Tell us about yourself.

I am 54 years young, and I currently work as a locksmith security technician at White Knight Safe and Lock here in Auburn.

I am one of 13 children born in Dubuque, Iowa. Being born and raised in the Midwest in such a large family I learned to work together with others. I learned the lessons of cooperation and discourse as well as the joys and rewards of helping others in their times of need. The greater joy was helping as quietly and privately as possible without looking for reward or public acknowledgment.

At 17 I joined the Navy. For eight years I enjoyed the opportunity to see numerous European countries, the East coast, the Gulf coast and the California coast. Upon completion of my second active duty tour, I moved to Oregon where I attended Mt. Hood Community College and earned an Associate’s degree in Electronic Systems Technology. While in school I was a member of the Navy Reserve, assigned to drilling at Whidbey Naval Station where I fell in love with the Puget Sound area. I joined the Air Force Reserve in 1984 and continued to serve until retiring Feb. 28 1999 as a Technical Sergeant.

I first moved to Auburn in 1988 with my mother. Then, in 1990 we moved to Algona to my brothers’ house so he could assist in her care until her passing in 1993. I married shortly thereafter and moved to Snoqualmie where I worked as a roofer for my father-in-law by day and ran my company, Snoqualmie Locksmith, by night. In 1997, I was honored to be elected to serve a four-year term as a Snoqualmie City Council member at a time when the state mandated cities take on a certain amount of urban growth. We worked diligently with Weyerhaeuser to produce the Snoqualmie Ridge development. We also partnered with King County, North Bend, the Mountain to Sound Green Way and the Snoqualmie Tribe to put thousands of acres surrounding Snoqualmie into conservancy in perpetuity. After separating from my wife, I returned to locksmithing full-time. Six years ago (2003) I found a job at White Knight Safe and Lock which moved me back into Auburn where I established my present home.

My life has been one of serving my friends and neighbors no matter where that would be. I have served as head trustee and treasurer at Algona Baptist Church, and formed a neighborhood watch in Snoqualmie where I served as both captain and a member. I am a certified member as well as the Treasurer of the Northwest Locksmith Association.

I enjoy a good “black powder rendezvous”, hiking, carpentry, and gardening. I enjoy some of all types of music, but not all of any of them. I love learning something new every day.

I would have to say that the most influential person in my life was my mother, who gave me a strong moral base and after becoming a paraplegic taught me how to live with adversity and still enjoy life. Other influences were John F. Kennedy and Irwin J. Jones, my grandfather and a WWII veteran. Both of these men instilled in me the need to serve my country to maintain the freedoms we enjoy, the need to never forget how fragile our freedom really is, and love for God and country.

Why do you want to be mayor?

I want to be Mayor of the City of Auburn because I don’t believe that the citizens are being properly represented by the current administration. Too much of city business is being done without openness and visibility. I believe that if a city’s leaders are acting faithfully to perform excellent work for their citizens there should be nothing to hide. The current administration appears to talk the talk but they do not appear to walk the walk.

I am an honest person who will provide leadership in the light of day. This is the kind of change that I believe Auburn deserves.

What qualifies you to be mayor:

I am a citizen over the age of 18 residing within the boundaries of the city of Auburn. I have experience as an elected leader in a developing area and understand the practical issues of city leadership. I also am uniquely qualified by my military service and service to the communities in which I have lived.

Name three things you would like to accomplish as mayor:

I will provide an environment that promotes and enhances the ability of small, medium and large businesses to operate and succeed in Auburn. The projected price for a space in the mayor’s new building downtown is definitely not going to do that. I will get Auburn back on solid financial ground. Due to current economic conditions, shortsightedness on the part of the mayor and council (when they knew or should have known ahead of time that the state’s taxing structure was going to change), and some poor fiscal decisions on the part of the presiding mayor, the city is now in a position that required employee layoffs. As mayor, I will reduce the mayor’s salary by 20 percent. I also will examine the budgets, actual expenses, and budget variances in every department to find practical ways to reduce spending and improve efficiency.

