Shon Smith is Once Again Running for Chelan County Commissioner

Wok About Grill owner Shon Smith is running for the Chelan County Commissioner District 3 seat once again, after losing a close race to current Commissioner Bob Bugert.
“I am running for commissioner to help keep this the valley that I was raised in and make sure that the growth that we have here is very intentional, from the standpoint that we don't lose your identity,” Smith explained. “While still trying to provide for the residents that are from here and the new people that want to come in and call this place home.”

Key issues Smith will focus on include private property rights, gearing the budget towards law enforcement, and giving financial flexibility to local orchardists. He also hopes to keep the valley from growing into an unsustainable city.

“I don't want to see this valley turn into a new Issaquah. I do want to provide for the people that are here and provide for those that want to come here. But do it in a controlled way so that we don't have infrastructure problems with it, either being road use or utilities, overusing wells, and still giving people the opportunity to do what they want here and have private property rights because those seem to be getting trampled on constantly.”

Smith believes that his background as a business owner and being a board member for the Town Toyota Center and BNCW, along with being the former board member for the Wenatchee Downtown Association, makes him a viable candidate.

He also hopes to reevaluate the current short-term rental (STR) code and states that the current code is a good first attempt at addressing the problem, but claims that it ultimately left both STR owners and county government dissatisfied.

Smith is a self-ascribed Christian, capitalist, conservative, and constitutionalist. He is a proponent for increasing the law enforcement budget.

“We're seeing such a big push now with crime, gang violence, drug problems and the opioid crisis is coming to our door. We're seeing it in our valley. I believe that we need to have enough personnel on the street in a safe way to cause a deterrent to say, ‘not in our valley,’ you're not going to destroy our valley.”

He reiterates that although he does come from a conservative standpoint but states that he will keep an open mind on democratic initiatives

“If the others want to run as independents, that's up to them. If they don't want to state who they truly are, how they truly vote, or how they voted in the past, that's up to them. But I stand by my history of always voting conservative, not necessarily Republican. The best person for the job, with their lifestyle, morals, their business history, how they have treated others, it tends to fall with the conservative approach.”

For this time around, Smith expects to see a higher voter turnout compared to his 2018 election, with more citizens becoming involved in local politics.

“I think these are going to be hot topics that are going to actually swing more towards the conservative side this time because we've seen the results of more liberal ideals nationally that affect us locally. So I think that the conservative and independents are really going to say we need to pump the brakes here and slow down and take a look at what the results are for the decisions being made nationally and locally.”

If elected, Wok About Grill will remain in the hands of Smith’s managers.