Grant Co. District 2 candidates discuss issues at Legion forum

EPHRATA – Grant County Commissioner District 2 candidates David Henderson and the incumbent Rob Jones shared the stage during a recent candidate forum at the Legion Post 28, outlining their visions for Grant County. 

David Henderson, a long-time resident of Grant County, emphasized his commitment to bringing integrity and community unity back to the county.  

“I want to get involved,” Henderson said. “Bring integrity and you unify the county. Do whatever we can do to get this county back in shape and work with the cities and the police department to get things straightened up.” 

Henderson has extensive experience in business, he said, currently serving as a branch manager for a well-known fuels and lubricants supplier. He also spent years developing business with Coca-Cola Enterprises, which he cites as a significant part of his professional background. 

Rob Jones, who is a current commissioner, highlighted his experience in local governance and business ownership.  

“So as a commissioner, I sit on a lot of different boards and work with a lot of different groups of municipalities,” Jones said. “I have really good working relationships with the city of Moses Lake, with the city of Ephrata and now with the city of Quincy, with the city of Warden. I meet with them all pretty regularly.” 

The candidates were asked about the increasing regulations from the state government.  

“We've got to get the right people in Olympia voted in, and that's going to help us tremendously,” Henderson said. “Then we need to collaborate with them and all our local governments to see what they're wanting us to do in policy. I mean, we are a county. We can take care of ourselves.” 

Jones echoed a similar concern but noted the financial reliance counties have on state funding. 

“There’s certain things that we've kind of bucked against the state recommendation,” Jones said. “The real threat, though, from the state is if we don't follow their laws and their regulations, then they can pull our funding.” 

A significant topic during the forum was use fees for the Grant County Fairgrounds. 

“We need to support it 100%, that's our youth,” Henderson said. “That's basically what it's about - the youth, agriculture - but we need to bring safety to that and with that, because everybody should be able to go to the fair and not have to worry about the safety of themselves or their family. But I support the funding, whatever it takes to continue what we're doing and growing that agency.” 

Jones highlighted the success of the recent fair and acknowledged the importance of investing in safety measures. 

“The 2024 fair was a good success,” Jones said. “There was an incident (during the fair) on Friday night, and our condolences go to that family. But as far as supporting the youth, the auction this year generated over a million dollars for those kids. It's the biggest livestock sale that we've ever had in Grant County. As far as safety and security go, on the night of the incident, there are 18 law enforcement officers plus security on site. The individual that was involved in that, his family and parents were on site for the next night, on Saturday, we had 30 uniformed officers on site. For 2025 we're looking at bettering our fencing, better lighting.” 

    David Henderson is running for election for Grant County Commissioner District 2 seat. Henderson is a long-term resident of Grant County.