Mahan declares for Palouse mayor

Garth Meyer, Gazette Reporter | Oct 06, 20110

Dave Mahan has declared his write-in candidacy for Palouse mayor. Mahan said he is running to improve transparency in city matters, make for better audits and involve the Palouse Police more in the community.

“I love the city, I don’t love the politics,” he said.

The write-in candidacy will be a challenge to Mayor Michael Echanove who is unopposed on the ballot.

Mahan said the events of last fall, when his 16-year-old son went missing and was found dead of a drug overdose, have partially lead to his candidacy

“Last October, I turned in a 16-year-old as a runaway, the police didn’t have the form for it, as a result I got a 16-year-old that’s dead,” Mahan said. “I figure we need a change.”

Mahan, a 15-year Palouse resident, studied pre-law at University of California in Berkeley for two years before he was drafted into the Army in 1975. He served two years, before coming to the Northwest and settling in Port Angeles. He is now on disability retirement.

He has never held office before, and missed the deadline to file for the ballot.

“I was out of town dealing with other matters,” he said.

Mahan says that, if elected, he would facilitate more open discussion in city council meetings and change the police format.

“The chief of police is too heavy-handed,” Mahan said. “In Palouse, equality under the law is not a fact; it’s a fiction,” he said. “I believe our city needs a turnaround.”