My education and experience provide valuable background to the Commission. I know how to bring people together toward common goals whether on teams, Boards or with community leaders. This is a unique requirement when there are only three persons on a governing board. Most of all, I value the creation of an environment where everyone’s opinions can be heard. We all want a healthy community and by listening to a wide variety of opinions, we can form creative solutions to achieve better results for all of us.

Developing a community with good jobs, a healthy environment, excellent schools, great parks and adequate transportation requires the ability to balance, build coalitions and work creativity to assure it happens without saddling the people who live here with the costs others create. It also demands the ability to prioritize and make tough decisions, which I am committed to continuing as your Commissioner.

As your County Commissioner, I’ve listened as you’ve shared your hopes for Clark County and your concerns. I’m not just taking notes, I’m taking action!. Here are a few improvements I’ve helped make happen in the 18 months as your Commissioner.

Promised to increase public safety

• Delivered: The Board of Commissioners hired 9 new Sheriffs deputies; formed a meth taskforce to effectively address this scourge to our community and explored partnerships with counties who have jail space, to deal with our overcrowding issues without costing taxpayers $100 million for a new jail in downtown Vancouver.

Promised to preserve our critical open spaces in Clark County

• Delivered: Recently adopted Wetland Protection Ordinance that better protects the values our wetlands provide, while allowing much more flexibility to land owners.
• Leading efforts to form a countywide conservation program that will preserve thousand of acres of critical natural corridors using incentives and acquisitions with existing funds and grants instead of regulations. Early efforts are toward better use of public and private funding partnerships resulting in system-wide protection and restoration. We recently secured a $750,000 grant from the State of Washington to develop a mitigation bank program for damage done to the environment by development (private and public).
• Worked with landowners, Fish First and the State, as we restored historic streamflow patterns on the East Fork of the Lewis River by tearing out the County Dike and will follow up this year with fish enhancement work in the river.
• Worked with the stakeholders to make our environmental permitting processes more efficient and effective.
• Promised to help ensure that we continue to have great schools.
• Delivered: Forging partnerships between Parks and Schools for future land acquisitions. Also, the Board of Commissioners is working with Schools Districts and developers to secure nearly doubled fees dedicated to schools. Although we know, this is not a permanent fix. It is a short term fix. A taskforce formed by school districts to include the Board and interest groups will work together to identify a better long term remedy at the state level.