Taylor sworn in as new county commissioner

EPHRATA — The judge was late.

Unusually for a Thursday afternoon, the Grant County Board of Commissioners hearing room was filled with county officials, family members, and even the occasional reporter. All waiting to see retired Moses Lake fire chief sworn in as the newest member of the County Commission.

“Maybe I should just go home?” Taylor asked after waiting a few minutes, only half joking.

But eventually, Superior Court judge John Antosz showed up, buttoned up his long, black robe, and asked Taylor, “repeat after me.”

And thus the 54-year-old Taylor was sworn in Grant County commissioner, replacing two-term Commissioner Carolann Swartz.

He’s looking anxiously forward to his next four years.

“I’ll be learning a lot of things as I go, and take a lot of baby steps, but I want to make Grant County a better place to live,” he said. “It’s a good place now, but I believe we can enhance that.”

Taylor says he brings more than two decades of city government experience from his time at the Moses Lake Fire Department, having created and sustained relationships with a network of people in business, agriculture, industry, and government.

“I also have a lot of experience on state boards, and an ability to talk to people at their level,” he said.

Taylor, who will represent the commission’s second district, which comprises most of Moses Lake as well as Warden and the southeast portion of Grant County, said that many of the people he has spoken to in his district like the direction the county is going.

“We’ve made a lot of strides to grow, and we welcome growth,” he said.

At 54, Taylor could serve a number of years on the Grant County Commission, though he’s only focused on the term he’s just been sworn in to serve.

“Four years is a long time.” He said. “I’m going to take it one term at a time.”

Charles H. Featherstone can be reached via email at countygvt@columbiabasinherald.com