Wes Cormier, who stylizes himself as a “Ron Paul Republican,” has announced his candidacy for county commissioner, saying he will challenge incumbent Terry Willis, the Democratic commissioner from Brady.
“As commissioner, I will facilitate the growth of business on the Harbor by staying out of your way and out of your pockets, be a steward of citizens’ property rights and decrease unnecessary regulation,” Cormier said.
Willis, who became the first female commissioner in the county’s century-long history, announced last month that she would seek a second term.
County Commissioner Mike Wilson is also up for re-election and has said he will likely run again, but has made no formal announcement. Challengers for Wilson’s seat include Westport Mayor Michael Bruce and Aberdeen Councilman Frank Gordon, although there are a couple others in the wings who may also declare for that seat.
Cormier, who lives near Elma, is the first to challenge Willis. In 2010, County Commissioner Herb Welch became the first Republican in decades to win an election at the county.
Cormier, 33, says he hopes it’s a sign that the public is ready to give him a chance.
“Too often people vote by party,” Cormier said. “Look at me as a person, not as a member of the party.”
Cormier (pronounced Kor-meer) announced his candidacy Saturday night at the annual Grays Harbor Republicans’ Lincoln Day dinner event.
Cormier is a senior residential assessor in the Assessor’s Office, where he’s worked since 2005. Before that, he worked as a relief staff member at the Grays Harbor Juvenile Detention Facility for four years.
He’s been a shop steward for the local chapter of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and says he believes in unions and their contracts and that county employees should be compensated more if they take on undelegated tasks because their co-workers have been laid off.
Cormier has lived most of his life on the Harbor. A former assistant wrestling coach for Aberdeen and Hoquiam, he said he would often save up his vacation all year just so he could coach youth.
He’s a Republican Precinct Committee Officer and the county coordinator for Ron Paul’s presidential campaign.
“I’m a Ron Paul Republican,” he said. “I have very libertarian leanings. I think liberty is a popular thing and I think that’s why Ron Paul is pulling in crowds from both sides. I’m a Republican because I think they have it right on the economic side of things. Free market, for instance.”
Cormier said he’s running because he wants to make a difference “and the fact that we’re competing for the highest unemployment in the state. I think we should be competing for the best job growth in the state.”
Cormier said that some regulations make sense. For instance, he said he supports efforts by the local Farm Bureau members to establish a Right to Farm ordinance. But, he said, the county ought to take a look at its Planning & Building ordinances and figure out “the most lenient way to interpret those rules.”
Cormier notes that he and his family tried to start a bakery in a municipal jurisdiction and discovered it would take an extra $15,000 to pave a parking lot that the previous business had used for years. He says, although the county didn’t interpret those sets of rules, it gives an example of how a government body can “overstep.”
“I want to get off businesses’ backs,” Cormier said.
He says his family is now working on a mobile food truck business and he helped write the business plan for it.
Cormier said had he been a commissioner last year, he would not have voted to do a “levy shift” that raised property taxes for those within city limits. The move generated an extra $750,000 for the county.
But, he points out, the county ended the year with an extra $500,000 in revenue beyond what was budgeted.
“They found the money, right there, after approving the budget — no less than a month later,” Cormier said. “If they found that much money, I wonder how much else could be there. … I’m not anti-tax, but I’m not pro-tax either.”
Cormier said the recent finding from the State Auditor criticizing the way the county does its budgets also troubles him. He says the county should establish a multi-year financial plan like the State Auditor has suggested.
“Findings impact bond ratings, which impacts not just the county but everyone else,” he said. “If the county’s bond rating gets lowered, that means someone at a school or the Grays Harbor PUD can’t get a bond at the best deal.”
Cormier also criticized a recent expenditure of $74,850 to continue the county’s needle exchange program. The money came from a special fund for substance abuse and mental health programs. Health officials argued that the program needed to be continued because the community could be at risk to an increase in syringes improperly disposed all over the county.
“I just don’t think supplying drug addicts with drug paraphernalia is a positive thing,” he said. “I think those kinds of programs can best be served by the community, by churches. I think that’s definitely a role we’ve overstepped. Imagine if we’ve tagged the needles ‘Grays Harbor County property.’ If someone is coming in to exchange a needle and someone gets pulled over while exchanging the needles and there’s heroin inside, it makes us accessories to supplying this paraphernalia, which would be illegal.”
