Chelan City Council gains two new members

Chelan City councilmembers-elect, Shane Collins, left, and Agustin Benegas.

Two new members have been elected to the Chelan City Council. Shane Collins and Agustin Benegas will join Tim Hollingsworth, who was re-elected, unopposed, in the Tuesday general election.

In the first round of vote counts, Collins is ahead of Ben Laughlin by 179 votes. Chelan County Auditor Skip Moore says a second round of ballot tabulations will be reported at 4:00 p.m. Friday.

Collins says he’s honored to have earned the trust of the Chelan community. "My hope is to continue what I ran on which is to promote thoughtful growth, to help support local families and businesses and to protect our agricultural heritage as best as I can," said Collins. "The citizens need to have faith that the council will make the best decisions that they can with the information that they have."

The general election of candidates will become official with the certification of the election Nov. 25. Benegas succeeds former Chelan Mayor and councilmember Bob Goedde and will attend his first council workshop Dec. 2 and legislative meeting Dec. 9..

"I appreciate the work of councilmember Bob Goedde and his service to the community," exclaimed Benegas. "I certainly won't try to fill those shoes, but we'll work hard (for the citizens of Chelan)."

"Being born and raised in Chelan, I've seen Chelan for what it used to be, how it has grown, and we look at what it could be," Benegas said. "For me it's the conservation of land, and growth and development which are important things for the community, but also public access. My ultimate goal is to continue to improve our community."

"I'm excited," said Chelan Mayor Erin  McCardle when reflecting on the election of new councilmembers. "It's great to have fresh perspectives on council and I think we have two new people that bring a missing component to the representation that we have on council. I think it's going to be fantastic."

"Chelan is a wonderful place to work and I've enjoyed it a lot," said retiring Chelan City Administrator Wade Farris. "If half the stuff that the mayor has on her plate comes to fruition, Chelan is going to be a great place, better than it already is."

Farris spent several decades in public service, starting with his enlistment in the Air Force, where he retired as a two star general. He also served in public administration in the cities of Othello and Gig Harbor before coming to Chelan in 2020.

Chelan councilor Goedde retires from his work with the city at the end of the month. He will be applauded during the city council meeting on Nov. 12.