County Commissioner District 3
Election Results
| Candidate | Votes | Pct |
|---|---|---|
| Al French (R) | 82,364 | 50.77% |
| Bonnie Mager (D) | 79,877 | 49.23% |
* Race percentages are calculated with data from the Secretary of State's Office, which omits write-in votes from its calculations when there are too few to affect the outcome. The Spokane County Auditor's Office may have slightly different percentages than are reflected here because its figures include any write-in votes.
The Candidates
Al French
- Party:
- Republican
- Age:
- 73
- City:
- Spokane, Washington
Education: Graduated from Western High School in Las Vegas. Earned bachelor's in architecture and minored in business finance at the University of Idaho.
Political experience: Has served three four-year terms and one two-year term as a Spokane County commissioner. Served two terms on the Spokane City Council from 2002 to 2009. Served as the Nevada-Lidgerwood Neighborhood Council president from 1995 to 2001.
Work experience: Served in the Marine Corps from 1969 to 1972. Worked as an officer candidate school instructor in Quantico, Virginia. Has been an architect and developer in Spokane since 1977. Spent much of his career designing retail buildings.
Family: Married to Rosalie French. Has a daughter and a grandson.
Fundraising: Has raised nearly $195,000 as of Oct. 2, 2024, including a $5,000 loan to himself and more than $20,000 he’s given himself via in-kind contributions, according to the Washington Public Disclosure Commission. Prominent donors include a long list of contractors, home builders and political action committees representing the development industry. French also has donations from Highline Grain Growers; Avista Corporation CEO Dennis Vermillion; former Spokane Mayor Nadine Woodward; Spokane Valley City Councilman Rod Higgins; Spokane Valley Mayor Pam Haley; former Spokane Valley Mayor Diana Wilhite; state Rep. Leonard Christian; Daniel Kuney, brother-in-law of Commissioner Mary Kuney; and longtime conservative candidate contributor Duane Alton, who owned Alton’s Tires until 2008.
Bonnie Mager
- Party:
- Democrat
- Age:
- 73
- City:
- Spokane, WA
Education: Associate degree in fashion design, Los Angeles Trade-Technical College, 1972.
Work experience: Neighborhood Alliance of Spokane County, co-founder and executive director, 2000 to 2006; Washington Environmental Council, Eastern Washington regional coordinator, 1994 to 2002; Citizens for Clean Air, executive director, 1990 to 1994; food broker, 1988 to 1990.
Political Experience: Spokane County Solid Waste Advisory Committee, Spokane Regional Health District board, Spokane Transit Authority board.
Family: Married, three adult children.
Complete Coverage
Verner or not, garbage summit is a go
Next week’s regional Solid Waste Summit will occur with or without Spokane participation, County Commission Chairman Al French announced Friday. The two-day gathering of local government officials throughout the county is intended to outline a new framework for the Spokane Regional Solid Waste System, which is owned and controlled by the city of Spokane.
Clark: Bruised Bonnie bemoaning rough and tumble
Aw, Bonnie. Say it ain’t so. How disappointing to learn that former Spokane County Commissioner Bonnie Mager has been spending her post-election days trying to wreck her laudable legacy.
Mager accuses successor French of libel
Former Spokane County Commissioner Bonnie Mager on Tuesday announced a Public Disclosure Commission complaint accusing her successor, Al French, of libel. With exhibits, Mager’s complaint is 107 pages long and covers many of the issues in her race against French. However, Mager’s cover letter focuses on a barrage of e-mails in the week before the Nov. 2 general election.
Mager levels libel charge against French
Former Spokane County Commissioner Bonnie Mager Tuesday announced a Public Disclosure Commission complaint accusing her successor, Al French, of libel.
City, county plan waste summit
Spokane County commissioners slogged through garbage issues for three hours Tuesday on their way to a Solid Waste Summit. They authorized Chairman Al French to join Spokane Mayor Mary Verner in sending invitations to the Feb. 2-3 summit at the CenterPlace Regional Event Center in Spokane Valley.
