Larry Price wants to be mayor

Larry Price thinks people in Coulee Dam aren't happy with the tone of their current government, and he wants to change that.

Price is running for mayor against Gayle Swagerty, whom he considers to be a "clone" of Mayor Greg Wilder.

Price notes he doesn't go to town council meetings much.

"I do not like the agression; I do not like the anger," he said. "I see it from the mayor; I see it from some of the council people."

He said he sees people being bullied. "That's no way to run a city. ... I don't think the town can take another four years."

He thinks the town's police department is now doing a good job addressing increased crime, but Price has no illusions about it, having been threatened by a stranger with a knife a few weeks ago.

Price thinks the budget is "just devastated," and reserve funds have been spent down too fast.

He looks at it from the perspective of a man who ran a family business in Wenatchee before selling it and retiring to Coulee Dam four years ago, he says.

Told that Wilder has been telling the council that reserves are healthy and in some cases higher than they should be, Price acknowledged spending reserves is good for a purpose, "but I like to have a cushion."

Price said he ran Bob's Engine Clinic in Wenatchee, a business his father founded that grossed $400,000 to $500,000 a year selling landscaping equipment.

While the crime issue is important, Price said, his top priority would be reinstating the town's ambulance service.

The town currently relies on Grand Coulee's service, where its former EMTs also now work.

"It's not going to happen right of the bat, but that's one of my major priorities," he said. "We need to be self sufficient."

The fire department also needs a boost with new recruits, he said, so volunteers don't burn out.

Price said he doesn't believe in micro-managing and would let the city be run by its department heads with guidance.

Price said he has felt at home in Coulee Dam since moving here, when he was befriended by many people. "I was really welcomed," he said. "Just good people."

"I'm a negotiator, not a fighter," Price said in relation to dealing with other towns.

"I think if we all sit down and let cool heads prevail ... we don't have to sue people."

The current council voted earlier this year to sue Elmer City for not paying its wastewater bill to Coulee Dam.