Spokane City Councilman Al French says he will run for Spokane County Commissioner Bonnie Mager's seat in the general election next year.

The two-term councilman, architect, and businessman, who hasn't waged a partisan campaign before, says he will run as a Republican. Mager is a Democrat.

"I haven't formally announced, but I will be seeking re-election," Mager says. She says she hasn't decided yet when she will make a formal announcement of her candidacy.

French asked to announce his candidacy in the Journal of Business, saying, "I see myself as business friendly." He says he wanted to announce well in advance of the election because "the county is a big county. Unlike a city race, it's going to take time to make sure everybody is familiar with what I have to offer to take the county to a more sustainable financial position."

The majority of the cities in the county are looking at budget shortfalls for 2010, and the county is looking at a shortfall of $12 million this fall, French says. He says that's partly because the economy is "repressed," but also because local governments are operating with "revenue models that are not sustainable."

He says he believes local government can operate more efficiently and should take a regional approach to providing some services, such as wastewater treatment and perhaps police protection and other services. "All municipalities are doing the same thing" in terms of the types of services they offer, and too much money is being spent on duplicative administrative expenses, he says.

French, who was elected to the City Council in 2001, says the city was operating at a deficit when he took office, but now has a $30 million reserve account—though it's still working to balance its 2010 budget—and a stronger economy than it did before he was elected.

"Issues have been addressed and resolved," he says. The city has changed development regulations, made itself more business friendly, streamlined processes, and took steps such as offering a tax exemption for multifamily development projects, which boosted residential development downtown and elsewhere, French says. "I certainly would want to bring some of those successes to the county" and also "remove obstacles that impede progress," he says.

French's architectural practice is Al French Architects PLLC, and through Franklin Park Management Corp. and two limited liability companies, he and partner Rob Daugherty have developed projects near Holy Family Hospital. French says they'll likely do more development projects when financing becomes available. "We continue to wait for banks to decide, 'We want to be bankers again'" and make loans for such projects, French says.

French, a native Texan, is 58. He attended high school in Las Vegas, served in the U.S. Marine Corps, attended architectural school at the University of Idaho, and has been in Spokane since 1972. He ran an unsuccessful campaign for mayor in 2007, when Mayor Mary Verner wrested the job from incumbent Dennis Hession.

After having served two successive council terms, he is banned by Spokane's term limits law for life from running for the council again, French says. "There's an awful lot of speculation going on right now as to what I would do when I'm off the City Council," and he wanted to lay that to rest, he says.

French believes that the county's purchase of Spokane Raceway Park was "a good overall move" although the county currently is having "a hiccup with their operator. That's something that can be resolved."

French believes it will take a $100,000 war chest to wage a campaign that will win Mager's seat, judging by what County Commissioners Todd Mielke and Mark Richard spent in their successful 2008 election efforts.

He declines to comment on Mager, saying, "I really want to run a race that's more about my record and what I've done."