Attorney Stan Morse Running for Chelan Mayor

Longtime Chelan resident and attorney Stan Morse is running for Chelan Mayor.

Morse is joining the race alongside current city council members Eric McCardle, John Olson, and current Chelan Mayor Bob Goedde.

Out of the four candidates running for Chelan Mayor, Morse is the only one not currently serving on the city council. 

“It's just frustrating to not have people capable,” Morse said. “I don't think any of the people that are running have what we would call professional degrees.”

Morse has been working as an attorney for over 40 years, has previously served on Chelan City Council, and worked as the City Attorney for the City of Entiat.

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Morse decided to run for city council in 2007, after learning of Golden Gate Ventures’ proposed Daybreak project that was to be built in the Chelan Butte area.

Morse said he decided to leave the city council in 2011, stating that the council wasn’t willing to find creative solutions to combat excessive tourism.

“It's just this kind of blind mentality of, ‘we can't really do anything about it because it's there,’ and that's just wrong,” Morse said. “Why have a government at all if the government isn't going to be proactive?”

A key issue Morse is focusing on currently is the city’s proposed Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District, using revenue from increasing property taxes within a certain district and funnel it towards neighboring public infrastructure projects.

The City of Wenatchee approved their own TIF District back in February.

Morse said it should be a developer’s responsibility for financing infrastructure if their development adds stress to existing utility systems.

“We've got major structural issues and traffic and water and sewer and the basic things that people need in order to enjoy a community at a realistic price, [that] needs to be our focus,” Morse said.

Other key issues he hopes to focus on include the increased buildout in Manson, traffic issues, housing capacity, replacing aging infrastructure, and preserving the Chelan Butte Trailhead.