Pacific’s hands-on mayor is going for a three-peat.

Richard Hildreth officially announced last week his intention to run for a third four-year term, vowing more work remains to be done for the blue-collar community of roughly 6,000 people.

“The city is constantly moving forward,” Hildreth said as he greeted supporters during a kickoff campaign gathering at the Trade Route Brewing Co. & Taphouse in Pacific last Friday evening. “We’re a lot better off than where we were back in 2004. Financially, we went through a lot of big problems. There’s a lot of positive things we’ve been able to do.”

Under his watch, Hildreth says, the City has operated a fiscally conservative, responsible office that honors transparency and accountability.

“We want to continue our open-door policy,” said Hildreth, 51, an electrician by trade and a 19-year resident of Pacific. “There were problems with audits prior to me taking office in 2004, but we have not had a bad audit since I’ve taken over as mayor.

“We’re still finding holes, finding problems, but when we find those problems, we try to fix them,” he added.

In October, the Washington State Auditor filed its 2009 report on the City and discovered no findings for the sixth straight year. The 2009 Financial and Accountability Audits, as well as a federal single audit, inspected the City’s compliance with state laws and regulations, its own policies and procedures as well as the basic tenants of sound accounting principles.

Despite a sour economy, Hildreth said, Pacific has attracted new business, such as the Trade Route brewery, Lydig Construction and the Bowman Propane Co.

The City also has formed partnerships with state, county and federal sources to financially support projects, he said. Work has been completed on the intersection improvements for Stewart Road/Valentine Avenue. Similar work is under way at the intersection of Thornton and Stewart.

In addition, Pacific has taken the LEED in sustainable housing in King County through Habitat for Humanity of Seattle/South King County. Pacific welcomed the first two (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)-certified homes in the county built by Habitat for Humanity.

Habitat for Humanity expects to build nine more single-family units on a site it purchased at Meagan’s Meadow at Skinner Road and 1st Avenue East, starting this summer.

Aside from business, Hildreth has devoted considerable time and effort to emergency preparedness. A damaging flood hit the city in early 2009, and since then it has taken corrective steps, such as installing HESCO “sand walls” along the flood-prone banks of the White River.

“We need to continue to make progress in our emergency management plan,” Hildreth said. “We’re progressing, and that’s what we need to do.

Hildreth, who serves on the Washington State Emergency Management Council, is writing a training program for elected officials for the master trainer program at FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute.

Pacific has grown into an active community of leaders, something Hildreth promotes with a passion.

“Leadership is not the person who holds the office, it’s what that person does to empower people, to be in charge of their own lives,” Hildreth said. “There are all these people in our community who work outside of themselves, and that reflects those values that I’ve had in office and reflects the values of this community.”

Hildreth anticipates another tough reelection fight, but hopefully not one as “ugly” as the 2008 race he prevailed in against former mayor Howard Erickson.

Hildreth has received the endorsement of the Valley Regional Fire Authority firefighters’ Local 1382.

The official filing deadline for City office is the first week of June.