Local member elected to Kittitas County Commission

AFTER WORKING for more than 22 years as a heavy equipment operator for Kittitas County’s Public Works Department, Alan Crankovich, 50, will move on to higher office in January.

He was elected in November to be one of three Kittitas County Commissioners. Crankovich, who continues as a member of Local 792 until the end of the year, beat an incumbent in the primary earlier this year and went on to soundly defeat his opponent in the November race by 65 percent to 35 percent.

“This is something I have thought about doing over the years,” Crankovich — who is a former president of Local 792 — says. “As a long-time County employee, you look and see how things are done and how you would have done things differently.”

He adds that Kittitas County’s population is the fourth fastest-growing in the state, creating growth problems. “I am not anti-growth,” Crankovich explains, “but I believe we need better planning and we should not do things haphazardly and then wonder afterwards what happened.

“I wanted to be part of the leadership that faces the challenges that lie in the future.”

Crankovich is married with four grown children and eight grandchildren.