Candidates in first and second county districts will face off again in November
Incumbent Ron Wesen is seeking his fifth term and is challenged by newcomer Rylee Fleury seeking his first elective office. Incumbent Peter Browning is seeking his second term and is challenged by Richard Brocksmith, a city of Mount Vernon council member.
First Commissioner District
• Ron Wesen (R), 65, is seeking his fifth term representing the district that includes much of Skagit County west of Interstate-5. He says the county’s 2025 Comprehensive Plan now being developed is important to guide development in the county over the next 20 years.
He wants to conserve natural resources lands while protecting agricultural viability, timber and marine industries, treaty rights, and climate change. He is a fourth-generation dairy farmer in the Bow-Edison area, where his Wesen Family Farm produces organic milk. He has served as secretary/treasurer of the Washington State Dairy Federation.
Wessen earned a bachelor’s degree in dairy science at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. He has been active in many community organizations.
• Rylee Fleury (Independent), 26, is seeking his first elective office. He is involved in the food services industry. He said he works to “keep local government accountable and provide solutions for Skagitonians.” He is a graduate of First Class Christian School, a K-12 home schooling program.
In a campaign video posted on Reddit, he said that “our farmers are being persecuted, our business owners are being suppressed, and our people are being disregarded.”
His examples included high taxes and excessive building codes and he said he brings “a fresh perspective tempered by rigorous constitutional studies.”
Second Commissioner District
• Peter Browning (No party preference) is seeking a second term as commissioner. He has also served as commissioner for Skagit Regional Health Public Hospital District #1.
His professional career has been concentrated in the field of public health and education. He taught in the University of Washington School of Public Health and was an anthropology professor in the Seattle Community College system.
In his first term, Browning supported the creation of the county’s new “stabilization center” to provide an alternative to incarceration for persons suffering a mental health crisis. He is pressing for more transitional housing for the homeless and supported an improved county permitting system to speed up construction of new housing for those in need of shelter.
He supports the county’s proposed integrated plan to work with Skagit Indian tribes and the agriculture community for salmon recovery on the Skagit River watershed.
• Richard Brocksmith (Democrat) is challenging incumbent county commissioner Peter Browning.
Brocksmith is completing his second term as the at-large member of the Mount Vernon City Council. He also recently resigned as executive director of the Skagit River Watershed Council, the group that coordinates funding for projects aimed at supporting restoration of endangered species like the Chinook salmon.
He is the owner of Brocksmith Consulting. Brocksmith earned a master’s degree at the University of Washington’s School of Aquatic and Fisheries Science. He has been active in several community organizations.
Brocksmith says he is concerned about population growth and urban sprawl, need for affordable housing, the rising cost of living and the county’s deteriorating infrastructure such as roads, bridges and seawalls. He wants to “bring people with different perspectives together and find common ground and get hard things done.”
- Richard Brocksmith PDC
- Richard Brocksmith Campaign
Ed.: Quoted material is taken from campaign statements.
— By Dick Clever