Mike Gonzalez, a former Franklin County administrator and Pasco economic development manager who was considering a run for Pasco City Council, has abandoned his plans.
Gonzalez, a longtime Pasco resident and current city manager of Echo, Ore., told the Tri-City Herald this week that he no longer is going to run next year.
He also stepped down from a Latino community organization after its president came under fire for allegedly threatening to call ICE on another business owner.
Pasco City Hall is at 525 North Third Avenue.
Gonzalez later issued a public statement explaining that the decision followed what he described as several difficult political and professional years that had taken a toll on him and his family.
“With a heavy heart and considerable thought, I have decided to step away from my campaign for the Pasco city council,” Gonzalez wrote on his website.
He said he now wants to focus on his family and his responsibilities as city manager of Echo.
“My wife and my children have stood beside me through some incredible challenging times,” Gonzalez said. “I owe them something that politics too often takes away: my time, my presence and an opportunity for all us to heal.”
Gonzalez said he still sees public service in his future.
“There will come a time when I am ready to put my name on a ballot again and ask a community to place its trust in me,” he said. “That time is simply not now.”
His potential candidacy had emerged ahead of an election cycle in which four of the seven current Pasco City Council members are up for election next year.
Gonzalez had intended to run for the at-large seat, according to his website.
The at-large term held by Abel Campos and the District 2 term held by Mayor Charles Grimm expire in December 2027.
Joe Cotta’s District 4 term runs through November 2027, while Mayor Pro Tem David Milne’s District 5 term ends in December 2027.
The three other current council seats held by Mark Figueroa, Leo Perales and Calixto Hernandez don’t expire until 2029.
Latino Business Association
Gonzalez also announced that he is stepping away from the Latino Business Association, saying that decision was separate from his choice not to pursue the council race, though recent events contributed to it.
His statement came days after Latin Business Association board president David Cortinas was accused by Pasco landlord Thomas Granbois of threatening to involve immigration authorities during an email dispute.
“Because of those values, I can’t condone or associate myself with rhetoric that targets people because of where they came from, their immigrant background or who they are,” Gonzalez said.
In an Aug. 24 reviewed by the Tri-City Herald, Cortinas wrote that “we don’t need foreigners in the city of Pasco causing trouble” and that he would “need to call the immigration on you.”
Cortinas told the Herald that he didn’t threaten to call ICE and said he had intended to inquire about Granbois’ immigration status.
Gonzalez didn’t name Cortinas in his statement.
“Stepping away doesn’t mean abandoning the Latino business community or the people I have worked alongside,” Gonzalez said. “I will continue supporting them as an individual and as a friend.”
Work in public service
Gonzalez moved to Pasco in 2015 to work as a TV news anchor at the Tri-Cities ABC affiliate.
He later left journalism and became government affairs director for the Franklin PUD before joining Pasco and becoming its economic development manager.
During his time with Pasco, Gonzalez said he helped connect small businesses with nearly $2 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding and created the Pasco Business Advisory Council.
He later became Franklin Count’s administrator and then moved to Sunnyside, where he was hired as city manager in July 2024.
Mike Gonzalez
Before deciding not to run, Gonzalez had posted that Pasco spending, government accountability and economic development would be among his priorities.
He said Pasco should closely examine administrative costs, staffing and contracts before asking residents to pay higher taxes or fees.
Franklin County turmoil
Gonzalez left Franklin County abruptly in 2024 after claiming he was the target of several elected officials who were then under investigation for suspected official misconduct, making false statements and more.
In the end no one was criminally charged, but Commissioner Clink Didier tried to fire Gonzalez, who had whistleblower protections.
Rather than fire him, the commissioners voted 2-1, with Didier opposed, to pay Gonzalez almost $133,000 in a settlement agreement if he agreed not to sue the county.
Gonzalez resigned from the county almost two years after former Administrator Keith Johnson left after a failed series of attempts to fire him.
Mike Gonzalez, a former Pasco and Franklin County administrator, is considered running for Pasco council next year.
Problems in Sunnyside
Gonzalez was hired a week later as Sunnyside’s city manager in July 2024 but was placed on paid administrative leave in June 2025 amid a dispute with Councilwoman Theresa Hancock.
Later, the council, in a split vote, terminated his contract without cause.
An outside investigation found most accusations from both sides were “unfounded” because they didn’t violate specific city policies or relied on accounts from people who weren’t directly involved.
Six months later, after changes on the council, Sunnyside offered Gonzalez his job back. He ultimately didn’t return.
He became the city manager in Echo, located about 45 miles south of Pasco, in January 2026.
