All 3 Longvew council races are contested, but candidates for most other offices remain unchallenged
A major exception: Kelso Councilwoman Kimberly Lefebvre draws two opponents
All three Longview City Council seats up for election this year will have at least two challengers after the third day of filing for elected office ended Wednesday.
Oliver Black, a 35-year-old teacher at Three Rivers Christian School, filed for council position 6, joining Chris Bryant in the race to replace Councilwoman Angie Wean, who will step down when her term ends in December.
Black said he’s running “to make the city a great place for our kids and grandkids and focus on long-term prosperity to make sure we grow in a healthy way,” said Black, a father of four.
“We have a beautiful town, but we have to sustain those things and repair the infrastructure we have. We have a lot of work to do, and its work that cannot be put off for later because it will be more expensive.”
Black was quick to criticize the council majority for firing city manager Kris Swanson without cause in March 2024 and for “wasting” time on an attempt to eliminate fluoride from city drinking water.
“The council should be made up of people who are level-headed, willing to listen and be collaborative, and I don’t see much of that. I think I’m a person who can fill that role.”
Black has been a city resident seven years and currently serves as chair of the parks advisory board. He’d like the council to try again to create a parks taxing district to help address a $16 million backlog in parks maintenance. Voters decisively rejected a previous proposal in 2023, but the city needs to maintain its parks to continue attracting businesses and families, Black said.
Any new attempt to create a parks district “has to be made with much more education about what we are asking for. … People need to know what they are paying for and what they are protecting.”
Any new taxing district must be approved by a public vote.
Black would like to review city zoning laws “to make Longview grow in a more natural way.” Now, he said, the transition from Residential 1 to Residential 2 zoning is too abrupt, and zoning changes can help create better housing, he said.
Black has been a city resident for seven years and an educator for 12. He has master’s in teaching from Liberty University, a private evangelical Christian school in Lynchburg, Virginia. Nevertheless, he considers himself liberal on “quite a few issues.”
Financial decisions, he said, must be made with an eye to the future, not just a need for short-term savings. If you cut or fail to adequately invest in the fire department, for example, over time that would reduce response times and lead to increased home insurance rates, Black said.
“Things are going to be paid for some way or another.”
Black is a stout supporter of Hope Village, the city’s pallet home community to rehabilitate the homeless. However, he is skeptical the city will get much response to its solicitation for a new operator that can bill Medicaid and make the project more self-sustaining. The next city council may have to find a way to keep the program going, and that debate could be “messy,” Black said.
“Hope Village is a resource we don’t want to lose. We have seen a huge improvement (in the homeless problem) because of Hope Village,” Black said.
He believes that requiring new residents to undergo a drug test as a condition of entry could backfire and discourage some homeless people from seeking help. (A dirty test would not automatically disqualify an applicant.)
Black grew up in a variety of places, including Connecticut, California, and Hawaii.
“I chose Longview over Hawaii. I love the seasons. Hawaii is years of the same weather all the time — and it also was very expensive for a young family.”
As it stood this morning, Black will face investment advisor Chris Bryant in November general election unless someone else files for the seat Thursday or Friday. Any additional candidate would force an August primary contest to determine which two candidates face off in the general election.
Bryant, 55, is a lifelong Longview resident. We spoke briefly earlier this week but have not yet had time for a substantial interview.
In the other two council races, union leader Wayne Nichols is challenging Councilman and current Mayor Spencer Boudreau for council position 7. Retired doctor P.J. Peterson and digital marketer Josh Carter are competing for position 5, which incumbent MaryAlice Wallis is vacating at the end of the year.
Find previous stories about these two other races on the Lower Columbia Currents substack page.
Filing for a host of city council, school board and fire, flood control, port, cemetery and other district elected positions continues through Friday. As of Wednesday night, 53 candidates had failed for 46 positions. Most candidates have no opposition.
So far, only one elected office in the county — Kelso City Council position 3 — will involve a primary election. Incumbent Kimberly Lefebvre drew a second challenger on Wednesday when Sean Legry filed against her. Legry joins Jackie Collins in the race against Lefebvre.
View all filings at https://voter.votewa.gov/CandidateList.aspx?e=893&c=08.