Allison announces for fourth term

Commissioner says his experience will help in dealing with tight fiscal times

Grant County Commissioner Leroy Allison last week announced his intention to seek his fourth term in office.

Allison touted his experience in county administration as an important asset for the commissioners' office, especially in the current hard fiscal times.

Commissioners have balanced the budget on law and justice reserve funds for the past three years, and an unexpected increase in criminal defense costs this year has put a larger strain on county coffers.

"It all boils down to adding common sense into the decision process. If the revenues aren't there to meet all the budget requests, you have two choices: either you increase taxes or reduce expenditures," Allison, a Republican from Warden, said in a news release.

"We've listened to the public and chosen to reduce expenditures and have asked departments to find ways to maintain services by improving efficiency and seeking more coordination between their offices. I think we have achieved some nice successes through this process," he added.

One success Allison noted was Grant County's decision to move from a private insurer to a county group risk pool for property and liability insurance in 1998.

The pool now includes eight counties and spreads the risk and increases the revenue base for each county, he said.

Allison said that if re-elected, he hopes to maintain an open line of communication with anyone interested in county business.

"I would continue to maintain an open-door policy that benefits everyone," he said in an interview.

Allison served as chair of the Grant County Republican Party in the early 1990s. In 2002, he was elected by other county commissioners as the president of the Washington State Association of Counties.

Allison also served as president of the Washington State Hay Growers Association in the 1980s and served two years of chair of the Washington Agricultural Council.

Allison was defeated in his bid two years ago in the primary election by then-Rep. Joyce Mulliken for the 13th district Senate seat.

"I would like to continue serving the local citizens by keeping common sense as a central theme in local government decision making," Allison said. "I always like to look at things from the taxpayer's standpoint, so I tend to seek out and listen to public comment. I appreciate folks

taking the time to tell us what they think — it's often valuable information."