As a lifelong resident of Thurston County with family roots going back to the 19th century, I feel a deep sense of duty to serve the community I’ve always called home. Growing up in Tenino, my parents always participated in community events, and I grew up admiring my father’s service as a volunteer firefighter and the service my grandfather provided as the city’s chief of police.

It’s with that ethic that I entered public service at the age of 18. My work as a volunteer firefighter led to my 20-year career as a professional firefighter, a job I love and have learned many lessons from. Outside of the fire service I have worked as a parole officer and small business owner.

I am a graduate of SPSCC and WSU with a B.A. majoring in philosophy with a psychology minor. While in college, I worked in student leadership positions, where I began to develop my skills as a community leader. After graduating college and moving back to Tenino, I decided to continue the family tradition of local leadership and ran for Tenino City Council in 2011, winning and taking office in 2012. This led to a successful campaign for mayor. I took office in 2015 and have been the mayor ever since.

My time as a local elected official has been both challenging and rewarding. It has taught me lessons that couldn’t be found in any University. When I first took office, Tenino was not in good shape - the budget was in the red, they were borrowing money from utility accounts to balance the general fund, the State Auditor had us on its list of failing cities, and most of the commercial buildings were vacant with plywood on the windows.

Over the last decade, we’ve turned Tenino around. We’ve more than doubled the city’s budget, reinvigorated our commercial environment, built a healthy reserve fund, and gone from failing to thriving.

The credit for this revival goes to the entire community and its efforts to pull together in the face of adversity. Through these efforts, a culture of pride and optimism was forged that can be seen in the various activities going on every day. The role I played was that of facilitator, cheerleader, and dogmatic believer in the talents of my community.

If elected as your Thurston County Commissioner, I will bring this same leadership and fervent passion for public service to this important office.