OROVILLE – The candidates for Okanogan County PUD Commissioner Position 2, Lauren McCLoy and Wayne Stevie, participated in a candidates’ forum last Tuesday evening.

The forum was sponsored by the Oroville WA Chamber of Commerce and the Okanogan Valley Gazette-Tribune and was held at the American Legion Hodges Post #84.

The non-partisan candidates were given three minutes to introduce themselves and then took questions read by the moderator, chamber president Rocky DeVon.

Here are the introductions from the candidates for Okanogan County PUD Commissioner, Position 2. How they answered the questions will be featured in next Thursday’s print edition of the Gazette-Tribune.

Wayne Stevie

My name is Wayne “Bud” Stevie, I am running for PUD commissioner. I am a lifelong resident of Okanogan County, I have deep roots in our community. I was born and raised on a small dairy and orchard in Carlton. I graduated from Liberty Bell.

In the early years, I cut timber for a living. In 1991 I went to work for what the co-op is now, it used to be an REA (Rural Electrification Agency). I’ve got 30 years of experience in the electrical industry. I know the electrical industry from the ground up.

I’m not a public speaker nor am I a career politician. I’ve self-funded my campaign. I believe in transparent, accountable leadership. We put each other first. My main goal is simple— maintain affordable rates, maintain reliable power for the businesses and families of this county.

My experience is in operations, engineering, budgeting, union negotiations, all that, and especially electrical utilities. On the subject of hydropower, let’s keep our dams in place.

I’m a strong supporter of kids from 4-H to sports. I also support farmers, orchardists, ranchers and the small businesses of Okanogan County.

I am also a supporter of broadband. Broadband brings the internet to children. During the COVID years, there were a lot of kids that were left out. It was not fair to them. I have a goal to reach out to these kids. If we have another pandemic they will have school.

Lauren McCloy

My name is Lauren McCloy, I live about halfway between Twisp and Carlton with my husband, Kellar and our daughter Ruby who just turned three.

I was raised in a conservative, middle-class family in North Carolina. My grandfather was a postmaster and he was a colonel in the Army National Guard. My dad was the first person in his family to go to college and he served our community for 30-plus years as an attorney with small business clients. He was an active member of the Rotary in our community. My mom also worked outside the home. She was a dental hygienist and also an active community volunteer herself, as well as a mother of three.

As the oldest of three kids and the only daughter, my parents instilled in me the value of hard work, family, community and the importance of an education in being an informed and engaged citizen in our democracy.

I am running for PUD commissioner because I want to use my skills and expertise to serve my community. I’m not a politician, I’ve never run for anything in my life. I have over a decade of experience in energy policy specifically, including seven years as nonpartisan staff in Washington state government working with policymakers, regulators, budget writers, utilities, and consumers on all sorts of energy and utility issues – from energy efficiency rebates and long-term planning to pipeline safety. I’ve negotiated legislation with those on both sides of the aisle and I’ve worked with countless utility customers all over the state to help them understand and resolve issues that they’re having with their utilities. I’ve secured millions of dollars for weatherization and bill assistance for low-income households, seniors and veterans.

I’m running for PUD commissioner and my priorities are straightforward. Number one I want to keep our power reliable and I want to keep our bills affordable and I want to get more folks in our county connected to high-speed internet.

The PUD commissioners, as most folks know, approve the PUD’s budget and policies and oversee the PUD general manager who is responsible for the utility’s operations. I believe my experience working on state policy and budgets, my education in economics, as well as my experience purchasing and in planning utility programs, will be an asset to the commission as it navigates from challenging market conditions and makes really important decisions about where power is going to come from in the near future.

I’m a firm believer in public power and the importance of a non-partisan board because it means our utility is accountable to the customers and the communities that it serves – not shareholders, political parties or other outside interests. In other words, the PUD commissioners work for you, the PUD customers.

I know that I am a different kind of candidate than folks are used to seeing run for Okanogan County PUD but I think that’s a good thing. I think customers are best served by a board that brings diverse skills and perspectives to the table and who represents the diversity of the people who live here. I’ve had the opportunity to work with all kinds of people and realize boards and committees don’t always agree on everything, but we have the same goals, we collaborate, we listen to the people we represent and make the best decision that we can to get the job done.