For thousands of years, quilting has brought people together.  Spanning centuries and cultures, groups of people have gathered to make quilts to stay warm, to preserve their history and to decorate their homes.  It is an important part of our American heritage.  My grandmother saved empty, brightly colored feed sacks, as did her friends, and they gathered together on a regular basis to turn those used feed sacks into quilts.  But what, you might wonder, does quilting have to do with the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office? Jan is a long-time resident of Puyallup and a quilter.  She has had poor eyesight since childhood, but, as an adult, she was facing progressive vision loss that would eventually lead to blindness.  She found herself unable to drive or read, and was…

Executive Dammeier asked me to reminisce over my last 30 years at Pierce County as I’m preparing to retire.  I’ve been doing a lot of that as I clean out files and turn projects over to various folks.  I’ll start at the beginning . . . One of the reasons I was hired was because Daisy Stallworth, then Director of the Department of Community and Economic Development, was impressed by my “apparent computer prowess.”  I prepared my resume using Lotus 123 on a dot matrix printer and she was impressed with my use of technology.  Daisy thought I would bring some process improvements to the loan program (which, by the way, was operated from a hand-written checkbook register). Back then, Frederickson was a big field at the end of 2-lane…

I recently helped facilitate a new agreement between the City of Ruston, City of Tacoma and the Point Ruston developers. My goal was to find a solution that would get the huge waterfront project moving forward for the benefit of our residents. If you’ve had a chance to visit the restaurants, movie theater, shops or play spaces, you can appreciate the fantastic jewel that has emerged from the former Asarco Superfund site. When Point Ruston and the transformational work at Point Defiance are both done, it will be an amazing spot for locals and visitors alike! However, disputes over permitting had slowed the largest development in Pierce County history down to a halt. Fortunately, after some marathon negotiations, we were all able to come together and find a path to…

My core values as a leader include being transparent and open.  That’s why it’s important to me that you are aware of an important new study that will begin later this spring. When I joined the County last year, I was surprised to learn we have not looked at how we classify and pay most of our employees since 2002. (To put that in historical perspective, in 2002 we were still reeling from the 9-11 attack on the World Trade Center and the second movie in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy was released.  Both the iPhone and the Great Recession were still 5 years in our future.) Given how much has changed since 2002, it is time to evaluate how we place people in job classifications and compare our…

Have you ever faced an obstacle that seemed impossible to overcome?  Maybe it’s those last 10 stubborn pounds to lose (I am working on that!). Or quitting smoking. Perhaps your garage needs a complete cleaning so you can get your car back inside. The experts say that the key to tackling a big, seemingly overwhelming goal is breaking it down into smaller, more manageable tasks.  The small victories give you encouragement and hope as you take on the next step.  Furthermore, every task is easier if you are working alongside someone – many hands make light work! At this point you may be asking what this has to do with Pierce County.  Fair enough. Right now we are facing one of the largest and most challenging issues I’ve ever seen…

I’ve spent a good part of this week going over the responses many of you provided to last week’s blog survey. I was surprised and pleased at how seriously you took the invitation to comment! There were several common themes.  You shared your concerns about homelessness, opioids and public safety.  You also talked about the lack of resources for behavioral health support – both mental health care and substance abuse treatment. “I believe that there are two interconnected problems: homelessness and the opioid epidemic. Together these things are causing blight, overtaxing our mental health and law enforcement systems and diminishing the quality of life for all they touch.” Well said! To that end, you had suggestions for how to address the devastating opioid crisis. To get a personal look at…

In the picture below you can see some of the members of our Executive team in a discussion about our plans for 2018. (more…)

This week, Pierce County lost an amazing father, husband, friend and protector, Deputy Daniel A. McCartney. To his family, friends, and co-workers, I am deeply saddened by your loss. You are in my prayers. This loss reaches out and impacts everyone in our community – and beyond. Deputy Daniel A. McCartney lost his life responding to a home invasion call. We now know that the call was to a well-known drug house often visited by sheriff’s deputies. We have also learned that two young children were living in the home in deplorable conditions. I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge that in the past month our county has been faced with two significant tragedies; the Amtrak Train #501 derailment and now the horrible death of Deputy McCartney, both events…

I have had way too many close calls with drunk drivers and have experienced the havoc they inflict on our community.  I have been hit twice previously by drunk/drugged drivers.  Both occurred in the morning, neither had a valid license, and both were driving borrowed cars.  Most shockingly, one had been driving under the influence the night before and decided to use PCP while on the way to get the car out of the impound lot.  However, in both cases, I was not seriously hurt.  I have also spent time with local families who have been devastated by the loss of a loved one to the scourge of DUI.  On Christmas night, my family nearly joined their ranks. (more…)

Like at my home, in households across the county the holidays are coming to a close. Decorations are coming down, trees are being recycled, candles have been extinguished and strings of lights are being packed away. Endings and beginnings give us an opportunity to reflect and assess. As we bid 2017 farewell, I am reflecting on my first year as your county’s executive. While I am very proud of what we have accomplished in the last 12 months, there have been some frustrating challenges that are still unresolved for many in our community – making meaningful progress on homelessness and the opioid crisis come to mind. At the same time, we’ve seen some great successes. One such accomplishment is the Mobile Community Intervention Response Team (or MCIRT).  The work of…

