Story by Rodger Nichols for Gorge Country Media
The Klickitat County Republican Central Committee threw a curve ball into the Klickitat County Commissioner race at their meeting Tuesday night.
“Madam Chairman, I move that the KCR endorse and support Andy Kallinen as our sole candidate for Klickitat County Commissioner District Two to receive our support as we see fit.”
That was the motion of committee member Bill Morris, at the September 15 Klickitat County Republican Central Committee meeting.
After a long discussion in which some committee members questioned the wisdom of taking sides in a race between two Republicans, the committee endorsed Republican challenger Andy Kallinen against Republican incumbent Lori Zoller, a former vice-chair of that committee.
Dave West, who is Andy Kallinen’s campaign manager, said Kallinen had asked Democrats why they were endorsing Zoller and their response was that it was due to the way she handled the jail.
He was later corrected that Democrats did not officially endorse Zoller, but were in support.
“Well, really it’s just because she had stood up to Sheriff’s Songer. During the jail fiasco, she literally turned on us. How dare we have a petition just simply requesting that they do due process? When that took place, the shutdown had no credible justification. There was no studies, there’s no information, and there was no actual alternative.”
Another committee member noted that they were, in effect, throwing Zoller under the bus, and agreed that Zoller was not really running against Kallinen, but against Sheriff Songer
Candidate Kallinin was asked to speak and among his remarks said, “I’ve never been a county commissioner. I’ve never been a politician. I didn’t want to be one, but as I struggled with God’s calling, I think, they told me, ‘Andy, those who have the ability to have the duty.’”
The committee voted to award $1500 to his campaign, but only on a matching basis.
The same endorsement and offer of funds was made to sheriff candidate Tony Warren, which was not a real surprise, since his opponent, Dwayne T. Matulovich, is running as an Independent.
And the committee voted to recommend Logan Siebert for Klickitat County PUD Commissioner, against incumbent Dan Gunkel. Recommendation is a lower level of support. The PUD race is nonpartisan.