I will provide actual opportunities for all citizens to provide their input on all issues, not just the façade that is currently in place and practiced in City Hall.

Have you held elective office before, and if so recount at least three of your accomplishments?

City Council member Snoqualmie, Dec., 1997 – Dec., 2001

1. When elected to City Council in Snoqualmie, my first job was to renegotiate arrangements with Fire District 10 to provide fire service to the city. As a small town, we did not inspire respect in our contracting negotiations with the district. With just three months left in our existing contract, the district finally came to the table with a proposal that was unsatisfactory to the city and our growing requirements. The district thought that we had no choice but to sign the contract or have no fire service for the city. Snoqualmie was in a growth position due to the state’s Growth Management Act. Armed with the facts that the economy was good, that new developments were selling, and that the two-year forecast was looking strong, I was able to convince the City Council to start our own fire department. Within that three-month window, a fire chief was hired, a full-time crew was tested, interviewed, hired and trained in their coverage area, and providing the city and surrounding area with a first class emergency service.

2. The new Snoqualmie development was just starting out, and the city was farming out the building inspections to a contractor. I was able to demonstrate to the Council and staff that this practice was an unnecessary expense that restricted our ability to provide better quality control. As a result, my Council created a building department and hired Snoqualmie’s first building official and inspector. Within one year, the building department was not only self supporting, they were generating enough revenue to provide both operating capital and to allow interdepartmental loans until the other departments’ revenue funds met city mandated operating requirements.

3. We were able to bring into Snoqualmie’s new development three different low-income housing options. The first option was a small cottage option, which was a smaller building on a smaller plot. The second option was the ‘You Build Assist’, where the framing, plumbing, electrical and exterior structures was erected, and the home owner chose what level of the interior they would complete. Third was the “Habitat for Humanity” neighborhood, which up to that date was the largest single project in the nation with 50 single-family homes.

What is your experience administrating budgets small and large?

I served as the Chair of the finance and administration committee in Snoqualmie in 2000 and as the Member of the finance and administration committee in Snoqualmie for 2001. Currently, I am serving as Treasurer of the North West Locksmith Association and have been since 2003.

Why do you think the citizens of Auburn should vote for you:

I believe that the leader of our great city should be honest and forthright at all times. I am a team-oriented, self-disciplined, plainspoken man. I have traveled extensively and can bring a world view to the table that appears to have been missing in Auburn too long. I will not make promises that I cannot keep. I will work tirelessly for the citizens of this city and do everything I can to rebuild the local economy and my neighbor’s faith in the leadership in City Hall.

How would you maintain the same quality of life residents now enjoy without imposing additional tax burdens on them?

Currently our city benefits from 1 percent of the sales tax generated statewide. We impose burdens upon our residents through fees charged for permits, water and waste removal. I propose that we maintain our current permit fee schedule to stimulate growth and keep more money in the pockets of citizens who wish to start businesses and improve personal properties. Additionally, I will seek alternatives to increasing water and waste removal fees by working closely with our partners at Waste Management and King County.

What changes would you make to Auburn?

We need to bring business back to Auburn. In the past three years there has been a terrible migration of businesses leaving Auburn for cities that are more friendly and affordable to them. We need to examine our permit structure, our business tax structure, and our fees for services to insure that we are the city that businesses will choose in the future. The current administration has done little or nothing to promote to potential business partners right now. We need to change this. The best way to learn how to be a good city for businesses is to go to our Chamber of Commerce and ask members what we are doing that is wrong and what we are doing that is right. Then we can correct our response to business and let our communities know, with the help of our local media, that we are making strides to be the best place to work and live.

What would be your top priorities?

Our highest priority right now is improving our business base so that we can create a sustainable future for our city financially. We need business. The current administration has been short-sighted at a time when we could least afford to request that business owners ‘move aside’ for ‘progress’ downtown. We need retail volume and stability. I will be partnering with our Chamber of Commerce, our local small business owners, entrepreneurial organizations, colleges, trade schools, and other local agencies that are interested in employing our people. We need to know what skills our people require to be employable, and we need to make every effort to create opportunities for them. To this end, I also will examine our taxation and fee structure as it applies to new businesses to make sure that we are business friendly.

