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Incumbent Skagit County Commissioners Ron Wesen and Peter Browning will face, respectively, first-time candidate Rylee Fleury and Mount Vernon City Council member Richard Flint Brocksmith to determine who will serve on the board of county commissioners for the next four years.
The League of Women Voters of Skagit County will host an in-person forum for the candidates for county commissioner on Monday, Oct. 7 at the Skagit Public Utility District (1415 Freeway Drive, Mount Vernon). Doors open at 5 p.m. and the forum will run from 5:30–6:30 p.m. and will be recorded for later listening.
In the primary election, Wesen claimed 65.9% of the vote and Fleury took 33.2% in District 1, which encompasses most of Skagit County west of the interstate, including Anacortes, Fidalgo Island, Bayview, Bow and Edison.
In District 2, representing the communities of Mount Vernon, Conway and south to the Snohomish County line, Browning and Brocksmith had a closer primary race, 57.9% to 41.6%, respectively.
Wesen, 65, prefers the Republican Party and has served as county commissioner for more than 15 years. Wesen is a fourth-generation dairy farmer and businessman in the Bow-Edison area. He’s running on a platform of responsible spending, fostering a safe, healthy and affordable community, and strengthening the county’s natural resource industries.
Wesen believes the Skagit County government needs “someone with an agriculture background to help explain agriculture to regulators and county staff on the issues they’re facing.”
According to Wesen’s website, his 2024 endorsements include the District 39 state legislative delegation, the Port of Skagit County, several mayors and other elected officials, the Washington Realtors PAC and the Skagit County Republican Party, among others.
Fleury, 26, of Bow, is running as an Independent and has experience spanning industries, from package courier service to restaurant management. Fleury said his campaign is focused on economic development, affordable housing, preserving agriculture and supporting law enforcement. He promises a “return to constitutional principles.”
As of mid-September, Wesen had raised nearly $30,000 in campaign funds, while Fleury had raised just over $10,000.
Browning, 70, of Mount Vernon, does not have a stated party preference and first ran for county commissioner in 2020. His website says his primary areas of focus as an elected official are the intertwined issues of growth and housing, as well as natural resources, agriculture, flood risk prevention and climate change.
Browning has been involved in health care and public health for much of his career — before running for office, he was Skagit County’s director of public health for 18 years. He has served on numerous boards such as the Skagit Rotary, United Way of Skagit County, Northwest Incident Command, United General Hospital Quality Control Team, and the Skagit County Substance Abuse Board. His endorsements include the Samish Indian Nation and Upper Skagit Indian Tribe, elected officials and local businesses, to name a few.
Brocksmith, 53, was raised in Oklahoma and moved to Washington in 1994. He was the executive director of Skagit Watershed Council from 2013 to spring 2024, and first ran for Mount Vernon City Council in 2016. Brocksmith is currently the president of the Mount Vernon Kiwanis Club and the local and tribal government representative to the Mount Vernon Hope Coalition. He also serves on the board for Community Action of Skagit County and was the founding director of the Skagit Housing Consortium.
Brocksmith, who prefers the Democratic Party, says he’s a proponent of logical and sustainable development, a high quality of life for the community, the preservation of working lands, and adaptability to the challenges of population growth and climate change.
Brocksmith is the only candidate whose website is translated into Spanish — Skagit County’s Hispanic population as of the 2020 Census was 23,800 or 18.36%. He has been endorsed by the District 40 state legislative delegation, labor groups and Skagit Democrats, among others.
As of mid-September, Browning was leading Brocksmith slightly in campaign fundraising, $32,000 to $26,000, respectively.
Representing District 3, Skagit County Commissioner Lisa Janicki will continue to serve until the 2026 election.
Julia Tellman writes about civic issues and anything else that happens to cross her desk; contact her at juliatellman@cascadiadaily.com.
