Montemayor hopes to bring new perspective to Othello port

OTHELLO — Newly elected Port of Othello Commissioner Homer Montemayor will be starting his term with the port Jan. 1, replacing Kenny Schutte, who has been a commissioner since 2000. Montemayor said he hopes to bring a new perspective to the port. 

Montemayor worked for the Othello Police Department for 22 years, he said, before working as a truck driver and Othello Region Transportation Cooperative bus driver after his retirement from the OPD. 

“I was born and raised here in Othello,” Montemayor said. “If I can help leave my mark here to make the county better, I mean, this is my home. So, anything I can do to help out to make it a better place for the future, that's the whole purpose … I just want to see it better before I go, and anything I can do to facilitate great new jobs, that’s my goal.”

Montemayor explained why he decided to run for a commissioner position. 

“I've been wanting to run for some type of office,” he said. “For about two years now, I've been wanting to run, and this one came up … so I thought ‘Well, I’ll run for this one.’ Plus, I kind of had an idea of working in the port, so that also pushed me to decide to run for this one.”

Montemayor said he doesn’t have any formal experience with the port’s operations, but plans on getting acquainted, having already attended several meetings.

“Until I get into the mix of things, I won’t really get a feel for it, Montemayor said. “Right now I'm just kind of hearing, and looking at the airport and just hearing them talk about it. But, there's a few ideas I'd like to bring in.”

Montemayor outlined some of those ideas. 

“We’ve got the airport. Maybe bring in some type of instructor, like a pilot, so people don't have to drive to Moses Lake, we can have one here locally that maybe comes out once or twice a week,” Montemayor said. “Even drones. They're starting to use drones for a lot of different agricultural things. So one idea is trying to get some type of instructor here, maybe from Big Bend or a private one that could teach people who are wanting to learn … Big Bend teaches aerial mechanics, maybe we can incorporate that as well.”

Montemayor outlined his other experiences with education, including his position as an instructor for the Othello School District’s upcoming Commercial Driver License course in the spring semester. 

“I retired as the (Student Resource Officer) with the police department, working with kids. So, working with the school district, or the transportation department, I still get to be around the kids and help in any little way I can,” Montemayor said. “I'm still involved with the kids, teaching the CDL because I hear this all the time; Othello needs truck drivers. The transportation department needs bus drivers.”

    Newly elected and certified Othello Port Commissioner Homer Montemayor will be taking on the commission seat held by Kenny Schutte, pictured, who has been a commissioner since 2000.
  

Workforce development goes with economic development, the port’s focus.

“It's kind of like creating new jobs, making things better,” Montemayor said. “Like the airport, they improved the airport and stuff like that, making improvements, making it better, getting involved.”

Montemayor explained his goal for his term as a port commissioner.

“Mine is to be an asset, to bring in some insight, positive insight, that could possibly benefit the county,” Montemayor said. “Sometimes when you've been in a certain area, you kind of get tunnel vision. So somebody new coming in maybe has a broader, wider scope of things that you never thought about.”

Montemayor reflected on the election, which was certified Monday.

“It's exciting,” Montemayor said. “If you lose, you lose. I always figured if it's God's will, it'll happen. if it doesn't, that means it wasn't meant to be, and that's how I see life.”

Gabriel Davis may be reached at gdavis@columbiabasinherald.com. Download the Columbia Basin Herald app on iOS and Android.

   Homer Montemayor, the newly elected Port of Othello commissioner, previously worked at the Othello Police Department for 22 years before retiring and becoming a truck driver and then bus driver for the Othello Region Transportation Cooperative, pictured.