Blake Martin wants council seat to address community concerns

Blake Martin thinks the Electric City Council has a relationship problem with its citizens. If he were to win the election for a seat at that table, he could help change that, he says.

"I don't feel like community concerns are being heard and responded to as they should be," he said. "I feel as there is a current disconnect there between our elected city officials and the general public."

Although Martin said he is a fan of the community meetings the city has been having, they still fall short of meeting expectations.

"I think having a more positive connection with the community and more positive interaction with the community, listening to what the community has to say, listening to what they want, I think would be the most pressing issue right now facing the electric city council," he said.

As an example, Martin cited the pathway project the city is pursuing for $870,000, some $86,000 of which is city funded, not through grants.

"Everybody's concerned about that water walkway," Martin said. "A lot of people weren't super big fans of spending that kind of money on it, often citing poor road conditions in Electric City. While I'm not against the idea of the water walkway or anything like that, I do think that the concern needs to be heard that the roads here are atrocious, especially like Lincoln, that that road is absolutely terrible to drive down."

Matin sees fixing that perceived listening deficit as the city council's most pressing problem, but long-term problems with maintenance of roads and other infrastructure will take long-term attention. He's been told by city crew workers that the city water pipes are in poor shape.

But to move the community ahead, Martin thinks another type of relationship also needs attention. "I'd also like to see a better working relationship between the three towns," he said. "I would tell you that right now the relationship between the three towns is at best ... not great. I don't really feel like there's much cooperation in there."

Martin, who moved to Electric City two years ago and is a Grand Coulee police officer, understands how far the community is from other resources.

"Let's face it, we're out in the middle of rural Washington. There's not a whole lot of help or assistance around us besides the three towns here. In order to build a better future, we need to have cooperation with the other three towns and learn to work together rather than against each other."

On his Facebook candidate page, Martin, 26, calls for a consolidation of law enforcement and emergency services. "This would create a regionalized system that would be more effective and reliable," he states.

Martin is running for council position 5, currently held by Cheryl Hoffman, who is seeking re-election.