Mike Reuter for Cowlitz County commissioner

Reuter and challenger Steve Rader running to replace controversial commissioner Arne Mortensen in electoral contest between a moderate Republican and constitutionalist

This is the second of a selected group of candidate and issue endorsements I will publish in the run-up to election day. The first ran Monday. As with all my columns, they are archived as they appear in Lower Columbia Currents. Find them at andrestepankowsky@substack.com

It was one of the more amusing — but also concerning — moments of a September 11 “Civil Dialogue” debate between Mike Reuter and Steve Rader, two Kalama Republicans contending for a seat on the Cowlitz County Board of Commissioners in the November 5 General Election.

Both candidates said they disliked Gov. Jay Inslee’s COVID mandates, but their discussion cut to the heart of the differences between them. And it is one of the main reasons I recommend that voters cast ballots for Reuter (pronounced “Rooter”).

“I would love to pick and choose the laws that I am going to pay attention to and love to go against governors and sheriffs and just be able use my feelings to make (health) judgments,” Reuter, who has been Kalama’s mayor for seven years, said during the debate.

”But I don’t have that expertise. … You have to trust your staff. You trust your experts. … President Trump gave each governor the authority to do what they wanted to do with regard to COVID. There are a lot of things (Inslee) didn’t do right. … However, President Trump gave him that authority.”

Rader rejoined: “Fortunately our Founding Fathers did not think that way because we would be speaking British today if that were the case,” said Rader, referencing the American Revolution against the English-speaking British.

“Just because the governor said it does not mean it is right. God has given us (free) will and given us a brain and we can decide what is best for us in this great country.”

Asked if he would abide by the laws and constitutions of the state and nation, as Washington’s oath of office requires of elected officials, Rader said he would, with a caveat.

“Just because it is the law does not mean that it is right. And we as citizens must stand up against possible government tyranny when it comes to government overstepping bounds on individual rights,” Rader said.

Reuter replied: “If you have a problem with the law, you don’t break it and fix it later. … You cannot pick and choose laws as you see fit based on your emotions that day. This (commissioner position) is not an anarchist position. This is a legislative position. … This is not a pulpit.”

“This is not the wild West,” Rader acknowledged. “I am not going in with guns blazing just to disobey the laws.”

Clear enough differences for you? There’s Rader, an engaging, fast-talking, articulate and impassioned constitutionalist and government skeptic; and then there’s Reuter, the measured, soft-spoken, deliberate moderate with successful experience in government service.

They are facing off in the race for Commissioner District 1, which includes parts of Kelso and the south county. The vote will be countywide.

One of them will replace outgoing commissioner Arne Mortensen, a libertarian Republican whose leadership has brought conflict to many commission actions, from COVID policies to drug court to simple grant making.

Mortensen has endorsed Rader, though Rader says he did not seek it. Nevertheless, they share the same general political outlook. Incumbent County Commissioner Rick Dahl, a Castle Rock Republican, also endorses Rader.

Rader, 48, is high energy, never at a loss for words, and a dedicated member of his Latter Day Saints congregation, for which he said he does the books. He is a financial consultant and earlier this year became one of three partners in a small Central Washington construction company, which he said he would leave if he is elected.

He also holds seminars on communications and leadership for church groups, athletic teams, youth groups and schools. In 2022 he incorporated Rader Leadership and Outdoor Adventures, an nonprofit that teaches children leadership and communication skills and challenges them mentally and physically “to do more than they think they can do,” as Rader describes it.

He ran unsuccessfully for county commissioner in 2012. His chief message in this campaign is calling for greater accountability in government programs. He asserts, without being specific, that many of them are “miserable failures.”

”I don’t think that throwing money” at a problem will necessarily fix it, he said. Any program “has to be accountable and be audited (to show) it has value.”

“Every line item in our budget needs to be evaluated … to determine if it is something that we need to be funding,” he added.

He backs Cowlitz Drug Court and says drug abuse is the most significant cause of homelessness in the area.

”We don’t have a homeless problem. We have a substance abuse problem,” Rader said.

He said Hope Village, the city of Longview’s pallet home community for the homeless, “has a lot of potential. (but) … I would like to see stricter regulations, more background checks and more drug tests” on residents.

