3 Vie for Columbia Co. Commissioner

DAYTON - The primary race for Columbia County Commissioner appears on ballots only in District 3, but it gained visibility earlier this month with the filing of a write-in candidate.

Republican Merle Jackson and Democrat Dain Nysoe filed for the position in May, and only their names appear on ballots. Republican Dwight Richter said he intended to file in May, but held off because of health issues that could have been serious. He was later given doctor's clearance, he said, to go ahead and run.

In some respects, the candidates have a lot in common. All three come from longtime local families, and they all graduated from Dayton High School in the 1960s.

Nysoe and Richter served in the military for a short time before starting their careers. Jackson and Nysoe left Dayton for college and spent their careers elsewhere in the northwest before returning to Dayton to retire. Richter has lived in Dayton most of his life. Jackson and Richter are running as Republicans. Nysoe is a Democrat.

Merle Jackson

Merle Jackson graduated from WSU in 1968 with a mechanical engineering degree. He then went to work at Hanford as an engineer in the nuclear industry. He spent 37 years, both at Hanford and at the Idaho National Laboratory in Idaho Falls, Ida.

Jackson took over running the family farms in Columbia County - Jackson Ranch and Cahill Farms - in 1994. In 2005, he retired from Hanford and he and his wife, Joelle, returned to Dayton to retire.

Jackson has been active in Dayton, including serving on the City Council, the Dayton Historic Preservation Commission the Dayton Development Task Force. He is also a longtime member of the Dayton High School Alumni Association, and currently serves as that group's president.

Dain Nysoe

After Dain Nysoe graduated from Dayton High School in 1966, he traveled to Las Vegas, N.M. for college. He left to enlist in the Army, where he spent three years, before returning to the northwest to complete his degree in Public Administration at Eastern Washington University.

Nysoe spent five years in the 1970s working for Green Giant in Dayton, and then took a job as chamber of commerce manager in Pendleton. He later worked for the Bremerton, Wash. Chamber of Commerce before taking a job as marketing manager for the Kitsap County Parks Department. Nysoe also taught political science for seven years at Tacoma Community College.

Nysoe and his Wife, Claudia, returned to Dayton in 2007. He worked for a short time for the State Department of Corrections in Walla Walla before retiring.

Nysoe is currently a member of the Dayton City Council and is active in the Columbia County Democratic Party.

Dwight Richter

After high school, Dwight Richter served as a training instructor/team chief in the Air Force for a few years before returning to Dayton. He spent 29 years working for Broughton Land Company.

Richter has been active in politics throughout his life. He even ran for commissioner in 1984, but lost to an incumbent. He has been a longtime leader in the Columbia County Republican Party, and served as chairman for 16 years. He has also been a precinct committeeman, state committeeman and attended several state Republican conventions.

He was also a volunteer with Columbia County Fire District 3 for 27 years and has been active with the Sheriff Reserve.

Richter and his wife, Gerri, have four daughters and five grandchildren.