Highlights from Gonzaga's climate change forum with state, local candidates

Candidates for Washington State Legislature and Spokane County Commission gathered Wednesday night at Gonzaga for the fourth annual Climate Change Forum.

Many of the conservative candidates running for office declined to attend the forum, while at least one progressive did not attend as they were honoring the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur.

Unlike some debates that get canceled if both candidates in the general election decline to attend, Gonzaga's Climate Change Forum has made a point of hosting the event for any candidates willing to answer questions about their views on environmental issues. Name tags for those not in attendance were placed in front of empty table space to remind people who chose not to come.

Here are a few key moments from the Oct. 5 discussion, which can be viewed in full on YouTube.

STATE LEGISLATURE

Scotty Nicol vs. Marcus Riccelli
In the race for Legislative District 3, State Representative Position 1, which covers the city of Spokane, both incumbent Marcus Riccelli and his opponent Scotty Nicol showed up to discuss the issues.

Riccelli, a Democrat who has focused much of his time in the legislature on health care, said that he views climate change as a health care issue.

"I'm the father of two young kids and we face the existential threat of climate change," Riccelli said. "Whether it be removing toxins from our Spokane River or making sure that we can – I coach soccer – that we don't have another smoke season where kids can't get out there and live healthy, active lifestyles, I think this deserves a lot of attention."

Riccelli pointed to policies passed by the Legislature in recent years that will help push the state toward cleaner energy, transportation and building methods, while supporting jobs.

Nicol, a Republican who served as assistant to Spokane Mayor Nadine Woodward and City Administrator Johnnie Perkins, said his number-one priority is public safety, and took time during his opening remarks to call out a $15 billion surplus in the state budget that he says he would've returned to taxpayers.

Throughout the climate debate, Nicol continuously brought his answers back to the idea of improving condominium legislation in Washington state.

"Something that I think I could accomplish in the 24 months that I'm guaranteed in this role is to make it easier to build condos," Nicol said, "which is very good for the environment."

When the candidates were asked whether they would support changes to the state Growth Management Act (GMA) to require local jurisdictions to include climate change in their comprehensive planning, Nicol said, "No."

"I think we need to make it easier to build condos in Washington," Nicol said. "I agree we do need to build up and not out."

Riccelli, on the other hand, said he would support requiring climate planning under the GMA.

"I have supported condo legislation but I don't think that's a silver bullet to addressing climate change or making sure that we're planning in a smart way," Riccelli said. "I think I have shown with my track record —"

"No, but it's a way to help, and you had 10 years," Nicol interrupted.

Nicol later said he also hopes to see better forest management to reduce wildfires and supports the reintroduction of salmon to the area. He hopes to see more young people elected to office.

"As a 29-year-old gay guy, what I want to do is be authentic with people," Nicol said. "But that's not one-sided. I want people to be authentic with me."

Timm Ormsby vs. Natalie Poulson
Incumbent Timm Ormsby, a Democrat who has served in Legislative District 3, State Representative Position 2, for nearly two decades, was not able to debate his absent opponent. Republican Natalie Poulson worked as an elementary school teacher in Spokane until she was fired for refusing to comply with state mask requirements in 2021.

Ormsby said he has lived his entire life near Gonzaga, where he grew up with seven brothers in a family that valued labor movements.

"I learned at a very young age that this was not about me," Ormsby said. "I think that public policy follows the lines of 'We don't step over other folks on our way to success, and we are in this together.'"

Ormsby said he thinks Spokane, which has served as a test market for many innovations including cable television, can be a leader in proving the viability of new technology meant to reduce climate impacts.

When asked how to get Spokane water users to reduce their excessive consumption, Ormsby said he would like to explore manmade solutions such as water storage (other than dams) to capture winter runoff.

Jenny Graham vs. Michaela Kelso
For Legislative District 6, State Representative Position 2, which covers much of western Spokane County, incumbent Republican Jenny Graham was not present. Her opponent, Democrat Michaela Kelso, is a first-time candidate who grew up in Germany and then served in the U.S. Army in military intelligence.

Kelso said that while growing up, the meltdown at Chernobyl in 1986 was devastating. The fear about not being allowed to go outside for months (which ultimately was a precaution not needed in her area) drew her attention to environmental issues.

Kelso acknowledged that due to fortunate events throughout her military career, she has been afforded the privilege of building a net-zero house with good insulation, heat pump appliances, triple-glazed windows and solar panels to offset her energy consumption. Not everyone is able to afford those same steps, she said.

"They are going to be much more affected by rising utility costs than I ever will be," Kelso said. "We need to make sure that we help those who need it the most when being able to make the improvements. Because the easiest way to save energy is to not need it."

She said sprawl is a scary issue in this region, noting that Germany is the size of Montana and has a population of nearly 85 million people (Montana has just more than 1 million people). She would promote climate planning being incorporated into growth management requirements, and supports renewable standards and green building practices.

