Spokane County Commissioner
Election Results
| Candidate | Votes | Pct |
|---|---|---|
| Al French (R) | 23,786 | 51.64% |
| Maggie Yates (D) | 22,279 | 48.36% |
* 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.
Results by Precinct
About the Race
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.
Maggie Yates
- Party:
- Democratic
- Age:
- 36
- City:
- Spokane, Washington
Education: Graduated from Lewis and Clark High School in 2006. Majored in cultural anthropology and international studies at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota. Has a law degree from UCLA.
Political experience: First run for office.
Work experience: Spent more than three years as Spokane County’s regional law and justice administrator, focusing on criminal justice reform. Worked for the Southern Poverty Law Center and the MacArthur Justice Center before working for Spokane County. Also worked for the Legal Aid Justice Center in Virginia.
Family: Married to Satish Shrestha.
Fundraising: Has raised nearly $177,000 as of Oct. 9, one of the highest totals in county history and more than any other candidate for county office this election cycle. Notable donors include multiple labor unions, Washington State Department of Commerce Director Lisa Brown, Spokane City Council President Breean Beggs, Spokane City Council members Lori Kinnear, Betsy Wilkerson and Zack Zappone, former Spokane County Public Defender Tom Krzyminski, the Spokane Tribe of Indians, Spokane City Prosecutor Justin Bingham, former Spokane City Council President Ben Stuckart, local Planned Parenthood spokesman Paul Dillon, former Spokane County Commissioner Bonnie Mager, state Rep. Marcus Riccelli and state Rep. Timm Ormsby.
Complete Coverage
Spokane County Commission to conduct airport board interviews Monday
Board appointments rarely attract much attention, but the lead-up to the county commission’s decision has been full of drama.
Spokane County Commission delays airport board appointment vote once again
Airport board appointments aren’t typically high-profile, controversial affairs, but this one has been an exception.
Spokane County’s attempt to make unions bargain in public officially over
Four years after the county commissioners passed a law requiring unions to bargain in public, the county commissioners had to undo it.
Spokane County is about to try a criminal justice reform effort that once seemed doomed
A year ago, grant funding for the criminal justice reform effort appeared to be in jeopardy, but it’s finally happening.
French delivers scathing attack against airport board member in incident that shows fissures on county commission
It’s not every day you see an elected official in a public meeting give a half-hour presentation bashing a volunteer member of the Spokane Airport Board.
Spokane is about to collect a new utility tax … on fewer than 30 properties
The wastewater tax fight between Spokane, Spokane County and Spokane Valley is still far from over.
Spokane County commissioners vote against raising property taxes
The move will save the average county homeowner about $7 in 2023.
Superior Court wants another judge, but the Spokane County commissioners don’t want to pay for it
The Washington Legislature in 1997 authorized the county to hire a 13th judge, but the county commissioners still haven’t added the position.
Republicans win majority on Spokane County Commission; McCaslin gains on Dalton in auditor’s race
Maggie Yates has conceded to Al French, Bob McCaslin is chipping away at Vicky Dalton’s lead and Leonard Christian’s odds of upsetting Rob Chase look increasingly good.
Two Democrats heading to the Spokane County Commission, but Republican majority likely to hold
Democrats won representation on the Spokane County Commission for the first time in a dozen years, but Republicans are in position to continue to control the body that writes county laws and determines spending.
Big money buying lots of negative advertising in race between French and Yates for Spokane County Commission
Political action committees haven’t been pulling punches on their mailers.
New dwellings in Washington state must be warmed by heat pumps, rather than furnaces, beginning in July, state board rules Friday
A 9-5 vote of the panel followed months of contentious public testimony about the change, part of a carbon reduction effort mandated in state law and pushed by Gov. Jay Inslee to reduce emissions and increase energy efficiency. The council voted in April to require new commercial construction to switch to heat pumps, devices that primarily use electricity to heat a home in a method that is the reverse of an air conditioner in the summer. Now, home builders will be required to follow the same rules with new construction.
City of Spokane and Knezovich requesting emergency proclamation for Camp Hope
Spokane County commissioners plan to sign an emergency proclamation on Tuesday related to Camp Hope, the 450-person homeless encampment along Interstate 90 in east Spokane.
Pints and Politics: Spokane County Commission debate
At the recent Pints and Politics event Oct. 6, 2022 at the Bing Crosby Theater, Spokane County Commissioner candidates, Al French and Maggie Yates debated the issues facing the District 5 seat on the newly expanded county commission. Jonathan Brunt, the Spokesman-Review’s Government Editor acts as moderator.
Democrat Yates looks to unseat Republican French in race that could shift balance of power on the Spokane County Commission
Whichever political party wins District 5 will likely win a majority on the county commission, the most powerful branch of Spokane County government.
French and Yates disagree on need for new county jail during Thursday debate
Spokane County Commissioner Al French, a Republican who is running to maintain a seat on the commission in the newly drawn 5th Commissioner District, faced his opponent, Democrat Maggie Yates, in a Thursday night debate.
Spokane County to sue WSDOT over Camp Hope
It’s unclear if Spokane Mayor Nadine Woodward supports the lawsuit.
Effort to improve voter turnout among inmates moving forward, despite opposition from Spokane County commissioners
Commissioners Josh Kerns and Al French rejected auditor Vicky Dalton’s request to get grant funding to improve voter turnout in Spokane County detention facilities.
Incumbent French dealt a blow after fellow Republican endorses his Democratic opponent
Republican Don Harmon, who was eliminated from the rac, has endorsed Democrat Maggie Yates in the race for Spokane County Commission District 5.
French trailing, but other Spokane County Commission incumbents cruise to general election
For the first time in history, voters this year are electing five Spokane County commissioners instead of three.