Two candidates announce for Moses Lake City Council

MOSES LAKE — Santiago (Jim) Perez and Joel Graves have announced their candidacy for the Moses Lake City Council. 

Four seats will be up for election in 2025. The incumbents are Mark Fancher, Dustin Swartz, Deanna Martinez and Judy Madewell.  

The filing period for open positions is May 5 to 9. All Moses Lake council seats are at-large, meaning that anyone living in the city limits can file for any seat. Both Graves and Perez said they haven’t made up their minds which seat they will file for. 

Both Perez and Graves said they decided to run for council because they want Moses Lake to be a place where families – including their own - can be successful, now and in the future.  

Graves said the city has experienced a lot of uncertainty in the five years he has lived here, but those issues are being resolved and it’s time to look ahead. 

“We have an opportunity to focus on the future and what we want our city to be for the next 50 years,” he said in a press release announcing his candidacy.  

Perez said he’s lived in Moses Lake for almost 30 years and has children and grandchildren here. There are issues city officials need to address, but in his opinion there is opportunity. 

“I see a lot of potential here in Moses Lake,” Perez said. “It’s an awesome city. I love living here.”  

Both cited safety in the community as a primary area of focus if they were elected.  

“I think safety and the smart growth of the city are good places to start,” Perez said.  

Graves said he thought the Moses Lake Police Department is understaffed and that the department needs more patrol officers.  

“Homelessness is a big issue that is growing, and I think there’s more that can be done,” Graves said.  

Perez cited growth, what he called “responsible” growth, as one of the most important issues. Graves too said encouraging and managing growth were important for Moses Lake’s future.  

The primary is scheduled for Aug. 5; ballots will be mailed to voters about July 16. The top two candidates from the primary advance to the general election in November.