissioner Handy is proud of being a business owner whose enterprise survived the 2008 recession and the recent pandemic, and of expanding his production into an underutilized area of Pullman. He credits his survival to being adaptable and having a “Plan B”.

In a campaign interview, he emphasized his productive working relationship with Pullman city officials and says he has developed a strong sense of trust with them.

Current employment: Owner, Paradise Creek Brewery in Pullman, founded 2003

Stated priorities are:

• Make room for growth, evolve, and welcome new residents
• High-speed broadband in every home.
• Embrace technology to attract more living-wage jobs.
• Preserve our educational opportunities and healthcare facilities
• Strengthen the County’s relationships with business.

Position on solar and wind: He thinks that promoting the creation and/or preservation of renewable energy power generation facilities in the county could have a positive impact on climate change. He includes all types of renewable energy sources, saying: 

We need to find and nurture them in every way we can (within the law of course) to help them be successful in finding global solutions to problems we all face. 

Tom Handy, 2020 (Dist. 2, challenger)

Past employment

• Broadcast Engineer at Washington State University, 1986-2003

Current and recent association/board involvement–from 2020 to present

• Southeast Washington Economic Development Association, Board Member
• Pullman Downtown Association, Founding member, (president 2020)
• Pullman 2040 – Steering Committee
• WSU/Pullman Town-Gown initiative – Downtown Focus Committee Chair
• S. Cottonwood Bay Ln. Property Owners Association – President
• Coeur d’Alene Lakeshore Property Association – Board
• Pullman Lion’s Club member.

Past association/board involvement

• Pullman Chamber of Commerce, president
• United Way of the Palouse, previous board member
• Whitman County Business Development Assoc, president
• Whitman County Historical Society

Education: 

BA, Industrial Education, University of Wisconsin-Stout

BA, Broadcast Communications, Washington State University

Michael Largent, Republican, Colfax, District 3

Year elected: 2006

Commissioner Largent is one of the longest-serving commissioners in the state, winning his last two elections (2018 and 2022) against the same Democratic opponent. His top contributor in the 2018 election was Avista Corporation ($500), an electric and natural gas service provider with customers in Eastern Washington.

Mr. Largent supports government transparency and public input and has been disappointed at the attendance for budget hearings. He has been public about his frustration with the increased polarization in local politics, saying, “If you’re looking for somebody to advance a partisan agenda, I’m probably not your guy.”

Current employment: Full-time farming since 1986, he now leases his farm.

Stated priorities are:

• Long-term planning
• Multi-year budgeting

Position on solar and wind: Mr. Largent expressed skepticism about a proposed wind farm in 2011, and questioned whether the costs of renewable energy would be passed on to ratepayers. No other statements on renewables were found. Firm drops Colton wind farm plan

Past employment

• CPA in Houston, TX
• Agricultural economics at Washington State University
• Legislative Assistant to State Senator Larry Sheahan, 1999 & 2000 sessions

Association and/or board involvement

• Washington State Association of Counties, Immediate Past President, Executive Committee (2022-2023)
• Whitman County Farm Bureau, member
• Snake River Salmon Recovery board, member
• 4-H Club
• Washington Rural Counties Insurance Program, board member

Education: BA in Finance and Accounting, Washington State University.

‍Palouse Prairie - Habitat Restoration

Conservation Districts (CD) are local governments known as Special Purpose Districts. Washington State has combined soil and water conservation entities into conservation districts. These districts are funded, usually through fees, and have a paid staff.

The Washington State Conservation Commission is the coordinating state agency for all conservation districts. Conservation Districts are made up of five board members, three of whom are elected. These elections are obscure, so those that participate as candidates and as voters tend to have an interest in the work of the CD.

There are four conservation districts (CD) in Whitman County. The Palouse CD includes the City of Pullman, and it looks as though the entire proposed site falls within this CD.

Board Members:

• Larry Cochran, Chair: Mr. Cochran is on the Whitman County Board of Adjustments
• Chris Heitstuman, Vice chair
• Mary Collins, Treasurer/Auditor
• Sheryl Hagen-Zakarison, Claims Agent
• Jake Smith, Member