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] He also held positions at the Hanford Site, a contractor the Department of Energy, including Vice President of Mission Support Alliance.[3][4]

For the Canadian politician, see Steve Young (Alberta politician).
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 (BA)

Early life and education

Young was born in on February 24, 1950, in Tulsa, Oklahoma.[5] He 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]

He 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]

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 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] In 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". Archived from the original on April 25, 2019. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  2. "Steve Young". City of Kennewick. Archived from the original on March 5, 2018. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  3. "Board Information". Ben Franklin Transit. Archived from the original on March 5, 2018. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  4. Young, Steve (2018-08-31). "Judge says recall of Kennewick councilman can move forward". Tri-City Herald. Archived from the original on 2019-08-25. Retrieved 2019-08-25.
  5. "Steven C. Young (1950-2019)". legacy.com. Archived from the original on January 18, 2022. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  6. "2012 Streamline Winter" (PDF). Mission Support Alliance. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 22, 2016. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  7. "District 3 - James Beaver". Benton County, Washington. Archived from the original on March 5, 2018. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  8. "Don Britain chosen to serve as Kennewick Mayor". KEPR-TV. Archived from the original on March 5, 2018. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  9. "Remembering former Kennewick Mayor Steve Young". 2019-05-17. Archived from the original on 2019-08-23. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
  10. Young, Steve. "Discrimination lawsuit filed against Kennewick mayor, Hanford contractor". Tri-City Herald. Archived from the original on 2019-08-25. Retrieved 2019-08-25.
  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. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2019-05-15. Retrieved 2019-08-25.
  12. Young, Steve (2017-10-10). "Former Hanford worker awarded $8 million in retaliation case". Tri-City Herald. Archived from the original on 2019-08-25. Retrieved 2019-08-25.
  13. "Kennewick mayor, Hanford contractor hit with $8.1M verdict. Now they want a retrial". Tri-City Herald. Archived from the original on March 5, 2018. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  14. "Hanford contractor, former mayor appealing $8 million jury verdict". Tri-City Herald. Archived from the original on March 5, 2018. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  15. "Steve Young steps down as Kennewick mayor". NBC Right Now. Archived from the original on March 5, 2018. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  16. Young, Steve. "This Kennewick leader lost an $8M lawsuit. Now he could be recalled". Tri-City Herald. Archived from the original on 2019-08-25. Retrieved 2019-08-25.
  17. "Steve Young Biography". go2kennewick.com. Archived from the original on March 5, 2018. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  18. "Remembering former Kennewick Mayor Steve Young". tri-cityherald.com. May 17, 2019. Archived from the original on August 23, 2019. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  19. "Former Kennewick Mayor Steve Young dies". nbcrightnow.com. May 16, 2019. Archived from the original on August 23, 2019. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
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