No New Airport!

While I recognize the long-term need for more airport capacity in the region, I do not think it should come in the form of a new airport sited in a rural area. Thurston County is beautiful with amazing outdoor space, clear waters, and clean air.

We need to protect our rural community and promote values that recognize the importance of preserving our natural environment. Making policy decisions through the lens of sustainability is critically important. For something to be sustainable it needs to balance the needs of the natural environment, the people in that environment, and the commercial interests that support both of those. The airport proposal flies in the face of sustainable policy-making, it converts family housing to runways while we are fighting for more affordable housing, it disrupts the natural environment in critically important areas, and lets commercial interests outweigh all else. I support adding capacity at existing commercial airfields and should a military airfield be surplused in the future, then conversion to commercial should be seriously considered at that time.

Public Safety

I've been a public safety professional for over 25 years. I currently work as a professional firefighter and previously worked as a parole officer and juvenile detention counselor. As a result of these experiences, I have a deep appreciation and understanding of the importance of properly funding and supporting our first responders. 

Our County has seen a tremendous amount of growth in the past two decades and our public safety agencies are fighting to keep pace with the growing and changing demands. As commissioner you don’t have many opportunities to weigh in on operational aspects, but we can look critically at how we deliver services and why. How we define and dispatch emergencies is a necessary starting point that deserves to be re-evaluated. We also need to ensure we are properly educating the public on what warrants a call to 9-1-1 and what does not. I have sat on various regional committees over the years that are involved in public safety including the Medic One Board, the Law and Justice Council, and Thurston County Emergency Management. As commissioner, it is important to have an understanding of and appreciation for our public safety systems so that the right questions can be asked. This is what I bring to the table.

Responsible Leadership

My tenure as Mayor of Tenino has shown that I am a pragmatic leader who focuses on being a good steward of culture, resources, and infrastructure. After taking office, I immediately worked to ensure the proper care of our many city buildings, secured grant money to replace failing roofs, performed renovations, and closed the gap on years of differed maintenance. Taking proper care of our own buildings ensures they’ll last for generations to come and also sets an example for the community. 

I have facilitated the renovation of dormant city buildings and leased them out, creating new revenue streams. I have also created new bio-solid processes at our Wastewater Treatment Plant that have created additional revenue and ensured best practices in regional septic waste disposal. I will bring that same philosophy to Thurston County and work towards ensuring we are investing in our roads, parks, and county buildings so that they’ll provide services to our community for years to come.

Economic Development

The greatest assets we have in Thurston County are the people who live here. As a leader, I believe in the importance of local culture, promoting and developing our unique community through supporting the many creative and intellectual opportunities we have here. This is critical to developing a strong, independent, and resilient economy. 

Economic development must be more than mega-warehouses and box stores. We need to ensure that our regulations allow for speculative local investments and the development of homegrown talent. The goal should be to promote a culture of experimentation, research, and the creation of new products and ideas that are endemic to Thurston County.

I have been a board member of the Thurston County Economic Development Council for several years and have advocated for strengthening our creative economy and promoting entrepreneurship. As Mayor of Tenino, I have been part of a multi-year initiative to create a regional agriculture and innovation park that will provide support and opportunities to local agriculture producers. To date, we have received over six million dollars in grant funding and, with additional private investments, will begin construction early this year. Additionally, we have established Tenino as a certified creative district through the state of Washington and created local micro-grants to help fund façade improvements on our main street. Local government can do a lot to foster a culture of creativity and entrepreneurship by educating staff, ensuring regulations are reasonable, and through creating specific incentives. Thurston County is an amazing place with amazing people and, with the right conditions ,we can ensure it will be a happy, healthy place to call home well into the future.

Ensure Adequate Representation

I first took office over a decade ago and one thing that immediately became apparent to me was the disconnect between North and South Thurston County. South County residents, their voices, and their wishes rarely reached the regional boards and decision-makers in Olympia, leaving a legacy of mistrust and animosity. 

As Mayor of Tenino, I have successfully built strategic relationships throughout the region to strengthen our voice and ensure we have a seat at the table. I have also advocated for an increase in the number of seats on the County Commission to further the goal of gaining a rural South Thurston County district. And good news! We have now created that, and I am running for that seat right now. If elected Commissioner, I will use the relationships I have built over the past decade to usher in a new era of improved representation and collaboration for South Thurston County.