Maintaining & protecting our pure water is the sacred duty of the PUD. My first two years will be metaphorically chopping wood & carrying water, preparing to bridge the looming flood of retirements. By diving in to soak up the institutional wisdom, I hope to further public trust. The two term incumbent for this six year term has 80 years of accumulated wisdom but it’s time for someone new to take the baton. I will bring the energy to face the next 40 years of challenges concerning our water supplies.
Despite the uphill battle, I’m running a clean campaign for a smooth transition. I work as a North Thurston Public Schools Transportation Specialist, member of PSE SEIU Local 1948, as a Stagehand, member of IATSE Local 15, & as an arborist. Elect me & I won’t just be sitting at public meetings. I’ll be at PUD sites bucking downed timber, humping heavy cable, driving big trucks, training new workers, teaching young people & making informed decisions. There is no better way to understanding the needs of PUD sites, equipment, workers and customers than experiencing it in the field.
Moving beyond contentious energy initiatives of the past.
I learned about the PUD by volunteering for the Thurston Public Power Initiative. That 2012 initiative, on the same ballot that first elected my opponent, would’ve allowed the PUD to provide electricity if it had passed. The “No Campaign” spent $656,158.84, all from corporations, but this is not why the initiative lost. The real reason was because we weren’t ready & today we still aren’t. Water is deserving of the full focus of Thurston PUD and it’s Commissioners. I’ve come to this conclusion based on the facts as I see them concerning the changing energy market, the situation with interest rates and the questions of scale.
My position on the complete travesty of paying fealty each month to a foreign owned private electric monopoly remains strong! However, I no longer see the Thurston PUD as the solution to that. Our Governor should bring this travesty to heel, not our PUD. That will take confronting how this foreign corporate person is manipulating our elections. Their continued interference is a strong motivation for my running today. The incumbent I am up against has the backing of this foreign corporate person’s money and power.
This foreign owned private electric monopoly behemoth is spending money we send it on greasing the palms of politicians across the state. That they’re continually pouring money into our local elections for PUD Commissioners is especially concerning. Foreign owners disrupting the people’s choice and the growth of Public Utility Districts, in order to manipulate the market by preventing competition, is an attack on our democracy, fundamental rights and national sovereignty! It makes me absolutely furious. This election should be about which candidate the people judge best for the PUD, not which candidate best serves the profits of the foreign owners of the private electric monopoly.
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