Moses Lake council member named chair of Republican org

MOSES LAKE — Moses Lake City Council member Deanna Martinez has been named the chair of the Mainstream Republicans of Washington, according to a press release from the organization.

“The center is where the work can get done,” Martinez said.

Martinez, a registered nurse at Othello Community Hospital, was elected to the Moses Lake City Council last fall and said she became involved with the 50-year-old Mainstream Republicans of Washington in 2019 when she was working to get Rep. Alex Ybarra, R-Quincy, elected in his own right following his appointment to the state legislature following the resignation of Matt Manweller.

Martinez said the organization, which was founded in 1969, focuses on many of the commonsense, normal and important stuff that many Washington voters are focused on — less government, better public safety, support for public education, and sensible environmental protection.

“That’s all stuff I supported. … I realized I found my political home,” Martinez said of the MRW. “There’s a lot of diversity in the Republican Party.”

Martinez succeeds the MRW’s previous chair, Marysville Mayor Jon Nehring, and will serve as the organization’s chair at least until 2024, the press release stated. Also appointed to help run the organization were Marissa Gaston, director of the Young Professionals Program at the Washington Policy Center, as the MRW’s vice chair for events, and Tower Strategic Partners Project Manager Peter Condoyles of Marysville as the new vice chair for operations.

Martinez said since becoming involved with MRW, she has spent a lot of time touring the state, particularly on the West Side, where the organization has not been active or involved.

“More people need to know about us,” she said. “It’s part of our plan, with new leadership, to grow the support. Being toward the moderate voice, we’re quietly doing the work.”

Charles H. Featherstone can be reached at cfeatherstone@columbiabasinherald.com