Stephen Bauman is making a bid for a Franklin County commissioner seat.

The Pasco resident and owner of B4 Development and Consulting announced on Thursday, Nov. 16, that he’ll seek the District 1 seat being vacated by longtime Commissioner Brad Peck.

Peck, a Republican, is stepping down effective Jan. 1, citing “hyper-polarization, cronyism, workplace bullying and personal acrimony” in the county. Precinct committee officers from the Franklin County Republic Party will choose three candidates to replace Peck, and then county commissioners will have 90 days to pick one of the three. The person selected must run in 2024 to keep the seat.

Bauman planned a news conference on Friday, Nov. 17, to officially kick off his bid.

“I’m extremely excited to make this announcement. I believe I’m the right person for the job. I have lived, worked and built my business in Franklin County and there’s no one better equipped for this position,” he said in a statement released ahead of the news conference.

Bauman is chairman of the Franklin County Republic Party.

He ran unsuccessfully as a write-in candidate against Peck in 2020.

“I am confident I will win this time around. I had a tremendous amount of support around my first campaign. I believe if I wouldn’t have gotten in so late, I would have won. I’m getting off to an early start and I plan to work extremely hard so voters get to know me,” he said in the statement.

He added that he believes it’s important that the county “is represented by someone who is intimately familiar with the workings of both the urban and rural components of our county.”

He fits the bill, noting that he’s worked with the city of Pasco and the county on development projects and that he grew up farming in Franklin County, he said.