Four candidates are under consideration for the vacant Whitman County Commissioner position, which became available following the retirement of Michael Largent, who served as the county commissioner since 2006.

The Whitman County Republicans will recommend three candidates to the county commissioners for appointment. The appointed individual will then be eligible for election this fall.

Initially, ten individuals expressed interest in the position, but several have since withdrawn. The candidates still in the running are Rick McNannay from the Palouse area, Chad Whetzel from Pullman, Cody Finch also from Pullman, and Ron Morgan from Colfax.

Rick McNannay serves as the President of Save the Palouse, a local group opposing a proposed wind farm near Kamiak Butte, and has previously held the role of Police Chief in Colfax.

Chad Whetzel is a Captain with Whitman County Fire District 12, which serves the Pullman area. He also chairs the Whitman County Planning Commission, is the county Republicans’ Sergeant at Arms, and runs a horseshoeing business.

Cody Finch, a fifth-generation resident of Whitman County, works as a commercial project manager.

Ron Morgan, a former manager at Moscow-Pullman Building Supply, currently works in the county assessor’s office and is a veteran with nearly ten years of service in the Army.

The Whitman County Republicans are scheduled to meet on Thursday, February 20th, in the Public Service Building in Colfax to select three nominees for the county commissioners.