I grew up in Issaquah before moving to the coast during college; it certainly doesn’t look today what it did back then when we rode our horses to Pickering Farm from the Pine Lake Plateau!
I was fortunate to start my law enforcement career as a reserve officer (volunteer) at a very young age in a small town in Grays Harbor with only 500 residents. Living and working as a peace officer in such a small town quickly teaches you the value of community service and public safety; these ideals carried through my entire career as a Police Officer, Deputy Sheriff, and Chief of Police.
My wife Monica and I have two sons, Michael and Cameron. Mike is a business owner of a small wholesale landscape supply company and Cameron is a Deputy Sheriff for the Kittitas County Sheriff’s Office.
Mike, our daughter-in-law Megan and granddaughters Hayli and Lilly live in Adna just outside of Chehalis. We are expecting grandchild number three later this year. The granddaughters get whatever they want from Grampy – I am a bit of a pushover!
Cameron and his girlfriend Kim live in Kittitas. He graduated from CWU and stayed – never to return to the rainy coast again. As a peace officer for 34 years, it was an absolute honor to pin Cameron’s badge when he graduated from the Basic Law Enforcement Academy.
My family comes from a long line of business entrepreneurs. My dad owned grocery stores and Subway restaurants. My brother Paul and his wife Tanice are successful real estate investors covering Washington, Idaho, and Montana. Michael has grown his small business through word-of-mouth and honest handshake with his customers.
My mom Dieta is an immigrant who came to this country as a teenager to pursue the American dream; she and my stepdad Mike retired in Edmonds and are frequent visitors to our little cabin.
Monica and I founded a small coffee shop and bakery over 20 years ago, which is still in business today under the third owner. While we owned the shop, Monica joined the fire service as a volunteer firefighter and later became a full-time firefighter/ paramedic in Aberdeen.
I am so proud of Monica because she was the first woman hired by the fire department in 120 years! She went from mom to business owner to firefighter in pursuit of her dreams.
Each of these endeavors was based on “people first” and working hard.
Just like in business, as the Chief of Police for 16 years, I reviewed and approved every single expenditure. Although I was responsible for a biennial public safety budget of over $18 million dollars, every penny crossed my desk.
I never spent the taxpayer’s money on something which I would not have spent my own.
In a successful business, and an effective government agency, funds are spent to accomplish the mission – to get the job done. This means operational objectives must be met (customers are happy) or (citizens are being served) while staying within your means.
Between our business experience and providing public service in a community with a lagging economy and job losses, we learned to make every dollar count. To have every effort make a difference.
Retirement has been quite a transition over this past year. We both made conservative financial decisions so we could retire at an early age to enjoy our next adventures in life.
Based on my experience as a law enforcement subject matter expert in the Legislature, Criminal Justice Training Commission, and Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, I currently work as a consultant for a UW police-community pilot training project; I also serve as a consultant for the state Department of Commerce on a program to protect domestic violence victims.
My wife and I also own a business in Upper County, Peoh Point Services.
Retirement has not slowed me down – it has just allowed me to focus on those things which I find essential, including my family, supporting public safety on the local and state level, and volunteering as a Trustee at Sky Meadows Ranch.
I am excited to leverage my energy, leadership experience, and skills as your next Fire Commissioner for Kittitas County Fire District #7.
