Mike Rainey, courtesy Mike Rainey
BANKS – The election season in Banks is truly underway with the first candidate filing to run for elected office at the city level last week. Mike Rainey, 32, has filed to run for the seat that councilor Mike Lyda said he is not seeking reelection to.
There are four open positions up for election on November 3; three four-year terms for city councilor positions and the two-year term for the mayorship, currently held by Pete Edison.
In council position 2, Michael Nelson has not indicated if he will seek reelection, and city council position 4, held currently by Stephanie Jones, is also an unknown. Both counselors did not respond to requests for comment.
Rainey’s candidate filing paperwork for council position 6 lists August 4 as the date it was filled out, with Friday, August 7 listed as the date the paperwork was processed by the city of Banks.
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Mike Rainy, a 32-year-old resident of Banks said he has lived in Banks for 5 years in an email to the Banks Post.
“I could not be happier about our decision to raise our family here in Banks, and I am running for city council as a way to serve the community while helping to ensure that it remains the close knit small town that I have come to love,” Rainey said. “I feel like I am a well rounded candidate that has the ability and background to see issues from all different angles and perspectives.”
Asked why he chose to run for office at a unique moment in history as governments the world and nation over grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, Rainey said the coronavirus has surfaced the important things in life.
“While things have changed in a lot of aspects of life, it has all helped to bring to light the truly important things in life like family, community, and friendships no matter how far apart you are,” he said.
As for his own family, Rainey and his wife, Kim Rainey, a district manager for FedEx Office, live in Arbor Village with four children, ages 6, 4, and two eight-month-old twins, as well as Roxy, their dog, and Sausage, their cat.
Rainey grew up in Temecula, Calif., and played varsity football throughout his high school years as well as ice hockey, and was involved in school government since middle school. After high school, Rainey said he received his Associate of Applied Science degree from the National College of Technical Instruction, a paramedic training school, in 2014.
Rainy said he works as a field training officer for American Medical Response in Multnomah County. “This means that I train new paramedics coming into the field while working as the Lead Paramedic on an ambulance. I also am one of the coordinators that help place ‘interns’ from local colleges into the field to do their ‘Internship,’” he said.
Rainey said he plans on having yard signs and bumper magnets as part of his campaign, and encouraged anyone who had questions to email him at [email protected].
“I know how important it is to the people of Banks to keep the small town while having common sense policies on reasonable growth. I plan on doing my part in keeping Banks the Banks I love,” Rainey said.
The window to file for office in Banks closes at 1 p.m. on Monday August 17. Visit the city of Banks website for more information.
Chas Hundley is the editor of the Banks Post and sister news publications the Gales Creek Journal and the Salmonberry Magazine. He grew up in Gales Creek and has a cat.
