Amy Norquist has the intelligence, leadership skills that Cowlitz County needs

Longview Democrat's background, temperament make her an ideal candidate to replace Dennis Weber on the board of Cowlitz County Commissioners

Over the next two weeks, I will publish endorsements for selected elected offices and ballot measures that voters will decide on in Nov. 5 general election. Today I start with the race for Cowlitz County Commissioner Position 2 between Amy Norquist and Steve Ferrell. The position represents the Longview area, but the vote is countywide. An endorsement for Commissioner Position 1 will appear Wednesday.

Amy Norquist is one of the best-qualified candidates for county commissioner to come along in many years — even if she is a tad shy and uneasy as a public speaker.

The Longview Democrat, 61, is a breath of fresh air who will work with county staff and the public to understand problems and draft commonsense and collaborative solutions.

She is open, friendly, intelligent, a quick study and a creative thinker who enjoys interacting with and understanding others’ views. She does not pretend to have all the answers, and she’s a bit awkward on the stump. But she respects good science and expertise. In this, she’d be a contrast to the disdainful disregard for public opinion and expert advice that has so characterized the two-member majority on the current board of county commissioners.

Norquist and Longview Republican Steve Ferrell are seeking to replace two-term commissioner Dennis Weber, who is not seeking re-election. Weber, a moderate Republican, has often been in the minority to commissioners Rick Dahl and libertarian/Republican Arne Mortensen. Mortensen also is not seeking re-election, so the outcome of both commissioner races could shift the board sharply in either direction.

Norquist’s work history, which includes launching a green construction company in New York City and management roles in Earthjustice and Mother Jones magazine, should be viewed as a strengths, not signs of extreme leftist ideology — as the right wing here has tried hard to characterize her.

While understanding the need for a clean environment, she’s for balance and is not a knee-jerk supporter of environmental activists. She’s been a capitalist as well as a conservationist.

Norquist’s success in those groups prove she is competent and well-organized. She understands large-organization operations and budgets, the need to manage money wisely, and how and where to attract grants and other support.

She understands this area’s need for economic development and is especially vocal about the need for improving the county’s health and quality of life. Perhaps most importantly, she recognizes that the county has a self-image problem and often is self-defeatist: “We have stop being “a county of ‘no’ and become a county of ‘yes,’ ” she said at a Cowlitz Civil Dialogue debate on Sept. 18.

She supports restoring that county’s one-tenth of 1% mental health tax (a penny on a $10 purchase), which supports drug court and other substance abuse treatment and law enforcement programs that are proven to save money and save lives. She also supports Hope Village, the city of Longview’s successful pallet home community, while recognizing that it alone cannot solve the area’s homeless problem.

She understands that a commissioner’s role is to supervise but not to meddle with or micromanage staff. Such interference by incumbent commissioners has chased staff out the door. Norquist will work with staff, not distrust it.

Norquist grew up in Longview and is the daughter of the late Stan Norquist, a Longview doctor. After graduating from R.A. Long High School, she earned a history degree from Stanford University and a master’s degree in public administration from Cal State.

She moved to Longview in 2022 to care for her ailing mother, and she chose to remain after her mom died, calling that decision “the best thing I’ve ever done. … I love Cowlitz County.”

Her opponent, Steve Ferrell, 71, is a retired Longview Fibre Co. mill supervisor and a lifelong Cowlitz County resident. The Longview Republican is a likable, even-tempered, avuncular figure who, to his great credit, has attended many commissioner meetings during the past several years.

However, attendance alone is no a qualifier. Ferrell is aligned with the right wing 4-C wing of the local GOP and with the incumbent commissioners, especially Mortensen. Their actions have led to needless acrimony over county health, homeless and drug policies and fueled the current conflict at the Longview City Council. Ferrell has supported them.

Ferrell has some strange notions, too: He doesn’t think that a 50% success rate in drug court is high enough (It’s actually much higher) and doesn’t like government holding on to surplus tax dollars. Doesn’t he believe that maintaining reserves is wise fiscal policy, especially in a tax system like ours that is so subject to the whims of the economy?

Ferrell equivocates about restoring the mental health tax and funding Hope Village, using the same tired conservative mantra that masks underlying opposition: These programs need more study and evaluation. However, there will never be enough data to satisfy this county’s ultra conservatives and win their support for programs that have proven to work and which save taxpayer money in the long run.

As much as Ferrell obviously loves the county, he’d be a caretaker commissioner at best and not the kind of robust, visionary leader the county needs. For that type of leadership, we need to elect Amy Norquist.