Hansen challenges Conley for PUD seat

Fiber buildout, high debt key issues for Grant County man

Greg Hansen, whose letters to the editor of the Columbia Basin Herald have frequently criticized PUD spending on fiber optics, has challenged incumbent Mike Conley for his seat on the PUD commission.

Hansen, who lives in Mae Valley near Moses Lake, said he's running for two main reasons: the lack of a solid business plan for the fiber program and the PUD's debt having risen to an all-time high.

"Events in the past several years concerning fiber buildout have threatened the PUD financially and caused a rate increase," he wrote in an e-mail to the Herald. "Unless addressed, it could precipitate rate increases in the future. My main focus, if elected, will be maintaining a financially sound utility system and stable rates for the ratepayer."

Hansen has never before run for public office, nor could he cite any examples of public service. He is, however, known for spearheading the grass-roots effort to change Moses Lake's form of city government from a city-manager to a strong-mayor system in 2002.

That effort gathered enough signatures to appear on the ballot but was defeated.

The PUD's debt, Hansen said in an interview, has risen to $650 million and needs to be brought into control.

"We're going to be facing the consequences one of these days to help solve the problem," Hansen said.

He added that the PUD is important for promoting the economic development of Grant County, but it must remain financially strong to do so.

"Unless belt-tightening measures are taken and future project thought through carefully, rate increases loom in our future," Hansen wrote.

"We are in the unique position of having our own dams on the Columbia. We should be enjoying lower rates than what we are now," he wrote.

Hansen, 60, is a semi-retired real estate agent who now buys and sells heavy equipment. He has lived in the Moses Lake area his entire life and earned degrees from Moses Lake High School and Big Bend Community College.

Hansen also received a degree in business administration/ accounting from the University of Washington.