Kidd resigns as Forest Grove mayor

Pete Truax will take over position as Kidd and others vie for seat on the Washington County Board of Commissioners

By Christian Gaston

The Forest Grove News-Times, Aug 12, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009

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On Monday night, Richard Kidd made it official. The longtime Forest Grove mayor told his city council colleagues he will step down from his city post in October to run for a seat on the Washington County Board of Commissioners.

“It’s an opportunity to represent residents of Gaston and Banks and Cornelius as well as Forest Grove,” Kidd told the News-Times in an interview last week. “We’ve come a long way in Forest Grove, and the leadership there can continue on in a positive direction.”

City Councilor Pete Truax, who has served as council president, was selected by the rest of the councilors to finish out Kidd’s term, which ends in 2010.

Kidd said he started thinking about the county post earlier this summer, when incumbent Commissioner Andy Duyck began talking about stepping down.

But he’s not alone in eyeing the slot, which will be up for election next year.

Two hats in ring

Bob Terry, owner of Fisher Farms Nursery in Gaston, told the News-Times that he, too, plans to run for the county board. Although Terry has never held elective office, he’s long been active in Republican Party politics and has served eight years on the Washington County Budget Committee.

Forest Grove Councilor Elena Uhing is also considering a county bid.

Terry said Duyck has done a great job on the board.

“I wouldn’t be doing this if Andy was running again,” he said. “Andy is a fiscal conservative and so am I,” Terry said. “We’ve done fairly well at the county providing services while keeping a reserve. We’ve been very responsible with taxpayers’ money and want to make sure we remain responsible.”

Terry, who lives on Bald Peak, is the past president of the Oregon Association of Nurseries and a founding member of the Oregon Leadership Roundtable, a group of Republicans who organized last year in an effort to boost the party’s electoral efforts in the state.

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