Mark Stedman running for LC Commissioner

Mark Stedman of Mohler/Harrington would like to become the next Lincoln County Commissioner, Position #1. He faces Alan Stromberger of Sprague and Kim Ramm of Odessa in the primary election to be held this summer. The primary will narrow the race to two candidates who will face off in the November general election.

Stedman may not be a familiar face to most Odessa residents, but he is very well known in other parts of Lincoln County. He served as the superintendent of the Harrington School District for six years and then as superintendent of the combined Sprague/Lamont School District for another six years. In both cases, he said, he was able to preserve student programs, while at the same reducing administrative costs to the point where he was essentially out of a job. After spending 39 years of his life in education, he said he was satisfied with that outcome.

He has now entered another phase of his life in public service by running for seat being vacated at the end of this year by Dennis Bly. When Bly announced in January that he would not seek re-election, Stedman says he was prompted by friends and family members to run for the position.

“If Dennis (Bly) had remained,” he said, “I never would have run.” After having attended several commissioners meetings, he said the rapport and communication among the three was so good that he would not have considered a run if Bly had not withdrawn.

Public service is a family tradition, it would seem, beginning with a grandmother who was the first female ever elected to the Idaho state legislature.

Stedman’s family roots are in Idaho, and he was raised in Lapway, which is located on the Nez Perce Indian Reservation. The family, Mark included, still owns a glass supply and installation business in Lewiston that was started by one of his grandfathers.

After graduating from high school, he attended Whitworth University, from which he received both his B.A. and M.A. degrees. Later on, he completed the two-year superintendent program at Washington State University.

Stedman and his wife Sheryl, an employee at American West Bank in Davenport, live on acreage near Mohler, where they have horses and CRP land to graze them on. They have four grown children and nine grandchildren.

Another public service that Mark Stedman has performed has been to complete Guardian Ad Litem training, which involves the task of being the eyes and ears for court judges dealing with minor children in the legal system. Mandated to look after the best interests of the child in question, the Guardian Ad Litem provides written reports to the court outlining relevant recommendations.

What are the issues?

Stedman says that, if elected, he will continue to be involved in water issues, as Bly was before him. He would like to see the implementation of solutions sooner rather than later, however, maintaining that now is the time for action, not more study. Available information, he says, provides sufficient options for getting water to those who need it most in eastern Washington.

Having seen the good working relationships among the current commissioners, he would also try to build relationships throughout the county, he says, that would improve the county’s ability to get things done.

Property rights and individual liberties are also two of Stedman’s most emphasized concerns, along with working within a budget and citizen safety throughout the county.