Grant Co. candidates face off in Mattawa

MATTAWA — The democratic process was on display Thursday evening, as candidates for countywide office faced off at Wahluke High School Thursday evening. The candidates forum, sponsored by the South Grant County Chamber of Commerce, Wahluke School District and the Wahluke Community Coalition and moderated by Columbia Basin Herald Managing Editor Rob Miller, included candidates for the office of Grant County clerk, sheriff and commissioner, as well as for Grant County Superior Court judge. Candidates were given a few minutes to introduce themselves, and then asked a set of pre-selected questions. Joe Harris and Joey Kriete, candidates for Grant County Sheriff, both discussed their long careers in law enforcement. Kriete has been with the Sheriff’s Office for 30 years, he said, both on patrol and running the Corrections Division. Harris has been in law enforcement for 20 years, he said, at the city, county and state levels, including serving as Mattawa chief of police. Both candidates agreed that response times needed to be improved. The trouble is, they said, Grant County is a very large area to patrol and respond to...