Zach Miller Holds Town Hall Meeting to Announce his Campaign for Chelan County Commissioner Seat

Cascade School Board Director for District 3, Zach Miller, has officially thrown his hat into the ring for the Chelan County Commissioner seat for District 3. Miller organized a Town Hall meeting to introduce his campaign to the Lake Wenatchee/Plain community

The meeting was held at the Lake Wenatchee Rec Club on May 7 around 9 a.m. Around a dozen residents came to the meeting, which included community members George and Jimi Wilson, Bob Jennings, and Becky Fishburne.

The meeting began with Miller declaring that he will not be running as an independent during this campaign and will instead run as a Republican. His motivation for this change stems from his disappointment with Gov. Inslee’s two-year long statewide emergency and the COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

He clarified that he was supportive of people’s choice to be vaccinated or not, and supported the CDC’s recommendation to mask children in school.

Regarding Chelan County’s short-term rental code (STR), Miller relayed his support for the County’s 34-page code that passed in July of 2021. He felt that the code could be refined further, but was satisfied with the increased enforcement on absent STR owners.

He referenced Sen. Hawkins’ affordable housing bill could potentially lend an opportunity for Chelan County to build workforce housing, with collaboration from Upper Valley Mend and the Chelan County Housing Authority. He also recognized how limited space is for both Lake Wenatchee and Plain housing developments.

“While growth is always how we have to be looking to the future, any entity that is thriving is going to be growing, we also have to recognize the uniqueness of each and every space around [Chelan County].”

Along with his current position as Cascade School District 3 Board Director and as Executive Director for Tall Timber, Miller is also on the Board of Equalization and a Legislative Committee member for the Washington State School Directors Association. Miller states that these positions have lended him expertise for this position.

Discussion hovered around the burgeoning influx of short-term rental properties for the majority of the meeting. George Wilson declared his growing frustration with the lack of affordable housing in the Lake Wenatchee area and the insufficient enforcement of fines for STR code violators.

“A guy across the road from me at a forum said 'there's no such thing as a neighborhood, just a bunch of houses together,'” Wilson said. “It's all about the money.”

Bob Jennings recalled how ADUs were originally meant to provide month-to-month housing for locals, but has quickly turned into a lucrative business.

Becky Fishburne illustrates the costly effect short-term rentals have had on their property taxes and suggested a possible tracking system for out-of-town rental owners.

“We bought our house in 1984 for $60,000 and it's now close to worth a million dollars, and we're being taxed on that,” Fishburne explained.

Topics that were also mentioned included status on the Chelan County Community Development Director position, profane signs on Beaver Hill, and Miller’s support for eco-friendly tourism in Leavenworth.

Miller hopes to maintain a sense of neutrality as a moderate Republican, even when neutrality is not as favorable in local elections.

“Trying to create this more neutral atmosphere is not very sexy,” Miller quipped.

Lastly, Miller reports that if elected as commissioner, he would hope to keep his position on the Cascade School Board while balancing commissioner duties.