Canine appeal dominates commissioner’s first meeting
New Spokane County Commissioner Al French was tested in doggy court Tuesday during his debut meeting. He cut to the chase in an appeal on behalf of Chaos and Henry, a pair of mastiff-St. Bernard mutts accused of mauling a moose.
Equipment, legalities create ballot-counting bottlenecks
Washington’s election system has many virtues, but speed isn’t one of them. Only 40.6 percent of last month’s Spokane County general election ballots were counted on election night.
Commissioners maintain conservation priorities
Last-minute pleas to preserve land on Beacon Hill failed to persuade county commissioners to shuffle a priority list for Conservation Futures property acquisitions. Eight people urged the commissioners to give a higher priority to a package of 11 parcels on Beacon Hill, a popular hiking and mountain-biking site overlooking Hillyard.
County budget to tap reserve
Next year’s Spokane County budget will dig deeper into county reserves, not taxpayers’ wallets. County commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday not to impose legally permitted 1 percent increases in property tax levies for the general fund or the road fund.
County considers using reserves to save public safety jobs
Spokane County commissioners may dip into reserves to save jobs and offset some of the most painful cuts in their 2011 general fund budget. Commissioners Mark Richard and Bonnie Mager called for preserving safety-related programs by reducing reserves from 10 percent of the $136.8 million general fund to perhaps 8 percent.
County recalculates building permits
Spokane County commissioners decided Tuesday evening to charge more for dog licenses and change the way building permit fees are calculated. No one objected. Almost no one was there.
City of Spokane weighs development taxes
Potential taxes on new development approved two years ago would finally be collected under a proposal being considered by the Spokane City Council. The taxes are one-time “impact fees” paid by developers of homes, businesses and other projects that are expected to generate additional traffic demands on city services. The fees would have to be paid before building permits could be issued.
Mager concedes race to French
Spokane County Commissioner Bonnie Mager conceded defeat Wednesday in her bid for a second term. The election is to be certified Friday, and the latest results show challenger Al French with 50.8 percent of the vote to Mager’s 49.2 percent.
County raises fees, extends jail contract
A public relations contract to promote a Spokane County jail construction bond measure will be extended four months at a cost of $46,156. In other action Tuesday, county commissioners voted to increase golf fees and the charge for access to the county sewer system.
Commissioner Mager concedes defeat
Spokane County Commissioner Bonnie Mager conceded defeat Wednesday in her bid for a second term. The election is to be certified Friday, and the latest results show challenger Al French with 50.8 percent of the vote to Mager’s 49.2 percent.
Voters vent frustrations with GOP gains in county, state
Democrat Chris Marr conceded defeat Wednesday night in the record-breaking million-dollar battle for a Spokane County state Senate seat. Marr made up some ground in the second day of ballot counting against Republican Michael Baumgartner, but he said it was too little to make a difference.
E-mail, signs accuse Mager falsely
An anonymous e-mail that began circulating this week falsely accuses Spokane County Commissioner Bonnie Mager of cheating on her taxes. Her election opponent, former Spokane City Councilman Al French, denied any knowledge of the e-mail Thursday afternoon.
French, Mager issue accusations on ethics
County Commissioner Bonnie Mager and her general election challenger, former Spokane City Councilman Al French, peppered each other Tuesday with allegations of unethical conduct. As in a similar exchange earlier this month, French fired first and Mager blasted back.
Youth forum evokes best in politicians
Seen the new attack ad on Chris Marr? I won’t repeat any of it, other than to note that it formally marked the moment when the local election season went from discouraging to scumbaggy. As it always does. This is the wearying season for people who follow politics. Things get stupider and meaner as they become more important. But on Thursday night – while Patty Murray and Dino Rossi slugged it out at KSPS – there was another event on the Spokane political calendar that offered a reminder of the other, sometimes invisible political world.