Ephrata salesman seeks post

EPHRATA — Eric Briggs expects the next four years in Grant County to be filled with plenty of growth and development.

“It’s a super exciting time for Grant County, with the growth that we’ve got coming in and with the opportunity we’ve got for more growth,” he said.

Briggs, 35, wants to personally contribute to that projected growth as the next county commissioner for District 3. He will work to make the county a magnet for business, he said.

The Grant County Republican Party believes Briggs is the best candidate and selected him as its nominee during a delegate convention earlier this year. Incumbent Commissioner Deborah Moore has decided not to seek re-election.

“Grant County is in competition with every other county in the country and every area of the world for new jobs,” Briggs said. “Our county has a lot of strengths like a skilled work force, lots of room for growth, low power rates and a state-of-the-art fiber optic communications network to parts of the county.”

He believes Grant County must use these tools to lure new businesses in to the area and provide incentives for existing businesses to grow.

“I will make sure that county government is doing its part to make Grant County a great place to do business,” Briggs said. “If we work together as a community we can experience more success like the Port of Quincy has recently had.” Two giant data centers are being built in Quincy for Yahoo! and Microsoft.

Briggs, the District 3 chairman of the county’s Republican Party, is also a board member for the North Central Washington Educational Service District.

He currently works at an Ephrata computer products store as the sales manager.

He was employed at the Grant County Public Utility District until May 2005, as fiber accounts manager. He was laid off after seeking whistleblower protection during a theft investigation involving another former PUD fiber optic system employee. Briggs sued the PUD in connection with his dismissal.

As a county commissioner, Briggs said he would work with staff members in the county’s planning department to decrease the time it takes to complete zoning reviews, building permits and land use applications.

Streamlining the planning department’s permit process and making it more customer service oriented makes Grant County more business friendly, he said.

“The lag-time, between someone making an application and going through the process, has just grown to an unacceptable length of time,” Briggs said.

He also said he will work to protect agricultural businesses while diversifying the county’s economic base.

“I think the voters are going to find that I will be a remarkably engaged commissioner that is always responsive to their concerns,” he said.