SPOKANE COUNTY COMMISSION


Chris Jordan vs. Kim Plese
Two political newcomers are facing off in the race to represent the new District 1 on Spokane County's Board of Commissioners: Democrat Chris Jordan and Republican Kim Plese.

Plese, who sold her long-time printing company to run for office, did not attend the forum Wednesday. Jordan is a lawyer who works on child abuse cases as an assistant attorney general for the state of Washington.

Jordan noted that while Plese was not at the forum to answer specific questions about her views on climate, she had filled out a candidate questionnaire on which she selected the pre-written response, "Many current 'green' initiatives are based on faulty models. They need to be reevaluated, restructured, and in some cases, eliminated. American [sic] needs to become energy independent again."

"I'm concerned, when I go to these forums, I hear a lot of talk from people in the other party about 'protect our river and parks are great,'" Jordan said, "but I'm concerned about climate denial, frankly, from some of the folks running for office."

Jordan said he thinks Spokane County should follow the City of Spokane and create a Sustainability Action Plan. He also believes the county should hire dedicated staff to work on climate issues.

"When you see the suffocating smoke, you hear about the deaths that we've had from extreme heat events, it's here and it's getting closer all the time," Jordan said. "It's a threat to our way of life so we've got to have dedicated people whose job it is to focus on this problem and planning for the future."

He also supported taking climate change into account when planning for new housing and business development.

"I think that we need to work better as a region at joint planning, because I'm just not seeing a lot of intentionality with the city and the county," Jordan said. "I'd like to increase affordable housing options. I think middle housing is a great solution."

Michael Cathcart vs. Amber Waldref
In the race for District 2, current Spokane City Council member Michael Cathcart, a Republican, faces former Spokane City Council member Amber Waldref, a Democrat.

Cathcart said he's been a leader over the last three-plus years on City Council for "common sense approaches to the environment," and wants to be sure that leaders consider the economic impacts of their decisions.

"Regionally, there are other communities, counties that we're competing with every single day, whether it's for jobs, economic output, and we need to be putting ourselves in the best position possible," Cathcart said. "So I want to make sure that we are being smart stewards of the environment, we're considering all the implications of what it is that we're considering, but we're doing it in a way that is not going to cost us any jobs, that is not going to harm the economic outlook of any of our citizens."

Waldref noted she has a background in environmental public health, working as a community organizer on the cleanup at Hanford (the worst nuclear cleanup site in the Western Hemisphere), and working with the Lands Council on Spokane River cleanup.

"I am concerned about families here in Spokane County, many people who are struggling. We've got a lot of financial challenges in this region," Waldref said. "The climate crisis, for me, is just as much of a health crisis as it is, you know, an environmental crisis."

When asked how the county could reduce citizens' water consumption, Cathcart said the county doesn't oversee water service in the same way the city does, but that it could work with water purveyors who do provide that service in the unincorporated areas to encourage conservation. He criticized a move by other members of City Council this year to ban watering on certain days rather than incentivize reduced usage throughout the year in the way he proposed.

"I'm not even sure that we really saved all that much water so far as a result," Cathcart said. "I just don't believe that punitive measures, bans, restrictions, is a way for people that are actually going to follow and listen."

Waldref agreed that starting with incentives might be a good idea, and noted that while the county doesn't provide water, its decisions on where people can build impact water.

"The decisions the county makes about where development and growth goes impacts those different areas," Waldref said. "I know the Little Spokane River watershed, that it's been overused and [there are] too many wells there, and that's been impacting the quality of the Little Spokane River."

Josh Kerns vs. Wild Bill Schreiner
In the race for District 3, incumbent Josh Kerns, a Republican, faces first-time candidate Wild Bill (Albert) Schreiner, who states no party preference. Kerns did not attend the forum.

"The reason why I'm running is because my current representative for Spokane County," Schreiner said, "no show, has no answers."

Schreiner's answers throughout the evening were meandering, but he said one way that Spokane County could help with environmental issues is by reducing the number of diesel-powered pieces of equipment used for any given project, such as road building.

For multiple questions, such as whether the county should consider climate issues when planning for growth, Schreiner said he would support whatever his constituents support.

The forum's host, Gonzaga Professor Brian Henning, asked Schreiner to clarify how he would get input from citizens in his district when making every single decision as a commissioner.

"How would that work operationally, would you poll your constituents? Or would you require things to be put on a county-wide ballot?" Henning asked. "How would that work in practice?"

"You hit it right on the spot, it's called communication, being out there, doing polling, 'Here's what's on the agenda,'" Schreiner said. "'Where do you want me to go?'"

"So you would have a separate polling system for your constituents?" Henning asked.

"Have to," Schreiner replied. "I will live in that district."

Editor's note: This story was updated Oct. 10, 2022, to correct the quote where Scotty Nicol interrupted Marcus Riccelli.