Chelan Council position in Chelan up for grabs in August Primary

CHELAN - As the weather is heating up, so to is the race for the Chelan City Council position up for grabs in the August Primary Election. Here is your voter’s guide for the race coming next month.

Skip Morehouse is running as the incumbent with current Planning Commissioner Tim Hollingsworth and Andrew Baker running as opposing candidates.

Cameron ‘Skip’ Morehouse

Skip, 66, is a general contractor, direct mail advertiser, biologist, ski instructor and Chelan City Councilman for the past 11 years. Skip joined the council out of his "sincere concern for the future of the beautiful and irreplaceable valley." During his year on the council Skip has brought successful conclusions which have benefited the community including: Thrive Teen Center funding, reactivating/updating the City Web Page, dark sky ordinances (to save the night sky by directing lighting downward, working with Councilman Guy harper to save the old Library for community use, initiating investigation into a lack of water permits, administering a "no further Tree-Root/Woody Debris" on the shores of Lake Chelan, building height restriction and walking space preservation in the Downtown Master Plan, and most recently, securing funding for the Lake Chelan Research Institute for $20,000 a year for the next five years.

"This is the first long term investment in water quality monitoring by the City of Chelan since it was founded 102 years ago," Morehouse stated.

After graduating from Chelan High School in 1969, Skip went to the University of Washington where he received his Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Oceanography. After participating in a oceanic study aboard a Japanese research vessel, traveling and working in Issaquah, Skip moved back to Chelan in 2004. Moreouse then joined the council during the Walmart controversy and has remained since. He has a wife (Cathy), who also graduated from Chelan High School and has two rescue dogs and a cat.

“I believe my education, experience and proven record are important reasons to return me to my seat on the Chelan City Council,” Morehouse stated. “My 12 years of experience is more than twice that of three returning council members and if I am returned, I will have more experience than any elected official currently holding office in Chelan City government. My pursuit originated and continues, out of my sincere desire to solve problems within our city and to guide our community toward a future of which we can all be proud.”

Andrew Baker

Baker, 40, is the youngest of all the candidates but shares general contracting experience with Skip. Baker has also been a Chelan PUD Lineman for the past eight years, which he earned after completing a Lineman Apprenticeship.

Baker is married and has three sons, one of whom is going into 7th grade at Chelan Middle School. Baker believes he should be elected because, “I have had a life long dream of serving my community and believe it is my civic duty to participate in local politics however possible. I feel that as a working class person who lives and works here year round, I have a lot to offer because I have a little bit of a different perspective. I love where we live, we moved here as a family two years ago and absolutely fell in love with this town and community.”

Tim Hollingsworth

Hollingsworth, 57, has been a resident of Chelan since 1991, after moving here from his home state of New Hampshire. Hollingsworth has been a Professional Land Surveyor since 1990 and started his own practice in Chelan (Pinnacle Surveying) in 2003. Hollingsworth has a Bachelor of Science in Forest Resource Management from the University of New Hampshire and has a wife, Tracy, and two kids (Hank, Nora) who both graduated from Chelan High School in 2015 and 2017 respectively.

Over the past 26-years Hollingsworth has been involved with the community in numerous ways including: Director and Past President of Lake Chelan Nordic Club, Director of the Lake Chelan Ski Club, Director of Lake Chelan Rotary. He has also helped with Habitat for Humanity, as a trails advocate, has served on the City Parks Advisory Board and is a current member of the City Planning Commission.

“Part of the inspiration for my run for council was the compelling testimony given at a recent crowded Planning Commission hearing,” Hollingsworth said. “The community voiced a range of concerns directly or indirectly related to the rapid growth our town is experiencing. The City of Chelan is the hub of agricultural, tourist, commercial and retail activities for the entire Lake Chelan Valley. Balancing the benefits and opportunities of the robust economy against the threat this growth poses to our pristine lake and rural small town character is the major challenge for our city.”

The Primary Election for the Chelan Council position is Tuesday, Aug. 1. Ballots will be mailed Friday, July 14.

If you are not registered to vote, you can register at the Chelan County Auditors office, located at 350 Orondo Ave. in Wenatchee, until Monday, July 24 or go to https://weiapplets.sos.wa.gov/MyVote/

Ballots can be dropped off in the ballot drop off box behind Chelan City Hall (located on Johnson Avenue). Ballots must be  in the drop box by Tuesday, Aug. 1, by 8 p.m. Ballots can also be mailed and must be postmarked no later than Tuesday, Aug. 1.