As I predicted back in January, this has turned into a nasty race for reelection. But a conversation I had over this past weekend sums it up perfectly. When an opponent is trying to unseat you they try to attack and discredit what your strong points are. So in a way, my opposition has been saying my strong points are my integrity and my willingness to take on the added duties of emergency management.
Many people have asked why I even put up with the attacks I have. Why have I persevered when most people would have just thrown their hands up and walked away? I have stayed because I believe in what I am doing and because I believe in fulfilling promises I made to the citizens of this city. Although we have accomplished a lot over this past 7 ½ years, we still have a ways to go. Another reason why I would not just walk away is because of the values I was raised by.
My father was a retired US Air Force Captain. He served as a Pilot (Commander of the Stewart Group) and later in the Office of Special Investigations for 16 ½ years before retiring on a medical discharge. He then taught at Wilson High School in Tacoma for 20 years. I was raised on the values of hard work, dedication to what I believe in and not giving up until you reach your goals. My father taught me to be generous with community, to give back and to always honor our Servicemen and Veterans. I was proud to be a part of building the Veteran’s memorial in Puyallup (I donated all of the electrical work). In the winter of 2006 when VFW Post 11401 was getting ready to build a veteran’s memorial in Milton I was proud to again donate my services as an electrician getting more than $4000 in material donated as well as providing all of the labor. This was my way of remembering my father and honoring his service.
Those values of hard work go farther than just building veteran’s memorials. From building sandbag walls (like we are doing this next Saturday (October 15th) to the citywide clean up to an upcoming project of rebuilding a porch for one of our local seniors. I enjoy serving the community of Pacific and volunteer because of how good it makes me feel to give back. This is also one of the reasons I ran for office in the first place.
My opponents have attacked me on taking the time to attend emergency management training. One has even stated that he does not see why a Mayor needs to understand emergencies. First, if the Chief Elected Official or any elected official for that matter, does not understand what is needed, how are they supposed to know what needs to be done? Do I know more than the average Mayor? Yes, but that is something our city should be proud of. Over this past four years I have taken over 20 weeks off of my regular work as a Union Electrician learning aspects of Emergency Management I have brought back to our city. Over this past two years I have spent countless hours working with staff, teaching classes for our citizens and continuing the refinement of our planning. Other cities have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars just trying to get to the point we have for less than a thousand (after all donations, grants and reimbursements from FEMA we have less than $1000 invested). As I stated in a different posting, maybe the problem is not I have had too much training; maybe the issue is my opponents have not had enough.
No matter what happens this fall I know I can hold my head high for what I have accomplished and how I have conducted myself. As has been proven now by two outside investigations, my use of the credit card was not illegal, I have always maintained accountability and I have always been open and honest with the citizens. In the end, the only thing I was guilty of was listening to bad advice of our Finance Director at the time in how we purchased my wife’s airfare to a conference I was speaking at. Even then it was funds donated by local business that was spent, not tax dollars. These businesses, General Equipment, Trimark Corp., Commercial Metals, Valley Freightliner, Valley Truck and Equipment, etc understood the value of the training I was taking, the importance of not just emergency management but the reputation our city was getting nationally as a leader. The only thing these businesses asked for in return is that the knowledge gained be shared with the community to make everyone safer.
As this election draws near I am confident the citizens see through all of the political smoke. I believe in this city and I know that many citizens believe in me. In the interim I will continue to work hard (again a reminder about the sandbagging party this Saturday), serve our community and help keep Pacific a great place to live and do business.
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