Washougal City Councilman, Dan Coursey, will officially kick off his Washougal Mayoral campaign tonight at 6 pm at the Port of Camas-Washougal office. The address is 24 S A St, Washougal, WA 98671.

Tonight’s event features special guest speaker Eileen Quiring, a Clark County Board Councilor. Also, State Representatives Liz Pike and Vicki Kraft, and others will be in attendance. Food and beverages will be provided, and the forum will give voters an opportunity to ask questions.

The first-term councilman has called Washougal home for the past for 12 years, and has spent years working in local politics as a Precinct Committee Officer (PCO), campaign manager, and general volunteer. The computer systems engineer says if elected he will go into semi-retirement to focus on leading Washougal.

“Everywhere I’ve gone, I’ve promoted transparency, ethical behavior, and accountability,” Coursey said. “I strongly believe in those things. I respect the voter and the taxpayer. When I ran for office two years ago, I knocked on 1,750 doors — and you learn a lot when you do that.”

Reasons Coursey is running

The candidate discussed several reasons why he’s running: 1) Economy; 2) Affordable living; and 3) Create more recreation spaces for families in Washougal.

On the economy: “A mayor should be a leader and advocate for businesses to come into town,” he said. “A mayor should discourage over-regulation. For example [as a city councilman] I’ve voted against raising car tab fees.”

On affordable living: “Everyone knows that Washougal water costs are too high,” he said. “Let’s see how we can lower the water rates, and look at reasons why it’s too expensive.”

On recreation spaces: “One thing I learned knocking doors is that there are many young families who want more family venues in town,” Coursey said. “We did a survey in 2016, and the one thing Washougal voters wanted most was a community center. But, who pays for it? Some small part will come from the city budget, but we need a third party to come in.”

He said there are new development plans at the Port of Camas-Washougal, and he hopes that private owners can come to a final agreement so development can proceed. He says construction of that new development could provide a new venue for families.

“I’m very expense conscious,” he said. “We don’t want undo hardships on our families. If local residents are wiling to pony up for family venues, we can do that. I’m for good roads, and fixing them.”

He is running for the position that is being vacated by current Washougal mayor, Sean Guard, who decided not to run for re-election. His opponent is Molly Coston, who is a former Washougal City Council member that Coursey defeated two years ago.

“It’ll be a re-match,” said Coursey.

Coston will be interviewed in a future article.

On background

Coursey grew up in an agricultural community, and has been married to Margie for 22 years. She works as a project manager in the financial industry. Coursey currently works as a systems engineer, and previously worked in the banking industry doing technical projects, financial analysis, commercial lending and mortgage underwriting.

To learn more, visit www.dancoursey.net

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