French, Marshall clash on housing, homelessness and cooperation at KSPS hosted debate

Oct. 16—Three weeks before voters determine who wins a seat on the Spokane County Commission, the candidates took another chance to argue why it should be them to represent the southwestern part of the county.

Republican incumbent Al French and Democratic challenger Molly Marshall exchanged perspectives on homelessness, cooperation with other entities and fentanyl among other issues at the KSPS PBS debate Wednesday.

The debate will air tonight at 7 p.m. on KSPS PBS channel 7.1, and is available to stream online after airing.

PFAS, otherwise known as "forever chemicals," have found their way into drinking water in the West Plains since at least 2017, when Fairchild Airforce Base officials discovered the chemicals in groundwater of the area. High exposure to these chemicals is linked to cancers, heart disease, high cholesterol among other health issues.

As pervasive as they are in West Plains water, PFAs have become as prolific in this campaign.

Asked what they would do to address contamination that falls within the district they're seeking to represent on the commission, candidates didn't hesitate to point their fingers at each other.

French questioned Marshall's awareness of PFAs as a longtime Air National Guardsman serving out of Fairchild. Marshall said French's position on the county commission and airport board presents a conflict of interest resulting in a lack of response from the commission in addressing PFAs.

French pointed to discussions he's having with other entities to find a new source of water for the West Plains, an ambitious plan that some said may not be feasible.

"My system to bring a new source of water is exactly the same system that Fairchild Air Force Base currently has in place to get water on the base," he said.

While drug overdose deaths have been on the decline nationally, Washington state and Spokane County show the opposite trend.

Asked what the county commissioners' roles should be in addressing this trend, Marshall referenced her work in the military partnering with the FBI and local law enforcement to target drug use.

"The thing I saw that worked the best was collaboration: sharing resources, working with one another and sharing that information," Marshall said. "So we have to come together as a region to tackle this tough issue and work together to find those solutions."

French also highlighted partnerships, referencing the work between the Sheriff's department with the FBI and Drug Enforcement Agency as well as the county's recent investments in drug treatment centers from state lawsuits against opioid manufacturers.

"We've taken our opioid money and are now in the process of developing a drug treatment center to help those that are impacted by not only the opioids, but also fentanyl," French said.

The state Department of Commerce estimates an extra one million new homes will be needed to meet state demands for housing, based on population trends on the rise locally, such as in Airway Heights, for example.

French advocated for an "aggressive" strategy to address housing demand and improve affordability.

"I presented a number of different programs, one even for Latah Valley, that uses tax increment financing to lower the cost of housing at the entry level and make more affordable housing available to everybody in this community," French said.

Marshall, in contrast, criticized the county's current emphasis on "urban sprawl" where residences are built faster than services can keep up, citing Latah Valley's temporary fire station in an area at risk for wildfires.

"We need to concentrate that building within our centers and corridors where we already have services," Marshall said. "We have multiple communities out there that are living on islands without the appropriate services."

Asked about addressing homelessness, a reality faced by over 2,000 people in Spokane County, Marshall again emphasized the importance of collaboration with other entities to get the best bang for their buck.

"Different municipalities or different agencies actually control different funds, so coming together for a regional approach is key to success," Marshall said. "What I think we need to get away from is politicizing homelessness."

The politicization in question, Marshall said, was French's presence at a rally in Medical Lake, hosted by the city's Mayor Terri Cooper involving French and other local Republican lawmakers. At the contentious event, French denounced any plans to turn a vacant building in the small city into a homeless shelter. Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown said were never plans in the first place.

"He went out to Medical Lake and actually had a press conference putting forth misinformation, creating fear and division," Marshall said.

Echoing sentiments at the rally, French said there's a lack of trust between municipalities that needs to be earned before a regional approach is possible. He referenced two ways to "bring these kinds of projects into a community."

"One is collaboration, the other one's anonymity," French said. "That's get everything in place and then release it onto the community without them knowing about it until it's way too late to stop it."

"Mayor Brown wants to control the regional system, and based upon what they've achieved so far, I'd be opposed to that," French said.

Rebutting French, Marshall accused him of again brewing division through misinformation.

"He is dividing our community on issues that really need our attention, and it's disingenuous to the communities he serves," Marshall said.

Elena Perry's work is funded in part by members of the Spokane community via the Community Journalism and Civic Engagement Fund. This story can be republished by other organizations for free under a Creative Commons license. For more information on this, please contact our newspaper's managing editor.