Endicott mayoral race tops primary ballot

This year’s Whitman County primary election Aug. 6 will include a three-candidate race for Endicott mayor.

Other offices on the ballot will be Endicott council position three, a Farmington street maintenance proposition and two cemetery propositions for operation expenses in Colfax and St. John.

Steve Salzman was appointed mayor of Endicott last March after Dave Bilow had to step down due to health issues. Salzman said he has decided to pursue a full term in November’s election.

He said during his time as mayor he has been working to update and clean the town. Salzman said there are leaks in the sewer system, resulting in too much water in the sewer. He is currently working to address the issue.

“I want to live, and see us take care of the town to make things better,” he said.

Salzman moved to Whitman County in 1992 and is employed by the county as a shop supervisor. The shop maintains road department and county vehicles. He has two children who live in Spokane and three grandchildren.

“There’s always going to be new problems, but we need to fix the problems we currently have,” Salzman said.

Don Adsitt is another Endicott mayoral candidate. Adsitt has lived in Endicott for the past four years, and is a retired senior network engineer for Microsoft and Amazon. He lived in the Tri-Cities for 15 years before moving to Whitman County.

He said he retired to be a stay-at-home father. Adsitt has a total of six children, three of which were adopted.

Adsitt said he decided to run for mayor as soon as he heard the position was open.

“I don’t see the council having an interest in residents, they’re more interested in the city itself,” Adsitt said.

He said he wants to advocate for property rights and reduce taxes. Adsitt said if Endicott were to create a water and sewer district, then disband the city, it would reduce taxes for Endicott residents.

“The city is getting smaller and puts a higher burden on residents,” he said. “I’m looking for a new direction for the city because what we have isn’t working.”

The third Endicott mayoral candidate, Daniel Larson, was out of town and could not be reached for comment.

The only other three-candidate race in the primary ballot is also at Endicott.

Incumbent Amber Hilton is being challenged by Derek Starrett and Kendra Hergert for the position three seat on the Endicott council.

Most of the primary ballots went to voters in the Colfax and St. John cemetery districts and the town of Farmington.

The Colfax cemetery district seeks voter approval of a $200,000 special levy for maintenance and operation and improvements. Levy rate for the 2020 levy was estimated at 53.1 cents per $1,000 valuation.

St. John cemetery seeks a $16,000 maintenance and operation levy estimated at nine cents per $1,000 of assessed value.

Farmington seeks voter approval of two council funding resolutions, one for $8,000 for street repair and one for $15,000 for the current expense fund. Estimated levy rate would be $1.64 per $1,000 on the first proposal and $3.06 on the second proposal.