County Commissioners set policy and adopt budgets for their counties. They supervise County departments either directly or, when there is a County Administrator, indirectly. Counties provide a wide range of important public services, from managing elections to maintaining roads. To qualify, a candidate must be a U.S. citizen, a registered voter, a resident of the district for at least a year prior to the General Election, and 18 years of age or older.Term: 4 years. This position is nonpartisan.
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Town Where You Live
The Dalles
Your Experience/Qualifications
The Dalles City Council (currently). Columbia Gateway Urban Renewal Agency (3 years). The Dalles City Budget Committee (5 years). The Dalles-Wasco County Joint Climate Resilience Committee. Traffic Safety Committee. Mid-Columbia Economic Development District. The Dalles Watershed Council.
County
Wasco
Term
4 years
Term Expires
12-31-28
Several significant challenges for Wasco County, besides a tight housing supply, are: (1) The need for many of our rural communities to build or upgrade expensive water and wastewater systems; (2) wisely allocating Google property tax and related money; and (3) a shortage of family-wage jobs. I would make decision as a commissioner to address these challenges in a similar fashion – by prudently investing county resources in cost-effective partnerships and infrastructure. The county could hire a grant-writer to help our rural communities navigate state and federal funding opportunities for critical water systems. This would be a modest investment to help hundreds or thousands of residents, without having to raise local taxes.
I bring the most effective blend of personal qualities, life history, and experience to be an effective commissioner for all of Wasco County. Among these are: (1) Family and personal history in the county (graduate TDHS 1991; parent of ’02 graduate); (2) Strong work ethic; (3) Willingness to listen and learn complex topics, and make tough decisions; (4) A heart for the whole county, both my hometown (The Dalles) and rural South County; (5) Understanding of water resources and wildfire; (6) Ability to forge collaborative partnerships and navigate challenging issues; and, (7)Experience in local government on several boards, and The Dalles City Council
If elected, I will work hard for you and make decisions with the whole county in mind.
Wasco County can and should be at the table for this crucial conversation. All of our local communities are struggling with this lack of housing for young people just starting out, professionals being recruited into local jobs, and seniors ready to down-size.
How can Wasco County help? Several ways: (1) Set this as a policy goal and direct staff to start looking at options. (2) Work with partners such as local towns and nonprofit housing agencies to identify ways to support attainable workforce housing. (3) Consider granting one or more parcels of county to a nonprofit housing agency to develop moderately sized housing – which will be more affordable to younger, working people.
