Lacey’s Miller says he is running for re-election as field of council candidates grows
Incumbent Lacey City Councilman Malcolm Miller, who also holds the title of Deputy Mayor, will seek re-election this year in hopes of serving a second term on the council, he told The Olympian this week
Miller, 52, is far from alone in his desire to extend his time as an elected official. Fellow incumbents Lenny Greenstein and Ed Kunkel also seek re-election, plus a handful of newcomers are either on the record as candidates or are seriously exploring a run.
Small business owner Spencer Zeman is in the race and will challenge Greenstein for his seat, while Nic Dunning, also a small business owner, will take on Kunkel, he said. And state worker Marcus Humberg is the latest to file paperwork with the state Public Disclosure Commission. He isn’t quite on the record as an official candidate just yet, but said he is seriously exploring a run against Kunkel as well.
It becomes official during candidate filing week, which is May 15-19.
Miller, a loan officer, is running again because he still has things to accomplish, he said, including the ongoing work to address homelessness and attracting more indoor recreational opportunities to the city.
“We still send a lot of people to other regions to spend their disposable income and I don’t like that,” he said.
Miller said he has personally tried, and has even enlisted the help of Lacey economic development officials and those at the Thurston EDC, to recruit the restaurant Dave & Buster’s and Family Fun Centers to the city.
Longer term, he would like to play a role in bringing commuter rail service to Lacey, recalling the days when he worked as civilian contractor at Joint Base Lewis-McChord and commuted north daily, a commute that ranged between 17 and 45 minutes, Miller said.
Did he take I-5 or go north through east Pierce County?
“I tried every possible way,” he said.
Dunning, 38, is running for elected office for the first time. He has long wanted to run for office and now that his two businesses, West Coast Fitness and West Coast Supplements, are in a good place, he has the time, he said.
Dunning described himself as a moderate, someone who has surrounded himself with people who have different backgrounds and different views, calling it good for his personal growth.
He said he grew up in a liberal household, but also had a conservative uncle, and learned how to listen to both sides.
Still, in following the council, he has heard what he called “inflammatory, unproductive types of speech” that did not sit well with him.
“We are all the same people, and that kind of talking down on any group of people I have never appreciated or respected,” Dunning said.
Although Humberg, 45, isn’t fully on board as a candidate just yet, he probably has the most political experience. He twice ran for elected office at the state and county level in Utah and he currently is a commissioner on the Chambers Lake drainage ditch for District No. 3.
If the name sounds familiar, that’s because Humberg, who lives in the Schilter Farm neighborhood off 37th Avenue Southeast, took issue with a nearby development of townhomes in 2019. He and his fellow neighbors finally appealed the city’s site plan approval for the project, raising concerns about increased traffic.
“In my interactions with the city, there has been a lack of focus on what citizens are saying and what they need,” he said.
Humberg was especially disappointed in the new development at Sleater-Kinney Road Southeast and Pacific Avenue Southeast that produced another 7-Eleven and Chipotle. That just adds to what he called the “suburbanization” of the city. Instead, when the community is dealing with a housing crisis, where is the affordable housing? he asks.
“We need affordable housing, but also responsible economic growth and development,” he said.
.jpeg "image0 (4).jpeg")
