Know the record before you vote
Shon Smith has chaired the Chelan County Board of Commissioners since January 2025. On his watch the county has spent down its savings, filed its financial reports late and wrong, frozen hiring, and kept one of the state's most generous tax breaks for a few landowners. And the voters of his own district have never given him a majority.
1 · The budget
A county's budget is the one thing its commissioners fully control. In January 2025 Commissioner Brad Hawkins, a fellow Republican, told the board: "The last balanced budget, as I can recall from doing the research, is 2018. Basically, every year since then, the board has approved budget deficits."KOZI Smith joined that board in January 2023 and has chaired it since January 2025.
Budget figures from the county's own documents and news coverage. These are planned gaps, not audited results.
Smith seconded adoption of a 2024 budget with a $2.6 million general-fund gap, filled from reserves.MinutesWenatchee World
Smith made the motion to approve the 2025 preliminary budget. The county needed more than $4 million from its savings to balance it.MinutesKPQ
Hawkins moved to set a goal of a balanced general fund, to hold workshops on cutting spending 3% and raising revenue 3%, and to analyze ten years of budgets against what was actually spent. With Smith presiding as Chair, all four died for lack of a second. Smith said he was "a little disappointed, a little frustrated by this resolution."MinutesKOZI
Smith seconded a preliminary budget that spends $61.95 million against $58.66 million in revenue. It passed 2–1. Hawkins voted no.MinutesChelan County
Clint Strand chairs the Finance Committee of the Leavenworth City Council. His pledge: "we need to make sure we can pay for what we promise. That means making sure our budget balances."Strand
2 · The books
Every Washington county must file an annual financial report with the State Auditor within 150 days of the end of its year. Chelan County filed its 2023 report 398 days late. The State Auditor found that "County leadership did not dedicate the necessary resources to submit the annual report on time and did not respond to our Office's outreach efforts." That report is addressed to the Board of Commissioners.State Auditor
The reports the county did file had serious errors. The State Auditor found a "material weakness" in how the county prepares its financial statements in both 2022 and 2023:
The county left a $24 million investment trust fund out of its statements and overstated its road-fund inventory by about $950,000.State Auditor
The county left a $7,135,749 federal grant off its list of federal spending, misstated ten other grants, and overstated road-fund inventory by $1,204,600.State Auditor
Both years, the State Auditor gave the same cause: the county "had not filled the position responsible for preparing the financial statements." The errors were corrected before the audits were finished.
In its written answer to the State Auditor, the county promised that "the County Commissioners are committed to meeting the deadlines starting in 2025."State Auditor The chair of the board is the one who answers for that promise.
3 · The squeeze
Years of deficit budgets come due. On November 3, 2025, Smith and the other two commissioners signed a letter freezing all county hiring through the end of 2026. "We understand this decision may impact departments and teams," it told department heads.Chelan County
The cuts reached Chelan Douglas CASA, the volunteer advocates who speak for foster children in court. Its county funding was cut 20%. When a reporter asked why, Hawkins answered. Smith did not respond.Dominick Bonny
By August the Sheriff was telling the board, "Certainly, I recognize our employees being overwhelmed," and warning of burnout and people leaving.Ward Media The County Auditor had already quit over staffing.
Clint Strand wants "a better experience for you working with the county, and for the folks working inside the county."Strand
4 · Who pays
Chelan County's Public Benefit Rating System cuts property taxes for landowners who keep land as open space. Until this June it was the only program in Washington that could cut a landowner's taxes by up to 100%, and its rules had not changed since 2014.Chelan County
Chelan County's figures, July 2026. The total covers every district that taxes the land: schools, fire, roads and the county itself.
That money doesn't go away. Most property-tax districts collect a set dollar amount, so when a few owners pay less, everyone else in those districts pays more. Smith knows it. When the board capped the break at 75% this June, he called it "a more equitable system for the taxpayers who are making up the difference."Chelan County
The county's own Planning Commission wanted a much lower cap. The volunteer commission studied the program for seven months, through five workshops and two public hearings. The only tax-shift estimates county staff gave it covered caps of 25%, 30%, 40% and 50%.Aug 2025 packet Then it voted:
Passed 6–2. The two no votes wanted the tougher 25%. This became the commission's recommendation to the board.Minutes
The board set the cap half again as high as the commission recommended, beyond any cap staff had estimated the tax shift for. It never sent the change back to the Planning Commission. Smith signed it as Chair.Resolution 2026-51
The county has published no analysis of what 75% costs the rest of us compared with 50%. Smith's public explanation was that 75% "brings us better in line with our neighboring counties."Chelan County So about 90 owners keep a bigger break, and the difference stays on everyone else's tax bill.
The break lowers the land's taxable value while it stays in the program; it is not a permanent exemption. Planning Commissioners are unpaid volunteers appointed by the board.
5 · Representation
Only District 2 voters vote in the August primary for this seat. In November, every voter in Chelan County decides it.RCW 36.32.040 Smith has run for this seat three times. In every District 2 vote on record, most of the district's voters chose someone else.
| Election | Who voted | Smith in District 2 | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 primary | District 2 only | 47.3% | Advanced, then lost the county to Bob Bugert |
| 2022 primary | District 2 only | 43.1% | Finished second to Anne Hessburg |
| 2022 general | Whole county | 49.0% | Lost District 2 by 252 votes. Won the seat by 330 on District 3's votes |
| 2026 primary | District 2 only | 46.4% | 53.6% voted for someone else. Clint Strand: 45.1% |
Washington Secretary of State results. The 2022 general is added up by precinct using the county's 2022 commissioner-district map. 2026 is the certified August 4 primary: Smith 4,368 of 9,417 votes.2018 primary2022 primary2022 general
6 · The campaign
In 2018 and 2022 Smith reported every contribution: $32,549 and $33,154 raised. For 2026 he chose "mini reporting," which caps a campaign at $7,000 and requires no report of who gave. That is legal. It also means voters cannot see who is funding the chair of the county board.PDC dataPDC rules
Clint Strand reports in full: $15,095 raised as of September 21, every donor listed for anyone to look up.PDC data
7 · The choice
Incumbent
Cashmere · restaurant owner · County Commissioner since 2023, board chair 2025–2026
Challenger
Leavenworth · Executive Director, Wenatchee Valley College Foundation · Leavenworth City Council since 2017
Ballots due Tuesday, November 3, 2026 · 8 p.m.
Chelan County Commissioner, District 2. Every voter in Chelan County votes in this race. Check your registration and track your ballot at VoteWA.gov.
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