The Olympian endorses 2022 candidates for Thurston County government

Editor’s note: Lacey deputy mayor Malcolm Miller sat in as a citizen member of the editorial board for interviews for Assessor, Auditor, Treasurer, and County Commissioner, but not for Clerk or Sheriff, where he had previously provided support to one of the candidates.

County Commission: Tye Menser

Tye Menser, finishing his first term as county commissioner, has a long list of accomplishments: fiscal processes that raised the county’s bond rating; creation of a rainy day fund; federal approval of a habitat conservation plan; and progress on housing and homelessness.

Vivian Eason, his Republican challenger, is a retired county employee who believes the current Commission is not doing a good job of serving rural areas, and rural residents bear too much of the cost of the new habitat conservation plan. She thinks the sheriff needs more funding to provide better service.

While we don’t disagree with Eason, we endorse Menser, who has proved his value and has a worthy to-do list himself.

Sheriff: Derek Sanders

It’s time for a change in our Sheriff’s office.

John Snaza, in office since 2010, has been resistant to state gun control and police reform legislation. As the lead agency charged with keeping the peace during civil disturbances, we want deputies who believe in the First Amendment-preserving tactics the community has supported, and that Olympia police have adopted. We also need a sheriff willing to adapt and lead the department in accordance with all current laws, not just those he likes.

Derek Sanders, a current sheriff’s deputy, has taken a big risk by running against his boss. He is 28 and has six years on the job. He weathered a difficult childhood that gave him deep empathy for victims of domestic violence, and early experience with police in his home. He is smart, analytical, candid about his youthful mistakes, willing to make amends with those he’s wronged, and determined to raise both morale and accountability in the sheriff’s department.

We endorse Sanders.

County Clerk: Tonya Moore

Incumbent Linda Enlow served as second in command to the previous County Clerk, and was first elected in 2014. She has made improvements in the use of digital technology and implemented a new case management system.

Tonya Moore is the superior court’s operations manager, and has 25 years of court experience here and in Pierce County. Her primary goal in running is to make court processes more open and the office more hospitable to all people, including those who have experienced trauma or don’t speak English as their first language. She also wants to increase leadership development and advancement opportunities for staff, and create a feedback system for stakeholders.

We endorse Moore for her passion and vision for improvements in customer service.

Assessor: Steven Drew

Steven Drew has been County Assessor since 2010. He inherited a management-heavy staff and a three-year backlog of tax appeals. He reduced management and beefed up union employees. He chairs the state legislative committee of county assessors, and has won legislative passage of two expansions of the senior tax exemption.

Dave Kolar has been the vanpool program coordinator at Intercity Transit for 10 years, after holding a variety of jobs in construction and other fields. None qualifies him to be assessor.

Recent Olympian reporting raises the possibility that Drew has crossed an ethical line in asking his employees for donations, which alarms us. But Kolar’s lack of any related experience could spell bigger trouble for the office and county.

This story was originally published October 16, 2022 at 5:00 AM.