Issue: Whose experience would best serve residents of largely rural district?

Experience.

Each of the four Yakima County commission candidates says he has a unique background that makes him the best person to represent the residents of District 2.

The district encompasses all county land south of Tieton Drive in Yakima and west of the Yakima River, including the sprawling Yakama Reservation and the communities of Wapato, Toppenish, Harrah, White Swan and Mabton.

Those seeking the seat are a two-term commissioner, a Central Valley mayor and former state agency director, a city council member, and a farmer with service on a variety of industry boards.

Three are Republicans: incumbent Ron Gamache; Union Gap City Council member Dan Olson; and Kevin Bouchey, a longtime farmer. Democrat Jesse Farias, the mayor of Wapato, rounds out the field.

Being the lone Democrat doesn't assure Farias a spot on the November ballot, however. Under the state's "top-two" primary system, the two candidates with the highest vote totals will advance to the general election.

The primary will be conducted solely within the district, placing a premium on attracting votes there before the countywide general election.

And issues of interest primarily to District 2 residents appear to be key in the primary.

Among them are the wrecking yard move from along the Yakima River north of Wapato to a spot along Yakima Valley Highway, and the 2005 decision to transfer operation of the White Swan rail line from a Toppenish-based nonprofit group to a for-profit short-line railroad.

Gamache, first elected in 2000, played a role in both those decisions and argues they were done for the right reasons. The other candidates disagree.

Beyond those two issues, others are surfacing in the campaign. Among them are what all candidates say are delays in processing of land-use applications for developments in rural areas and the related arena of boosting economic development.

All four candidates see encouraging new businesses to locate in the county and the jobs they will bring as the best solution to a slow-growing county budget.

Reducing regulation is one way to do that, they say. An example is the ordinance that commissioners adopted last year on environmentally sensitive land, known in government jargon as critical areas.

The challengers argue the county went too far in establishing critical area boundaries. As the incumbent, Gamache rejects that argument. He said the county essentially left agriculture alone and did not impose new restrictions.

Gamache also stands apart from the others on the issue of a new courts building north of the existing downtown jail across Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

He favors the new building as long as the commissioners can show the public they followed a thorough process to arrive at that decision.

The challengers said they don't believe the public will trust the county to make the right decisions, even three years after the new jail besmirched the county's reputation and with two new commissioners elected since then.

The jail was delayed by bad siting decisions, other delays and cost overruns that resulted in a new facility just half its proposed size. While the scaled-back jail is now turning a profit, challengers say its troubled history shows the county needs a new approach to how it pursues projects and handles its money.

All four candidates say the county needs to set budget priorities to assure protection of its citizens and punishment for violators.

Gamache, Bouchey and Farias favor re-enacting the three-tenths of 1 cent sales tax for criminal justice programs. The increase will expire in 2010 unless voters agree to renew the tax. Olson said he doesn't believe the public has seen enough improvement in crime fighting to justify retaining the tax.

* David Lester can be reached at 577-7674 or dlester@yakimaherald.com.

• Leita is in

County Commissioner Mike Leita is assured of a second term representing District 1, the northeast portion of Yakima County. Leita is running unopposed on the Republican ticket.

• The money list

* Yakima County commission candidate Kevin Bouchey has received more than $64,000 in campaign contributions, more than half from agriculture interests. Through July 17, Bouchey's total is more than 21/2 times the other three candidates combined.

* Incumbent Ron Gamache has loaned his own campaign $10,000 in the last month. His total is more than $13,000. None of his major contributors live in the district.

* Jesse Farias has received the majority of his support from the Democratic Party, with $2,000 from the state Democratic Central Committee and more than $1,000 from local Democratic Party groups. He has a total of nearly $7,000.

* Dan Olson lags behind at more than $4,500.

-- Source: Public Disclosure Commission