This Tri-Cities race is attracting voter attention — and the most money. Here’s why

Eric Rosane
·4 min read
Peter Harpster, left, and Kim Lehrman, right, are both vying for the Pasco City Council’s at-large seat. Their race has raked in more endorsements and financial contributions than any other in the Tri-Cities this election cycle.

The race for Pasco’s only at-large city council seat is the most expensive in the Tri-Cities this season.

Combined, Peter Harpster and Kim Lehrman have raked in tens of thousands of dollars in donations, dozens of endorsements and have garnered significant attention at voter forums and debates.

The result of the nonpartisan race could swing the conservative-liberal makeup on the Pasco City Council at a time when the focus is on growth and development.

Four of the city’s seven seats are up for re-election this year.

Harpster is running on his experience as a planner and project manager in the home building, agribusiness and land development sectors.

“(The council) needs leadership. They need experience dealing with the issues that we’re facing,” he said at a recent Tri-City Herald Editorial Board.

But Lehrman, a Chiawana High School teacher, says she’d better represent the diverse voices of the city with her “clean slate” and her experience organizing around grassroots public education measures.

“I don’t have any potential conflicts of interests,” she said. “I don’t have any business dealings.”

Large fundraising

The campaigns have raised a combined $36,000 so far.

Harpster’s campaign is the top fundraiser, with $22,000 in contributions reported from county elected officials, developers, real estate agents and the Franklin County Republican Party.

He told the Herald that his ability to raise money is “evidence of people who believe in my leadership capabilities and skills, and want to see that on city council.”

Lehrman, a former welding and agriculture teacher, has raised a little north of $14,000 this cycle from local labor unions, trade councils and Democratic party members.

She’s also seen support from her neighbors who have donated and volunteered their time, too.

“People want to be able to see someone that is willing to listen and take action,” she said.

The two candidates are spending that money mostly on campaign signs, loan payments, websites, T-shirts, as well as supplies for parades and for phone banks.

Candidates in the community

Lehrman should be a familiar face for Pasco voters.

In 2020, she ran as a Democrat in an unsuccessful attempt to oust Republican Brad Peck from his seat on the Franklin County Commission. Her husband also served a decade on the Pasco School Board.

She currently serves on the Pasco City Planning Commission and has served on citizen committees to pass Pasco School District levies and bonds.

Lehrman says she’s running to be a city leader who can provide “innovative thinking and partnership” beyond city limits. She believes community engagement is among the largest issues for city residents.

“I will prioritize continued safety improvements, removal of barriers to the affordable housing crisis and attract new businesses, while implementing responsible growth planning,” she wrote in her pamphlet statement. “I will work to improve community engagement, streamline permitting processes and collaborate with local, state and federal elected officials.”

Raised in Pasco, Harpster says he has “lived and worked in every area in Pasco.”

After graduating from Pasco High in 2009, he joined the Air Force and worked as a long-range planner.

Today, he and his family live in a central part of the city, and he works as a project manager for Aqtera Engineering.

He says the city council needs his experience to navigate growth in the coming decades.

Pasco’s population will increase by more than 60,000 in the next 20 years, and the city will need to build 23,000 new homes to accommodate the growth by 2045.

“I’ve got a heart for serving people in the community,” said Harpster, who serves on the Franklin County Planning Commission and Pasco School District instructional materials committee.

“Civic duty runs deep in my family. My mom was on the Pasco Parks and Rec Board, my dad has been with the city of Pasco for almost 30 years working in law enforcement for the police department,” he said.

Endorsements

Here is who’s endorsing Harpster for city council:

  • Pasco council members Pete Serrano, David Milne and Joseph Campos

  • Franklin County Republican Party Central Committee

  • Tri-City Association of Realtors

  • Home Builders Association of Tri-Cities

  • State Sen. Nikki Torres, R-Pasco.

  • Former Pasco Mayor Saul Martinez

  • Franklin County Sheriff Jim Raymond

  • Franklin County Coroner Curtis McGary

  • Benton County Prosecutor Eric Eisinger

Here is who’s endorsing Lehrman:

  • Pasco council members Zahra Roach and Irving Brown Sr.

  • Pasco School Board Member John Kennedy

  • Former Pasco Economic and Development Director Rick White

  • Former Washington State Department of Agriculture Director Valoria Loveland

  • National Women’s Political Caucus

  • Teamsters 839

  • Steamfitters Local 598

  • International Brotherhood of Engineer Workers 302, 112

  • Labors Local 348

  • Washington Building Construction Trades Council

More than 140 candidates in the Tri-Cities are running Nov. 7 for 100 local seats on city councils, school boards, fire district boards and port commissions.

Ballots will be mailed out to registered voters starting Oct. 20. You can register to vote and update your registration online through Oct. 30 at vote.wa.gov.