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NEWPORT – Gerry David Bradbury, a long time teacher in the Newport School District, and voice of the Griz during sporting events, is running for PUD Commissioner for District 2, currently held by Curt Knapp. Knapp, who has been in office for 24 years, is not seeking re-election. Bradbury is running against Ernie Hood for the non-partisan, six-year seat.
Bradbury, who turns 53 on Christmas Eve, has been an educator for nearly 33 years, serving as a teacher, coach, athletic director and middle school principal. His work in the community also has included managing KUBS-FM radio, volunteering as a firefighter and coaching sports.
His connection to the PUD dates to his college years, when he worked as a summer engineering assistant following the utility’s acquisition of Inland Power assets in Pend Oreille County. His responsibilities included inventorying equipment, walking power lines and visited the residences. He also spent time as a gopher for linemen.
The experience gave him an early look at the utility’s operations, he said.
“I have the utmost respect for those guys,” Bradbury said.
Later, while teaching in Newport, he participated in the TIP program, Teachers Interested in Power, for educators interested in public power. He spent one summer studying the PUD’s departments and returned the following summer to produce an educational video explaining the utility’s operations.
During his time with KUBS, he continued collaborating with the PUD for 15-20 years, on outages, public safety, campaigns, maintaining that connection with PUD.
Balancing teaching and public service
One question surrounding Bradbury’s candidacy is how he would manage the commissioner’s responsibilities while continuing to teach full time at Newport High School.
“I want to continue working and I want to continue to serve my community,” he said. “And this provides that opportunity.”
Bradbury teaches subjects including U.S. and world history, civics and middle school yearbook. He also coaches Newport High School’s clay target team and has been the announcer for Newport Grizzlies sporting events for decades.
He said he has gradually reduced his other commitments over the past six or seven years to make room for additional responsibilities.
At one time, Bradbury said, he was teaching full time, managing KUBS-FM, coaching, volunteering as a firefighter and helping with his family’s business. Running the radio station involved programming, engineering, sales and regulatory compliance, along with more than 80 remote broadcasts a year.
Bradbury also cited his experience improving student performance, while juggling all those roles. When he began teaching English in Newport, he said, standardized test passage rates were about 26% to 27%. Within three years, he said, they had increased to approximately 86% to 87%. He said he has continued to receive distinguished ratings in his teaching evaluations.
“I’ve slowly been removing things from my plate so that I can focus on being the best PUD commissioner I can be,” he said.
PUD commission meetings typically take place on Tuesday mornings every other week, with two or three meetings in some months. Bradbury said he could use leave available under his teaching contract to attend meetings.
He said the arrangement would be consistent with other professional responsibilities he has managed throughout his teaching career, including coaching and attending athletic events. Coaching sometimes took him away from the classroom for a full day.
Preserving service and affordability
Bradbury said his campaign is not built around making sweeping changes to the PUD.
“We’ve got a good thing going,” he said. “We have fantastic service at great rates, and it would be awesome to improve upon that.”
In conversations with residents at community events, Bradbury said, he repeatedly hears appreciation for the utility’s service and electricity rates. He pointed to the speed with which crews restore power in rural areas, including locations where lines run through difficult terrain.
He attributed that performance to the utility’s employees and its efforts to make infrastructure accessible for maintenance and repairs.
Bradbury acknowledged, however, that maintaining reliable service and preparing for future needs will cost money.
Asked how he would balance keeping rates low today against investments in aging infrastructure and future reliability, he said rate increases may sometimes be necessary.
“If you want to maintain the quality of service that we have become accustomed to and ensure that it remains that way for years to come into the future, there’s going to be cost involved,” he said. Bradbury said he could not identify a specific threshold for rate increases but believes the utility must balance affordability with the need to maintain infrastructure and plan for the future. He also said he believes the PUD has moved beyond earlier periods of conflict and litigation. Discussing the utility’s dealings with Ponderay Newsprint Co. during its closure, Bradbury said he was dissatisfied with how the process unfolded, although he acknowledged he did not know all the details.
He said he now sees a leadership team working to improve the utility’s public perception and move forward.
Bradbury expressed respect for General Manager Chris Jones, whom he has known since high school. The two have not been close personal friends, he said, but Bradbury described Jones as intelligent and committed to the community.
“I’ve known Chris all my life, but we’ve never been buddies. I’ve never stepped foot in his house; I’ve never gone fishing with him, I’ve never gone hunting with him, but I have great respect for him,” he said.
Industrial growth and new power demands
Bradbury said the PUD should continue requiring customers to pay upfront for the infrastructure needed to connect their properties to the electrical system.
He said the policy applies to customers ranging from individual homeowners to large industrial businesses and protects existing ratepayers from being left responsible for investments made to serve a new customer.
“As soon as you start breaking that rule, then maybe you have an industrial entity come in and we subsidize the infrastructure to the tune of $3 million or $4 million,” he said. “And then in the dead of night, they disappear. Who’s on the hook? You and I.”
The policy will be particularly relevant if industrial customers seek substantially more electricity, including the reported interest by Merkle Standard in expanding its data center capacity.
Bradbury said the company would first need to obtain the necessary regulatory approvals and permits. If it meets those requirements, he said, the PUD has a legal responsibility to facilitate its electricity needs.
He estimated, based on figures he recalled hearing, that the proposed expansion could require 200 to 225 megawatts of power. He acknowledged he had not reviewed the report in detail.
Bradbury said the infrastructure required to serve such an expansion would need to be paid for by the customer under the PUD’s existing policy.
Ponderay Industries, Merkle’s sister company, contributed $499 to Bradbury’s campaign, his largest single contribution, he said. Bradbury said company representatives contacted him and said they wanted to interview him. Bradbury said he wanted to interview them too, so spoke with Monty Stahl, managing director and chief operating officer of Merkle, and toured the operation. He did not agree to accept the donation until he was able to see the operation for himself.
He said he initially registered for limited campaign reporting but later switched to full reporting so the public could see his campaign finances. Bradbury said most of his campaign funding came from his own checking account.
Asked whether a company or organization had offered him financial backing in exchange for his election or promised him compensation or gifts connected to the position, Bradbury answered no.
Responding to a question from opponent Ernie Hood about whether his relationships with Jones and Merkel could affect his independence as a commissioner, Bradbury said his respect for the general manager did not amount to a close personal relationship and denied that the relationships would compromise his judgment.
A career built around community involvement
When asked what his greatest professional accomplishment is, Bradbury talked about Mick Schultz, a longtime Newport educator and athletic director whom Bradbury described as a model of servant leadership.
Schultz focused on helping others succeed rather than seeking recognition for himself, Bradbury said. That example has influenced how he approaches teaching, coaching and community involvement, and he appreciates others’ accomplishments more than his own.
Bradbury said he is motivated by the opportunity to continue contributing to the community where he has spent much of his life.
“I have a heart for this community,” he said. “I have a heart for service and I love this place.”
He said his goal as a commissioner would be to help preserve the quality of life residents enjoy and ensure future generations can continue to benefit from the community’s resources and services.
“I hope that I have an opportunity to serve my community in this capacity,” he said, “so that my kids, my grandkids, and the people that I love around here will have the opportunity to continue to enjoy those things that I hope we don’t take for granted.”
