Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Mayor McCown
New Garfield mayor Ray McCown will take office again on Jan. 1.
It will be his third time serving as the town’s mayor, succeeding Jarrod Pfaff, who completes an eight-year term Dec. 31.
“I haven’t gotten any plans at the moment,” said McCown, 80. “I have to feel things out. I just can’t step in and start slamming doors.”
McCown won the office by beating Councilman Larry Hunt by two votes.
“Any one person voting the other way would’ve changed it,” McCown said.
On Dec. 7, McCown went to a required four-hour workshop in Pullman put on by the Association of Washington Cities for new mayors and city council members.
He has also attended recent Garfield City Council meetings including the Dec. 19 session when the council adopted the final budget.
Once sworn in on Jan. 1 or 2, he will meet with all city employees.
“To show them that I’m not the big, bad wolf,” he commented.
McCown indicated that it appears the sewer plant and compost pile will be two issues to work on early in his term.
“From what I’ve gathered, the sewer plant is really in disarray right now,” he said. “That appears to be the biggest issue. It’s just not operating properly.”
Working with the Department of Ecology on a new burn permit for the compost pile is another matter McCown plans to pursue.
McCown first served as mayor from 1974 to 1990, He held the office again from 2002 to 2006 before Pfaff derailed his bid for re-election.
Overall, McCown said he’s looking forward to being mayor again.
“At least I’ll have something to say about what’s going on,” he said. “Jarrod Pfaff did a pretty good job, a relatively good job when he was in there.”
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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