VOTE TOM FLINT FOR GCPUD COMMISSIONER

                                                                          About Me.

     I am a fifth-generation farmer.  My wife, Cathy and I operate a family farm south of Ephrata where we raised our nine children. I am a Vietnam Air Force veteran.  I am a graduate of Wenatchee Valley College and Central Washington University, with a bachelor’s degree in industrial technology.

     I serve as the A-at Large commissioner on the five-member board of Grant PUD. I represent residents in the north, west central and south part of Grant County. I currently serve as president of the Grant County PUD Commission.

      I am the founder of the Save Our Dams organization. I am currently involved with the Blacksands Irrigation District and the Columbia Basin Development League. I am also a past president of the Washington Public Utilities District Association, representing 27 separate PUDs in Washington state, and am currently a member of Energy Northwest.  Which is a joint action agency that operates the Columbia Generating Station at Hanford.  It is the only nuclear reactor in Washington state.

      I continue to be a proactive leader locally, in Olympia and Washington, D.C. I address issues that affect us as a public utility district and as a hydropower-generating utility. Being a publicly owned utility, I want to have transparency and accountability to the PUD ratepayers. I believe having financial and rate stability is critical for the best interests of the future of Grant County PUD and its customer owners.

    Some of my accomplishments include: A successful relicensing of the Priest Rapids project. This includes both Wanapum and Priest Rapids dams.  I helped get hydropower recognized as an eligible renewable resource in Washington state.  I also supported and promoted the development and buildout of a robust “fiber optics to the home project” for the customer-owners of Grant County PUD and it should be completed this year, fulfilling a commitment made in 2001. I am committed to simplifying our electric rates and will protect the core electrical users (residential, commercial, irrigators and small industrial customers) from the impacts of large industrial users and am committed to keeping these benefits for the core power users of Grant County.

    I am committed to rebuilding the Wanapum and Priest Rapids turbines, generators and the aging infrastructure to ensure reliability. As a top priority I want to meet our present and future power needs as we continue to grow.  I am supportive of 24/7/365 resources that can be available during major weather events when many other renewable energy sources like wind and solar are not generating.  I am a proponent of small modular reactors to be constructed and used in Grant County to continue to meet our growing energy needs.

    Maintaining a strong financial rating and working through the many challenging issues of the people of Grant County will continue to be of utmost importance. These issues and many more will continue to come before the GCPUD. With the cooperation and work from Grant County residents, businesses, and the excellent employees of Grant County PUD, I am confident that we can successfully meet the challenges of the future.

       I have 24 years of GCPUD “Institutional Knowledge” and stability and know this county was built on the foundation of Hydropower from Wanapum and Priest Rapids dams.  I remain committed to preserving and protecting the benefits to the core customers (residential, irrigation, and small commercial) and enhancing these benefits whenever possible, while at the same time supporting controlled industrial growth in Grant County.

      I have a passion for Grant County PUD and hydropower. It has been a privilege and honor to represent all of the customer owners of Grant County.  I would like to thank those that have supported me and seek to continue in this capacity. I would greatly appreciate your vote and support in the upcoming election.

Respectfully Tom Flint