Bloglander

It's perhaps not surprising that Daryl Romeyn, the former Spokane weatherman, hedges his forecast slightly when asked about whether he'll run for Mark Richard's vacant County Commissioner seat. 

"It looks like I’m going to be doing County Commissioner," he says, but he qualifies it by saying he's that the "90-percent" level. He reckons he'll put a press release together soon. 

In 2010, Romeyn surprised local Democrats by beating their pick -- Clyde Cordero -- in the primary for a U.S. House of Representatives spot. He went up against incumbent Cathy McMorris Rogers. but she won with about 64 percent of the vote.

For the past two years, Romeyn has been considering running against her again. But his plan -- to build up name recognition in the meantime -- hasn't panned out, he says. Now Rich Cowan, the creator of North by Northwest productions, is running against McMorris Rodgers, and Romeyn is heavily leaning toward competing for County Commissioner. 

He's a bit disappointed, he says, that Richard isn't running. While Richard was the incumbent, he says, he also had a record that Romeyn was looking forward to criticizing.  

"I’ve seen my property taxes go up probably 40 to 50 percent," Romeyn says. He also says his experience as a weatherman will give him insight into how to save money on road construction and maintenance. 

Ironically, if Romeyn and John Roskelley are the two Democratic competitors, that means that we'll have a race where both Democrats are criticizing the Republican status quo by calling for lower taxes and more fiscal responsibility. 

Meanwhile, State Rep. Matt Shea, another name mentioned in speculation over who would run for commissioner, has announce he'll seek a third term in his current job instead.