Dan Blankenship running for commissioner

Dan Blankenship of Ritzville is running for Adams County Commissioner in District 1.

Blankenship, 64, grew up in Washtucna and moved to Ritzville 26 years ago. He is a retired dryland farmer and former business owner.

His background in public affairs includes serving as president of the Washington Association of Wheat Growers as well as serving in several committee positions with the National Association of Wheat Growers.

Blankenship said as a business owner he understands the importance of fiscal responsibility and maintaining a budget.

He said his primary reason for running for commissioner is to “give back to the community that built who I am.”

Issues Blankenship would like to address as county commissioner include public safety, infrastructure, team-work and long-range planning.

Blankenship would like to set a long-term goal of having a sheriff’s deputy on duty at all times, instead of just on-call.

“If you are in Othello or Ritzville, you always have a city policeman on duty. But if you are in outlying areas, there isn’t always someone on duty,” Blankenship said. “And in Washtucna and Lind, there haven’t been city police for decades.”

Blankenship said it would be a long-term goal to start planning how the county can prioritize additional coverage.

Infrastructure issues Blankenship would like to see addressed include maintenance and improvement of county roads.

“Things have changed. When these roads were built, the average grain truck was a 200-bushel, single-axle truck. Now your average truck heading to the elevator is 1,000 bushels or more, and weighs 80 to 100,000 pounds,” Blankenship said. “We need to either improve or re-construct the more traveled routes.”

Blankenship emphasized that again, long-range planning is in need.

“Long-range planning is obviously something the county road department does, but the commission could emphasize working with public works to find other sources of funds,” Blankenship said.

Blankenship’s goal is to re-establish a sense of teamwork and a common purpose among all the elected officials and department heads of Adams County.

“I get the sense when I visit with folks in and around the courthouse, there could be a significant improvement in the working relationship between the commission and the rest of county government,” Blankenship said.