Tibor Lak and Clint Strand vie for seat left open by Rich Brinkman

The race for Leavenworth City Council seat number six involves council vet Tibor Lak and former radio personality Clint Strand. Lak, 58, served 12 years on the council until he was defeated by Margaret Neighbors two years ago. 

Lak, a lifelong Leavenworth resident, said numerous times people have asked him to run for council, many feeling the council lacked a business perspective. 

“I’ve heard that. That has been one of the subjects that have come up. I’ve heard ‘stagnant.’ I don’t know. When I left, I told my family I was not going to do anything for a year or more. I wouldn’t look or listen or be involved,” Lak said. “I would say the last seven months, it was almost daily, I would run into somebody who asked me to run. I just really had to decide if I wanted to get back into it. Then, the next question was, can I help? I think I can.”

Lak said he does not have to be brought up to speed, can step right in and go. He understands how it works and now he has more time that ever. Lak feels his experience could really help the council moving forward. 

“I have a tendency to look at things a little differently. I like to wait and be last and really look at it and dissect it. One of the main things on council, you have to read your material. If you don’t read and study, you are going to miss something,” Lak said. “I think they have a different thought pattern on how things are done, what you can and cannot do. If you don’t understand, there is a lot you can’t do by yourself than you can do as a whole. You’ll run into a road block.”

One of the issues he worked on over the years is Pine Street. He would like to see it finished, feeling it is very important, particularly with the new school being built. He feels the affordable housing issue led to his defeat in the last election. 

“One of the reasons I’m not there is because I challenged the affordable housing. I would like to see affordable housing. It was the money issue. Show me the money. We all know what happened with that. I would like see housing that is affordable. Look at it from that direction instead trying to build something you don’t know how. There was too many players,” Lak said. 

Ultimately, affordable housing may lead to apartments, rather low cost homes, he said. 

“The thing you have to ask yourself is affordable housing equate to ownership, which is the ideal outcome, but is it realistic in this environment in this valley? Land is scarce, so it is more valuable. If it was profitable, it would already have been done by a developer. I think you’re lucky to have an organization like MEND in this valley that does the things it does,” Lak said. 

Lak has followed the overnight rental issue with great interest. 

“If you look at singular, most people say it doesn’t bother me. But I think you need to look at it plural. Lets say the guy across the street wants it. Fine. Then, the next guy wants the same thing. Now, you’re in a commercial zone practically. The bed and breakfast is the way to go. I don’t know how you regulate it,” Lak said. 

During his tenure on the council, he oversaw the purchase of the old fruit warehouse and development of parking there. He’s anxious to see the results of the parking study. 

“Parking does two things. It puts people in the core and retains a customer. The sales tax base that Leavenworth has is a huge component to running this city. I don’t know if people realize that or not,” Lak said. “Ninety-seven percent of that is brought by the visitor. You have to develop that, maintain it. You have to maintain the Bavarian theme because it is not what we do but who we are. It’s the driving force.”

The city is one of the biggest protectors of the Bavarian theme because of the code, he said. 

“You take the lodging tax which is money the city gets back. The budget for the city is $7-8 million. When you take $3 million of sales tax and lodging tax money, even though lodging tax money is restricted, that is a huge portion of the budget. You have to make sure and maintain that,” Lak said. 

Lak’s Gallery operated in downtown Leavenworth for 36 years until closing earlier this year. Lak said it was fun while it lasted. Now, he has a new store open in the Mottler building. 

“It’s a downsized version of the Gallery. It’s most of the tourist lines, but we don’t have the ice cream or the coffee because of Cold Stone. We opened a week and half ago,” Lak said. 

Clint Strand, 40, has lived in Leavenworth for 11 years. He’s become known in the valley for his work on the radio, at KOHO for 10 years. Now, he is working in communications and public relations at Confluence Health in Wenatchee. 

He ran for school board several years ago, but was forced to pull out of the race. Because he hosted a daily radio show, even though he never talked about the election, he could be made to provide equal time to his fellow candidates. Each candidate needed to sign a waiver, but one person was unwilling. 

“My decision was made for me,” Strand said. 

Now, he’s running for council ... because he can. 

“Public service has always been very important to me. I always valued that in the work I did for KOHO, letting people knowing what’s going on in the community, questioning and understanding the leaders in the community,” Strand said. “That was the service I provided, but one of the tradeoffs was that I had to be a positive asset to the community from outside those institutions from outside not inside. Now that I’m in a different professional position, I’m a broadcast civilian. Now I can take that step and its one I’ve wanted to take for a long time.”

There is not one issue he is following, saying he is not a one issue candidate. As a husband and father to two children, he’s very interested in making sure Leavenworth is place where families can raise their kids. Laying the groundwork for that is important, he said. 

“Making sure there is the right balance between the residents and the powerful economic engine of Leavenworth. Transportation is trending in only one direction. How we proactively work with state and federal governments so that we can get from point A to point B without it seeming we’re on I-5,” Strand said. “

Most importantly, Strand said he would bring critical thinking to the council. 

“My whole career has been asking questions, gaining perspectives that haven’t been thought of. I think that is a skill that could be used on a city council, where the point is to get the most information as possible and make informed decisions,” Strand said. 

In terms of overnight rentals, he does not favor situations where the owner is not present. 

“I’ve been to Chelan. I think they’ve let that genie out of the bottle. I think it is a negative influence on communities. I think they’ve (Leavenworth council) struck the right balance,” Strand said. “I would not want to see overnight rentals come back to the discussion. Having an overnight unit came be a source of income to the homeowner, but I’m glad those folks are on the property.”

Parking is another tough issue. 

“People want to be able to come downtown to run an errand, fill a prescription or fill their growler. They want to do that without circling Front and Commercial Street for 20 minutes,” Strand said. “I think council is pursuing the right course of action by doing this parking study. I’m glad they are looking at all options on the table, like a parking garage. Right now, we have a ton of variables not a lot of givens. This study will help us make a more informed decision.”

Balancing business and residential issues is important, he said. 

“I’ve covered business and I have a personal relationship with business owners downtown. They give me their perspective. If there was decision affecting the business climate, there are a number of people I can reach to for perspective. My candidacy is about giving a critical perspective to all issues,” Strand said. 

Strand believes he can provide a unique perspective to the council, contrasting that of his opponent, Tibor Lak. 

“Tibor represented the business community. He was a long time public servant. I can’t replicate that perspective, but what I offer is an updated perspective. I’m committed to looking at things from all sides,” Strand said. “I don’t feel I’m a newbie or rookie because I’ve been covering city government. I’m on the residential advisory committee. I feel like I’m dialed in.” 

Ian Dunn can be reached at 548-5286 or editor@leavenworthecho.com.