Steve Young (Washington politician)

Steve Young (February 24, 1950 - May 16, 2019) was an American politician who served as the 40th mayor of Kennewick, Washington.[1][2] Young also held positions at the Hanford Site, a contractor the Department of Energy, including Vice President of Mission Support Alliance.[3][4]

Steve Young
40th Mayor of Kennewick, Washington
In office
2009–2017
Preceded byJim Beaver
Succeeded byDon Britain
Personal details
Born(1950-02-24)February 24, 1950
Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.
DiedMay 16, 2019(2019-05-16) (aged 69)
Kennewick, Washington, U.S.
EducationUniversity of Tulsa (B.A.)

Early life and Education

Young was born in on February 24, 1950 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.[5] Young studied economics at the University of Tulsa before moving to Kennewick in 1986.

Career

Young worked at the Hanford Site as a budget and program manager for prime contractors as well as working at the Office of River Protection. He became Vice President of Portfolio Management at Mission Support Alliance's Richland Operations Office in 2011.[3][6]

Young served as Chairman of the Planning Commission, promoting economic development in the region, as well as being Chairman of Kennewick's Civil Service Commission, which deals with public safety.[2]

Steve Young's political service started by serving as one of the seven original board members of the Kennewick Public Facilities District, where he was assigned the role of overseeing the design and construction of the Three Rivers Convention Center and the Tri-Cities Business and Visitor Center, both of which are located adjacent to the Toyota Center.

He was appointed to the Kennewick City Council in 2008 after former Kennewick mayor, Jim Beaver was elected as Benton County Commissioner.[7] Young was elected mayor by the city council in 2009, where he served for four consecutive terms until 2017, when he resigned and was replaced by Don Britain, another city councilor who had been serving since 2010.[8] He was the second-longest-serving mayor in the city's history.[9]

Lawsuit

In 2015, a former Hanford manager sued Young and Mission Support Alliance for retaliation and discrimination after they forced her to retire.[10] Leading to trial, the courts sanctioned Young and Mission Support Alliance for withholding evidence and hiding a key witness.[11] In October of 2017, a jury awarded the former Hanford manager $8.1 million in restitution.[12][13][14] Young resigned as mayor of Kennewick in December 2017 after serving in the position for four terms, citing recent changes in the city council. He remained serving as a city councilman.[15] n 2018, a recall petition was filed against Young.[16] Young sought to block the recall petition, but it was allowed to move forward by the courts.

Personal life

Young and his wife, Anita, had three children.[17] On May 16, 2019, Young died from cancer.[5][18][19]

References

  1. "Mayors of Kennewick, Washington". Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  2. "Steve Young". City of Kennewick. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  3. "Board Information". Ben Franklin Transit. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  4. Young, Steve (2018-08-31). "Judge says recall of Kennewick councilman can move forward". Tri-City Herald.
  5. "Steven C. Young (1950-2019)". legacy.com. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  6. "2012 Streamline Winter" (PDF). Mission Support Alliance. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  7. "District 3 - James Beaver". Benton County, Washington. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  8. "Don Britain chosen to serve as Kennewick Mayor". KEPR-TV. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  9. "Remembering former Kennewick Mayor Steve Young". 2019-05-17.
  10. Young, Steve. ""Discrimination lawsuit filed against Kennewick mayor, Hanford contractor". Tri-City Herald.
  11. Young, Steve (2017-07-20). "Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law Regarding Plaintiff's Second Amended Motion for Contempt and Sanctions Under CR 37 and CR 26(g)" (PDF). Superior Court of Washington, Benton County.
  12. Young, Steve (2017-10-10). "Former Hanford worker awarded $8 million in retaliation case". Tri-City Herald.
  13. "Kennewick mayor, Hanford contractor hit with $8.1M verdict. Now they want a retrial". Tri-City Herald. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  14. "Hanford contractor, former mayor appealing $8 million jury verdict". Tri-City Herald. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  15. "Steve Young steps down as Kennewick mayor". NBC Right Now. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  16. Young, Steve. "This Kennewick leader lost an $8M lawsuit. Now he could be recalled". Tri-City Herald.
  17. "Steve Young Biography". go2kennewick.com. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  18. "Remembering former Kennewick Mayor Steve Young". tri-cityherald.com. May 17, 2019. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  19. "Former Kennewick Mayor Steve Young dies". nbcrightnow.com. May 16, 2019. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
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