Fire district board incumbents face challenges

Position 2 Candidates

Victor Rasmussen

Age: 67.

Occupation: General mechanic at Robertson & Olson Construction in Camas.

Notable endorsements: East County Volunteer Firefighters Association

Money raised: $933.

Website

Thomas Gianatasio

Age: 63.

Occupation: Retired fire captain for the San Jose Fire Department; currently a real estate investor and landlord.

Notable endorsements: None.

Money raised: None.

Website: None.

Position 4 Candidates

Ray Wygal

Age: 69.

Occupation: Retired security officer at the Washington School for the Deaf.

Notable endorsements: None.

Money raised: None.

Website: None.

Martha Martin

Age: 60.

Occupation: Private psychologist in Washougal.

Notable endorsements: East County Fire & Rescue Volunteer Fire Fighters Association, International Association of Fire Fighters Local 2444 (Combined union for Camas, Washougal and East County Fire & Rescue firefighters), Vancouver Fire Fighters Local 452 and H-RoC (The Hand that Rocks the Cradle).

Money raised: $1,270.

Website

Two seats on the East County Fire & Rescue Commission are up for grabs, with two incumbent commissioners facing off against two newcomers.

The board of five governs the rural fire agency, which covers a 35,545-acre area that includes 3,605 housing units. Commissioners are elected to set agency policy, adopt an annual budget and oversee the fire chief.

Rasmussen has been on the fire district board for 31 years. He said he is running for re-election to maintain the steady teamwork of the board.

“One commissioner can’t do anything — we have to work as a team,” he said. “I enjoy doing the service, and I think we need to continue the stability we have with existing commission.”

Rasmussen said the way to do that is to make smart and noncontroversial decisions for taxpayers.

On his website, www.fcomm.org, Rasmussen points to a long list of cost-saving measures the board has taken during his tenure as commissioner. They include using innovative staffing arrangements to increase the number of on-duty responders and securing more than $1.5 million in grants for training, equipment and personnel.

“We need to take care of the people, and when the tones go off, have somebody there as soon as we can,” he said.

Opposing Rasmussen is Gianatasio, who retired as a captain after 36 years with the San Jose Fire Department and moved to Washougal in 2010. He ran for the board in 2011, when he lost to George “Jack” Hoober while gaining about 33 percent of the votes — which he calls an accomplishment for a newcomer.

Gianatasio said he’s attended every meeting he’s been in town for and decided to run to bring some new blood to the board of decision-makers.

“It’s so cliché, but it’s time for a change,” Gianatasio said. “I have a passion to do this; I don’t think the taxpayer is being taken care of.”

Gianatasio said that because the district’s tax base continues to erode, he supports looking into new ways to bring fire coverage to the region.

“We’re going to have to join up with Camas-Washougal and have some kind of partnership,” he said. “That’s the only way I see them surviving.”

Position 4

Contending for Position 4, an unexpired four-year term, is current board member Martha Martin and Washougal resident Ray Wygal.

Because Martin was appointed to the board in May of 2012 to fill a vacancy, the commissioner elected to the position will serve an unexpired four-year term instead of the full six-year term.