1. What is your educational and career background, and how does this qualify you for the office of PUD Commissioner?
I’ve always been driven to understand how systems work, though traditional education wasn’t a straight path. After a year at Virginia Commonwealth University studying journalism, I transferred to The Evergreen State College, where I graduated with a focus in Ecology, Political Economics, and Latin American Studies. My career has been shaped by hands-on work and community service. I’ve spent two years in AmeriCorps doing environmental restoration, led trail crews, worked as an arborist, built eco-friendly homes, and driven school buses as a union member (SEIU Local 1948). I’m also a stagehand (IATSE Local 15). This mix of ecological training, union experience, and practical fieldwork gives me a grounded understanding of infrastructure, labor, and environmental stewardship—exactly the perspective needed to oversee a public water utility with about 25 staff members. I know what the work looks like on the ground, and that translates to smarter, more cost-effective oversight.
2. Why are you running for P.U.D. Commissioner?
Maintaining clean, reliable, and affordable water is the sacred duty of the PUD, and I’m running to ensure it’s met with accountability and long-term vision. In 2012, I helped organize the Thurston Public Power Initiative to explore public electricity. Though it didn’t pass, I learned a great deal about the PUD’s operations and the immense financial and legal hurdles of entering the electricity market today. With interest rates higher, the energy landscape shifting toward decentralized solar and storage, and the PUD successfully managing complex water systems, I believe our full focus should remain on water. I also ran because I’m deeply concerned about foreign-owned private utilities interfering in our local elections to protect their monopolies. The PUD should serve residents, not corporate profit. I’m running to provide steady, transparent leadership that prioritizes water security, fiscal responsibility, and community trust.
3. What ideas do you have to keep rates at the lowest level possible?
My priority is keeping rates affordable through operational efficiency, preventive maintenance, and strategic conservation pricing. I support reviewing tiered rate structures so high-volume users pay a fair share, which incentivizes conservation while protecting low-income households. I also believe in maximizing the productive use of PUD assets, planning ahead to avoid costly emergency repairs, and exploring community partnerships—such as an AmeriCorps or youth conservation crew—to assist with non-specialized tasks like site cleanup and invasive species removal. Every dollar saved in operations is a dollar kept in customers’ pockets.
4. What is your opinion of the current and future financial viability of the P.U.D?
The PUD is in a sound financial position, but we must plan strategically for the long term. Recent expansion required new debt, and as interest rates shift, we’ll need to carefully manage refinancing and avoid over-leveraging. While our newer equipment (like trucks) improves efficiency, aging water infrastructure will require steady, predictable investment. I’m glad to see the PUD maintains healthy reserves, and I’ll advocate for maintaining strong cash buffers, prioritizing preventive maintenance over reactive fixes, and conducting regular financial audits to ensure every ratepayer dollar is spent wisely and sustainably.
5. What innovations would you propose to improve and protect our water resources?
The PUD already maintains strong water testing protocols, and I’d support expanding those services to assist smaller private wells and rural water systems across Thurston County. Beyond testing, I’m interested in piloting cost-effective innovations like acoustic leak detection, smart metering to reduce non-revenue water loss, and watershed monitoring partnerships with local colleges and conservation districts. Protecting our water at the source—through riparian restoration and stormwater management—is just as critical as treating it, and I’ll push for the PUD to play a collaborative role in regional water resilience.
6. What are the greatest threats to the sustainability of our water supplies and how would you confront them?
Twenty years ago, Western Washington water shortages seemed unthinkable. Today, they’re a reality: receding snowpack, more intense atmospheric rivers, deeper well drilling, and development straining existing permits. The greatest threats are climate volatility, uncoordinated growth, and aging infrastructure. Confronting them requires regional coordination, not isolated fixes. I support exploring expanded storage (like strategic reservoirs), promoting green infrastructure and rainwater harvesting, and partnering with local universities to pilot adaptive technologies like managed aquifer recharge. Equally important is shifting cultural norms—replacing water-intensive lawns with native landscaping and updating county zoning to require sustainable water planning for new developments. Water security demands proactive, collective action.
7. How would you promote transparency at the P.U.D.?
The PUD already operates with a strong foundation of transparency: open meetings, publicly elected commissioners, volunteer rate advisory boards, and full compliance with public records laws. I will continue to champion that openness by ensuring meeting materials are easily accessible, decisions are clearly communicated, and rate-setting processes remain inclusive. At the same time, I recognize that public agencies sometimes need to navigate sensitive negotiations or security-related matters. While private corporate utilities face no such public scrutiny, the PUD’s legitimacy depends on trust. I’ll ensure transparency is the default, while handling sensitive operational or legal matters with appropriate discretion and clear public reporting once resolved.
8. How would you ensure that P.U.D. employees are treated fairly and responsibly?
As a union member and frontline worker myself, I know that fair treatment, safe working conditions, and respect are non-negotiable. While I won’t interfere with labor organizing—that’s between workers and their representatives—I will ensure the PUD upholds fair wages, comprehensive benefits, and rigorous safety standards. I’ve already spoken with PUD staff and leadership, and I’m confident the organization treats its workers well, but there’s always room to improve. I want to foster a stronger sense of purpose and pride by recognizing staff expertise, investing in training, and ensuring workers have a direct voice in operational planning. The people who maintain our water systems deserve the same level of care they provide to the community.
9. Do you think that the P.U.D. should assume a role in providing electricity?
I remain deeply committed to public power, and I’ve spent years advocating for it—including helping manage the 2020 Thurston Public Power Initiative. However, after careful analysis, I do not believe the Thurston PUD should assume an electricity role at this time. The financial landscape has shifted: higher interest rates make large bond issuances for generation or buyouts prohibitively expensive, and the energy market is moving toward decentralized renewables and storage that may better suit municipal or cooperative models. The Thurston PUD is already managing complex, aging water infrastructure and has grown significantly. Diverting resources into a protracted, legally fraught battle with a foreign-owned monopoly would jeopardize our core mission. That said, I fully support the PUD exploring targeted resilience measures—like solar arrays and backup generators for critical pump stations—to ensure operational reliability during grid outages. Public power remains a vital long-term goal, but it must be pursued at the right scale, with the right backing, and at the right time.
10. Do you think that the P.U.D. should assume a role in providing broadband internet?
Broadband is essential public infrastructure, and I strongly support public or cooperative models to ensure universal, affordable access. However, expanding into telecommunications falls outside the Thurston PUD’s core water mandate and would stretch our capacity thin. Other regions, like Mason County, address this through separate utility districts or regional partnerships. I’d advocate for Thurston County or the state to establish a dedicated public broadband authority or partner with existing regional networks. If state policy or legislation formally directs PUDs to participate with adequate funding and technical support, I’ll ensure compliance. Until then, I’ll champion local grassroots efforts that push state and county leaders to treat broadband as the public utility it should be.
11. What can the P.U.D. do to become more socially responsible?
A public utility is inherently socially responsible because it exists to serve the public good. For the Thurston PUD, that means prioritizing equitable access to clean water, protecting local watersheds, and operating with fiscal and environmental integrity. I take this duty seriously. As climate pressures and infrastructure demands grow, we can’t afford incremental thinking. I believe the PUD should actively collaborate with county agencies, tribes, and nonprofits to ensure no household in our service area is left without safe, affordable water. That might mean expanding low-income assistance programs, streamlining emergency connection protocols, or partnering with community groups to upgrade aging systems. Social responsibility isn’t just policy—it’s showing up, listening to residents, and making decisions that protect both people and the environment for generations to come.