Mike Kester

A candidate for Spokane Valley Fire Commission, position 2, Spokane Valley Fire Department in the 2019 Washington General Election, Nov. 5

Age: 68

City: Spokane Valley, WA

Education: Attended Mead High School until junior year, before attending Hellgate High School in Missoula Montana, where he graduated in 1975. Earned a bachelor’s of science degree from the University of Montana in Forestry and Resource Management.

Political experience: First-time candidate

Work experience: Kester was spent four years in active duty in the Coast Guard on a firefighting boat and participated in search and rescue missions. He later worked for the Montana Fish and Game Department as an five years while attending college. After graduating from college, he left Montana for Spokane where he worked for Burlington Northern Railroad Santa Fe railroad as a train conductor for 22 years. He retired in 2010 after a work place injury.

Personal: Married. Has three children and five grandchildren.