Yaeger and Briscoe vying to replace Spokane Valley City Councilwoman Brandi Peetz

Two political newcomers hope to replace Spokane Valley City Councilwoman Brandi Peetz, who isn’t seeking re-election in November.

Jessica Yaeger, 43, has a background in health care, having worked in hospice and assisted living facilities. She’s the Spokane County chapter chair of Moms for Liberty, a conservative parental rights group founded in 2021 that has resisted mask mandates in schools and fought to limit discussions of gender and race in classrooms.

Yaeger has endorsements from Spokane Valley Mayor Pam Haley, City Councilman Rod Higgins and the Spokane County Republican Party.

Briscoe, 38, co-owns a construction company and co-founded the Spokane Ladies Business Community. Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels and City Councilman Ben Wick, both Republican Party precinct committee officers, have donated to her campaign. She has Peetz’s endorsement.

Yaeger will head into the general election as the favorite. She won 52% of the primary election vote, while Briscoe got 26% and Adam “Smash” Smith took 21%.

Candidates on the issues: Yaeger v. Briscoe

In August, Yaeger briefly shared a stage with former state Rep. Matt Shea during a Christian rock concert in downtown Spokane.

Spokane Mayor Nadine Woodward, who also attended the event, has faced strong criticism for standing side-by-side with the pastor and one-time lawmaker.

Shea, one of the Valley’s most famous residents, has been involved in a long list of controversies. He was ousted by the House Republican Caucus in 2019 after an independent investigation determined he committed “an act of domestic terrorism” by helping plan the armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in 2016.

Yaeger said she was “caught off-guard” by Shea’s appearance at the concert and distanced herself from his views.

“I don’t know Matt Shea,” she said. “I don’t hold his beliefs.”

Briscoe didn’t support or condemn Yaeger for appearing alongside Shea. She said she had a “mixed reaction,” and wants to talk with Yaeger personally before weighing in on the issue.

“I don’t know much about Matt Shea,” Briscoe said. “I’ve never met him.”

Both Yaeger and Briscoe say public safety would be among their top priorities if elected.

“As a woman, I don’t feel safe in my community at times because of the crime that we have going on,” Yaeger said.

On her campaign website, Yaeger said she wants Spokane Valley to form its own police department.

At first glance, Spokane Valley seems to have its own law enforcement agency. Its officers drive around in SUVs marked “Spokane Valley Police” and it even has a chief of police – Dave Ellis.

But despite those trappings, Spokane Valley pays Spokane County to enforce the law. The city’s officers are really Sheriff’s Office deputies, and Ellis works for the county sheriff.

Yaeger writes on her website that creating a separate police department would improve public safety.

She added a caveat to that stance during an interview and said that, while she’d personally like the Valley to create its own police department, she’d only support the change if it made financial sense and had the backing of city residents.

Briscoe has said she’d like to keep contracting with the county.

“We essentially get our own force without the liability and costs other cities have to pay,” Briscoe said.

Briscoe said she believes the city can improve public safety by having police officers spend more time proactively interacting with community members. She also said the City Council can make the Valley safer by promoting decency.

“I believe that a lot of what we’re dealing with in more of the petty crimes can be solved with decency with our neighbors – knowing each other, having each other’s backs,” she said, adding that the city could try to improve this by encouraging block parties.

The candidates have somewhat similar views on homelessness.

Historically, Spokane Valley City Hall has had a more hands-off approach to homelessness than the city of Spokane.

In recent years, however, the city’s role in addressing homelessness has expanded. The City Council in 2021 created a housing and homeless coordinator position, and the Valley has also dedicated one of its police officers to homelessness issues.

The Valley still lacks a homeless shelter, however, even though Family Promise plans to create a small one in the near future for families.

Yaeger said she wants to help people who truly want to exit homelessness, but doesn’t want the city to pay to put people in hotels or support the creation of any low-barrier shelter beds.

Low-barrier shelters accept most or all individuals, even people who aren’t sober, while high-barrier beds place more stringent requirements on guests.

Spokane Valley should focus its resources on preventing people from becoming homeless in the first place, Yaeger said.

“It’s cheaper to prevent homelessness than it is to fix it once it’s there,” she said.

Briscoe shares some of Yaeger’s views on homelessness. For instance, she agrees the city shouldn’t be spending money to help people unless they truly want to stop being homeless.

She opposes shelters more bluntly than Yaeger does.

“Part of me feels like, ‘If you build it, they will come,’ ” she said. “Building more shelters doesn’t feel like the right next step.”

Neither of the candidates has a concrete plan for addressing Spokane Valley’s road maintenance backlog.

Spokane Valley’s roads are in good condition, but city staffers say the city needs to start spending a lot more if it wants to keep them that way.

In recent years, the Valley has spent approximately $8 million annually on roadwork, even though its own employees say that number has to roughly double.

Unless the city dramatically slashes some portion of its budget – which is roughly $110 million – it will need to impose a new tax to significantly increase road-preservation spending.

Yaeger said she won’t know how to address the funding shortfall until she’s had time to parse the city’s budget.

Briscoe said she doesn’t think a road maintenance backlog is “a super pressing issue,” but looks forward to solving the problem once she’s elected to the City Council.