Former Kennewick, Wash., mayor and Hanford Site executive Steve Young died Thursday at the age of 69 from complications from cancer.
Young was a four-term mayor of the city near Hanford. He was serving as a city councilman and had filed for re-election. He was also vice chairman of the Energy Communities Alliance, a Washington, D.C.-based nongovernmental organization that represents communities near Hanford and other Department of Energy facilities around the nation.
“Steve has been a leader for ECA for over 15 years, bringing expertise and passion to the organization,” ECA Executive Director Seth Kirshenberg said in a prepared statement. “Steve led several important task forces, including contracting reform and environmental cleanup issues.”
Young also used his Hanford expertise in other volunteer positions, including serving on the Tri-City Development Council’s executive committee and the U.S. Manhattan Project National Historical Park advisory committee.
Young was a longtime Hanford executive, most recently serving as a vice president for site-wide support services prime contractor Mission Support Alliance (MSA), until his retirement a year ago. He was a named plaintiff in the lawsuit brought by former MSA employee Julie Atwood against the company. In October 2017, a Benton County Superior Court jury awarded Atwood $8 million after finding that MSA retaliated and discriminated against her. The verdict is under appeal.