(The county may one day be asked to finance Hope Village operations through document recording fees specifically intended for homeless programs. Residents who are in substance abuse treatment already are subject to testing, and all Hope Village must submit to case management services to make them better able to move into permanent housing.)

Rader said he would honor the results of the November public advisory vote on restoring the 0.1 percent mental health tax (1 penny on $10 purchase) that pays for drug court and other substance abuse and mental health programs, including state-mandated drug and mental healt treatment for county jail inmates.

But he has some curious and troubling notions.

Rader’s position that homelessness is due almost exclusively to substance abuse ignores other root causes of the problem, which include a shortage of mental health treatment, the high cost and low availability of housing and a lack of economic opportunity.

His insistence that drug court’s tax savings may not be as large as ballyhooed misses the fact that every person kept out of jail saves the arresting authority — cities, the state or the county — nearly $100 day alone, to say nothing of court, prosecution and other cost savings and benefits to society of reformed lives.

He says voters should have to approve of every tax hike, which would prove costly and unwieldy, and that all taxes should be earmarked for specific purposes, not just directed into the county’s general fund. In this, he shows a misunderstanding of the mechanics and complexity of funding county government, much of which is run by other elected officials and which provide indispensable and mandated services, such as the law and justice agencies.

Rader’s campaign has raised about $31,100. More than a third — $11,800 — has come from local businessmen Cameron and Blake Svenson, who have donated individually and through their property management, marijuana cultivation and holding companies.

Rader said the Svensons are friends of his since high school and are able to donate legal amounts from several businesses as well as personally. As to any conflict between his faith and their marijuana production enterprise, he said he’d be elected to represent everyone, including businesses that are legal and licensed.

Reuter, 59, is a repairman for Pacific Office Automation and has been the mayor of Kalama for seven years. The city is well run, and Reuter gives the staff flexibility and trust to manage day-to-day operations without micromanaging.

He helped steer the city through the aftermath of its police station conflict and dismissal of ex-Councilman Matt Merz after Merz was convicted of two felonies.

“I think I’ve done an excellent job as mayor of Kalama,” he said.

He’s an avid supporter of drug court and Hope Village. He’s even-tempered and is a good listener, perhaps sometimes to a fault.

Reuter has served on a wide range of local public boards and civic organizations and is endorsed by a widely bipartisan group of local leaders and citizens, including Republican County Sheriff Brad Thurman and Democratic Party chair and former Kalama Councilwoman Rosemary Siipola.

His broad experience in local government would be valuable on the board of commissioners, which will be devoid of government experience except for Dahl’s two years of service. (Commissioner Dennis Weber also is stepping down at the end of the year.)

The only criticism I have of Reuter is that he opposed the $2 billion Port of Kalama methanol project, which would have brought millions of tax revenues and a couple hundred jobs to the community. His reasons are disputable.

At last report, his campaign had raised $24,100, with three quarters coming from small and individual donors from across the political spectrum. These endorsements and broad-financial support speak to widespread community backing.

Finally, Reuter is not an ideologue. He’s a man of common sense and tolerance. He avoids the overheated rhetoric that Rader and so many “constitutionalists” indulge in.

As I’ve written before, it’s important to defend individual liberties, but somewhere the common good and “the general welfare” must be protected, too.

The political right here invokes the Constitution and screams about government tyranny too often. For example, challenging drug court on the constitutional basis that it treats accused defendants differently — as Mortensen has done — is silly and violates centuries of judicial practice.

Elevating disputes to this level often blows them out of proportion, discourages dialogue and throttles the normal political and legislative process for reforming or abolishing bad laws. It’s overkill, like calling out the fire department for a backyard grill fire. U.S. Supreme Court doctrine itself discourages bringing cases on constitutional grounds unless it is absolutely necessary.

Anarchy prevails if too many people decide what laws apply to them and which they can ignore. That’s the job for the courts and legal scholars to decide, not everyone with a perceived insult to their liberty — and certainly not by elected officials, who are supposed to set a higher standard of good citizenship.

Steve Rader is a good man, but Mike Reuter would be the better county commissioner.