The Lewis County Public Utilities District (PUD) Board of Commissioners on Tuesday, April 1, officially announced the board position representing District 1— formerly held by a man who has been charged with felony bribery — has been vacated.
In the same meeting held at the PUD’s headquarters in Chehalis, the board opened the nomination process for candidates to be appointed to fill the seat.
Then, remaining PUD commissioners Dave Fenn and Mike Hadaller named their own nominee for the position — former Lewis County PUD General Manager Dave Muller.
The seat became vacant after former PUD Commissioner Michael Kelly was absent from board meetings for more than 60 days. Removal after such a long absence is mandated by state law.
“Neither the commissioners nor the PUD removed Kelly from his seat,” Fenn said. “That happened because of state law. I think it’s important for the public to know that.”
Kelly was arrested and charged in December with two felonies — one count of bribery and one count of requesting unlawful compensation. The charges are in response to Kelly allegedly asking the current PUD General Manager David Plotz to hire him for an administrative position at the PUD in exchange for Kelly’s support for a pay raise for Plotz.
Plotz’s claims were confirmed by a Centralia Police Department investigation, including two judicially-approved recorded phone calls during which Kelly reportedly repeated his request.
Kelly was released on bail after his arrest last November while the case moves through Lewis County Superior Court. As part of his conditions of release, he was barred from contacting any direct witnesses of the alleged crime, including Plotz, and barred by the Lewis County PUD Board of Commissioners from having contact with PUD staff.
At the end of the business meeting Tuesday, Fenn and Hadaller nominated Muller as candidate for the commissioner seat representing District 1 and announced that the board would begin accepting additional nominations from the public.
According to state law, the board has 90 days to appoint a candidate who will serve for the rest of the current term, which runs through the end of 2026.
Muller worked for the Lewis County PUD for 39 years, including 12 years as the general manager, before he retired at the end of 2011. According to Muller, he was asked by Fenn if he was interested in the newly vacated seat.
Muller, for his part, has remained involved in the PUD since his retirement, even serving as chair of an organizational review panel in the winter of 2023 that was brought in to give operational advice for Plotz.
“You know, having spent 39 years there, I continue to have an interest in seeing the facility is well run,” Muller said.
Nominations for candidates to fill the District 1 seat on the Lewis County PUD Board of Commissioners are now open to the public for 15 days. After that time, the board will be able to take advantage of a 15-day consideration period before announcing its selection.
Nominations must include the nominator’s full name and a residential street address. They can be mailed to Lewis County PUD Board of Commissioners, P.O. Box 330, Chehalis, or emailed to execadmin@lcpud.org no later than 5 p.m. Wednesday, April 16.
A Lewis County PUD commissioner district map is available at https://www.lcpud.org/about-us/meet-the-commissioners/.
