Kent City Council hopeful Russ Hanscom wants the job, despite what he wrote in the voter’s pamphlet.
“I didn’t say I didn’t want the job,” said Hanscom. “I just said, ‘Look, I really don’t know if I have the time.’”
In the King County voter’s pamphlet, Hanscom wrote: “Frankly, I’m not really sure I want this job. The pay is crummy, it takes time away from my family, and it’s pretty thankless a lot of the time.”
If you only read one voter’s pamphlet statement this election year... #WaElex pic.twitter.com/k6S0wrekPj
— Drew Mikkelsen (@drewmikkelsenk5) October 23, 2017
Hanscom filed for office in May when he noticed incumbent councilmember Brenda Fincher was running unopposed.
He said he doesn’t like seeing candidates running unopposed.
By the August deadline for the statement, he became involved with a medical business and wasn’t sure how much time he’d have to devote to the office if elected in November.
He also has a full-time job with the Puyallup tribe.
The statement said: “If the business takes off like it’s supposed to, between now and November, I sincerely doubt I’ll have enough time to be an effective representative for your concerns.”
Hanscom said Monday while the side business is doing well, he said he thinks he would have enough time to devote to the City Council job and wants to win.
He wishes he could rewrite the statement, but said he is glad he was honest about his potential time concerns.
“To pretend that doesn’t exist and not communicate that to voters, I think that is insincere,” said Hanscom, who considers himself a “high-risk, high-reward” candidate.
“High-risk is not what I would want in place,” said his opponent, Fincher.
She notes Hanscom previously resigned as a Kent school board member, citing a lack of time.
“I want someone who is going to be making sound decisions and be there to put in the time and do the homework,” said Fincher.