Little did we realize our region would change so dramatically last Monday morning.  As most of the whole world knows by now, Amtrak train #501 derailed dramatically at about 7:30 a.m. – killing three, injuring dozens, and cutting off one of the most critical highways on the West Coast. As the bright lights of the community, the nation and even the world were upon us, Pierce County citizens and employees stepped up and made huge contributions to the response, rescue, recovery and repair work.  The preparation, planning, and practice that our Department of Emergency Management (DEM) led in the years that preceded Monday yielded results when we needed them most. The Pierce County Incident Management Team (IMT), led by Captain Jerry Lawrence from our Sheriff’s Department and assisted by Captain…

In 2008, Domino’s Pizza unveiled a new feature that enabled customers to order pizza and track the status of their order online. It was revolutionary for its time. Eventually, Pizza Hut and Papa John’s got in on the game and began offering their customers the ability to track their orders. Well, now Pierce County is going to do the same! Except instead of allowing customers to track their pizza orders, we’re going to enable our citizens to track their public records requests online. Both are equally life changing. In Executive Dammeier’s 2017 State of the County Address, he said “We are committed to increasing the transparency of county government and making it more accessible and accountable to our citizens…It’s their government, and they should know what we’re doing.” Since that…

As winter sets in and the generous spirit of Christmas seems to transform us, perhaps you are like me and want to do something more than just buy a cup of hot cocoa for that mentally ill woman who hovers near your favorite coffee shop, or sleeps in an alcove near your workplace, isolated and hard to reach because of her disorienting condition. As you hand her a warm cup and a sandwich, and try to say something to connect on a human level, you feel powerless.  Can anything be done to ease her burden and address the cruel mental illness or substance addiction that creates tough barriers to getting needed help? While we have a long way to go, Pierce County has invested in a variety of programs to…

While many of you were picking up turkeys and baking pies for Thanksgiving, late into last Tuesday night our Council was approving the 2018 budget that will provide our spending plan for next year. I’m excited for the new year and new initiatives to begin! The final unanimous vote was months in the making and the process actually began only days after the supplemental budget was finalized in June.  While the process was very long, the final product is good for the County and good for our residents. We are making significant investments in key areas such as public safety and behavioral health. In addition, we’ve directed funds to an important compensation study and greater resources for employee training. I want to acknowledge the many County employees and elected officials who…

Lauren and I are hosting our extended family for Thanksgiving.  When 33 of my relatives get together in one home, it will be fun and a little crazy.  I am very excited to have my sister and her family in from Vermont for the first time in a few years. Like many of you, while I will be settling in to enjoy a wonderful meal and getting caught up with my relatives, it’s important to keep in mind that many County employees will be hard at work on Thursday – like every other day of the year. Our road crews will be ensuring county roads are open and safe as we travel.  Sadly, the extended holiday weekend will likely be busy for our jail staff and the Medical Examiner’s team.…

Election Day has come and gone and nearly all the races are decided (Even as I write this, two contests are still too close too call!).  As a community, we just finished one of the most important things we do as citizens of the U.S. – we selected individuals to lead our communities.  Disappointingly, only about 28% of Pierce County registered voters did cast ballots. While the yard signs are coming down and concession speeches have been given, the election isn’t quite finished for Auditor Julie Anderson and her team.  That will happen after the election results are certified on November 28. In the meantime, I want to offer my congratulations to the crew for successfully administering the November 7 election! This year was a period of great change for…

In this week’s blog I want to turn the mirror around and focus on some of you – our veterans working at Pierce County. You may not realize it but we have about 100 employees who wore, or are wearing, the uniform. (more…)

How would you go about trying to raise awareness around the importance of conserving resources and encourage people to change their driving habits?  And, do it without making people feel guilty or annoyed? That’s the challenge Ryan Dicks, our sustainability manager, has every year with the annual Sustainability Survey. This year was my first time taking the survey and I was especially motivated to answer the questions correctly. Ryan capitalized on our competitive spirit and our local football allegiances to pit departments against each other in tournament brackets. I like to rise to a challenge and learn new things so I jumped in with both feet! I pored over the online sustainability report to prep for the survey and must admit I picked up some new tips.  I am now…

I had the privilege of attending my first Employee Recognition event with many of you last night.  Along with Chair Doug Richardson, many elected officials, and members of our executive management team, we cheered, smiled and saluted some inspiring colleagues. Can you imagine working at the same place for 20, 25, 30 or even 40 years?  Neither can I!  But, we are fortunate to have that kind of commitment and dedication from quite a few long-term employees. Clearly, there is something powerful happening that speaks to our culture and the quality of the service we strive to maintain.  We were curious to see what keeps our “veteran” colleagues coming back to the County, day after day, so we turned on a video camera and gave them the microphone.  We also…

It’s not every day that you have the opportunity to compete for one of the largest corporate headquarters in the world.  But, that’s what the partners across Pierce County did this week. You might have heard that Amazon issued an RFP for their second headquarters, called HQ2, and hundreds of North American cities are reportedly delivering their qualifications. (more…)