Willoughby Links County Commission Run On Ties To Lake Chelan

Four candidates are running for the Chelan County Commission seat being vacated by Tiffiany Gering. 

Three of them live in the north Wenatchee area while Chris Willoughby, like Gering, lives in the Lake Chelan area of what is county Commission District 3. 

Willoughby thinks the distinction is important in representing residents. 

"I think it's really important, especially for the Ag community and the tourism community in the northern Chelan County area to have a representative of the area that actually sees what's going on and can actually represent these areas in a better light," said Willoughby. 

All four candidates are Republicans as is the outgoing Gering. 

Willoughby lives in Manson and has served as a Volunteer Firefighter/EMT for over three decades and has also served as an EMT for Lake Chelan Valley EMS for nearly 20 years. 

 He was elected and became a Chelan County Fire District 5 Fire Commissioner this year, where he is vice chairman. He also runs a family orchard. 

Willoughby says he's ready to move up to the county level. 

"I think that I am at the point in my life where I'm ready to move up into this position," Willoughby said. "And I think I can represent the county and the communities in the county a lot better than I think I could have 10 years ago." 

All four candidates will be filing with the county to run in the August primary next week. 

Current State Senator Brad Hawkins shook up the race with a surprise announcement early last week that he would seek the county commission seat instead of running for reelection in the legislature. 

He has the highest name recognition, having been in politics at the state level for 12 years. 

Also in the race is Brandt Cappell, a legislative assistant to state Representative Keith Goehner. Cappell lost in the 2020 county commission District 3 primary. 

In addition, Wenatchee business owner and developer Flint Hartwig is running for the district 3 seat.   

The County Commission District 3 seat represents parts of north Wenatchee, Sunnyslope and an area that extends north to includes the Lake Chelan area.