Secondly, we need to assess our city’s budget priorities to make sure that we are spending our citizens’ tax dollars on projects and services that will serve the most people to the best of our ability. These are hard times for many people. We need to demonstrate the fact that we understand this. We should not be purchasing anything that does not have a practical use or function right now. If at all possible, we should do the very same thing that many of our citizens are doing: save for our rainy days. As mayor I will address our city budget with great care because our economic problems are not behind us.

Another priority is to build a city staff that is trained to value customer service. This positive approach is cultivated when workers have fair employers with respectful expectations. The city needs to empower employees with a sense of ownership and personal responsibility. The work Auburn’s staff does effects our entire community. Our workers need to serve the citizen and not the other way around. My intent is to create a responsive, proactive, friendly workforce for our city.

How would you pay for street maintenance?

At one point it was reasonable to believe that impact fees could be used in part to generate road improvements and construction. This is not as available currently as our business base is using existing spaces. Street maintenance is paid for with the SOS (Save Our Streets) funds that the people voted for as well as Transportation Improvement Board (TIB) funds. There are also federal gas tax monies and grants. We need to go after grants more aggressively. To accomplish this task, the City of Auburn needs to make certain that we employ the most competent grant writer(s) and researcher(s) that we can reasonably afford.

What do you think of plans now underway to redevelop the downtown:

I believe that the current redevelopment plans espoused by Mayor Lewis are not right for our economic times. I also believe that they fail to include the charming and important history of our downtown corridor. The current mayor’s plan includes bringing in upscale businesses and eateries that would serve an upper-middle class constituency. The only problem with that plan is that this is a working class town. I do not believe that our economic base is in any condition to support upscale businesses. Reports indicate that the majority of the recently unemployed people in our country work in manufacturing or trades, and that 80 percent of them are men. Our families are struggling to support themselves on lower wages in a geographic area that is heavily invested in manufacturing, construction and aerospace. Furthermore, costs of new construction will make it much harder to locate affordable retail space downtown. Building structures that are financially out of reach of the very people we want to open businesses downtown is counterproductive.

We have beautiful, historical buildings that should be renovated and used as a part of this redevelopment plan. By using our historic buildings we will be able to control the costs associated with providing retail space and restaurants while improving the ambiance and atmosphere that makes people want to visit Auburn. Let Bellevue be Bellevue, and let Auburn be Auburn. We are a town with a lot to offer that is uniquely Auburn.

What is your position on homelessness in the city?

Homelessness is a growing problem in every city. As people lose their jobs, they lose their ability to pay rent or make their house payments. It should be a concern of everyone. We need to do the best we can individually and collectively to assist where we can at places such as the Auburn Food Bank, and at local non-profit organizations that support the poor. The current administration supports the Auburn Food Bank. I will continue this effort if elected and will partner with our local school districts to increase the number and frequency of food drives annually. I also will partner with churches and other organizations that provide emergency housing to the homeless to increase the availability of beds where we can.

The city is limited by financial constraints just as individuals can be, but we will be creative and resourceful.

Given King County’s plans to drastically cut funding for human and social services on the south end, how would you deal with the fallout?

King County has been reducing its financial presence in the South end for years. Because the withdrawal of support has been gradual but continuous, we already have efficiencies in place to manage services and human needs with little or no additional help. However, I will be aggressively seeking grants and charitable support of needy people where possible and we will – as we always have – pull together as a community to care for our own.

Do you think the community center and activities center proposed for the Les Gove Campus represent a wise investment?

No, I do not believe that the center represents a wise investment. The cost of building this center likely will require excessive charges. A community center, by definition, should be a place that people can come together to do things at no cost or at very low cost. According to the plans I have seen, the community center is going to be a place that provides rented space for meetings, weddings, and parties. This is a service that is already provided by the Eagles, the Elks, and local churches. I do not believe that we should be competing with them. A true community center is not a rental space.