It all started with a long-distance phone call between two brothers, comparing notes about what was going on at work. It turns out that GuHun Kwon, a Case Manager in our Medicaid Case Management program, has a brother, GuTaek, in Seoul, South Korea, who works as a Director of a Social Services Center.  Their conversations eventually led to a delegation of 8 leaders from Yangcheon-Gu, South Korea, “stopping by” Tacoma to meet with Pierce County Human Services after a tour of similar programs in Canada. Yangcheon is a district (or “Gu”) of Seoul, South Korea.  Its population is 439,000, and it covers just over 6.7 square miles (for a population density of 70,000 residents/sq. mile).  Compared to Pierce County, with its population of 921,000 and 1670 square miles (a density…

During Monday’s New Employee Orientation, one of our new prosecuting attorneys shared a little about her family.  With two little ones at home, she welcomed the opportunity at Pierce County, to “just” manage a caseload and not be supervising anyone else.  At some point in the future, she might be interested in a formal leadership position, but not right now. I appreciated her comments.  We all have issues in our personal lives, and ideally, we can harmonize them with our professional responsibilities. Right now, I am dealing with a very difficult phase of my life.  My brother-in-law is in the final stage of a decade-long battle with cancer.  Thinking about my sister and her family, I knew that I needed to be there to support them.  Our team at the…

  On Monday, I joined the Sheriff and several deputies in Washington, D.C. for the 42nd Annual National Peace Officers Memorial Service on the lawn of the U.S. Capitol.  This event honored 443 law enforcement officers who had lost their lives in service to their communities.  Pierce County Deputies Dom Calata and Daryl Shuey were among those being memorialized. Our deputies were representing the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department as well as the larger Pierce County law enforcement family.  I was there bearing witness on behalf of the rest of our County colleagues and all the residents of our County.  We remembered Dom and Daryl and stood by and supported their families.  It was powerful and important - and I hope Pierce County never has cause to be there again. [embedyt]…

I’ve previously mentioned in the blog that one of the highlights of my week is attending the Monday New Employee Orientation.  Meeting our newest colleagues is inspiring! I always enjoy the comments and perspectives of people who have chosen to contribute to our work, and this week’s conversation did not disappoint. In this week’s call we had folks with ties to the Stadium District, Spanaway, Saipan and Saudi Arabia, among many other places.  Their previous work experience ranged from consulting engineering to immigration law, from Costco to teaching in Hawaii, and from a mental health crisis responder to caring for our most challenged children. This exceptional group of new colleagues are working throughout the County, from the Sewer Division to Environmental Education, from the Clerk’s Office to IT, from Aging &…

I hope you read yesterday’s announcement that we are planning to buy a downtown Tacoma building so that we can finally implement our long-planned Justice Center initiative in the County-City Building (CCB). The CCB was constructed in 1959 and originally housed nearly all the County’s operations, as well as those of the City of Tacoma - hence the name County-City Building. As our population grew, the need for our county services grew too.  Courts expanded in the CCB, and other departments were moved out to other leased locations.  The City of Tacoma moved out to their current municipal building (originally built in 1931) in 1977, leaving their court and related services behind.   [caption id="attachment_3999" align="aligncenter" width="779"] The newly built County-City Building - note the old courthouse is still standing.[/caption] Fast…

OK, so I didn’t find an actual fountain, like the explorer Ponce De Leon (some researchers believe he never even actually searched for the Fountain of Youth), but I do know one way to help keep me young. Henry Ford once said, “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young,” and I have found that to be true in my personal and work life. I make it a priority to encourage our colleagues to learn professionally and personally as well. Just this week, I welcomed employees to two “Government to Government: Tribal Relations” classes and celebrated with the most recent graduates of our leadership certification programs! And today, I am heading to Everett to learn more about our ferry, the Steilacoom II,…

Tacoma has two popular slogans, one of which is "The City of Destiny," which originated from being chosen as the western terminus for the Northern Pacific Railroad's transcontinental railroad in 1873. The other slogan, "You'll Like Tacoma," was introduced at the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition in 1909 as a publicity tool and is still popular today despite it no longer standing. It’s a great reminder that Tacoma and Pierce County have a lot to offer.   I was reminded of that fact last Friday when I stopped by Sprinker Recreation Center for our countywide career fair. This year the career fair represented over 25 departments/divisions, and featured on-site interviews, a family-friendly facility, and translation services in Spanish, Ukrainian, Russian, Korean, Samoan, and Vietnamese. I was proud to see so many of our employees…

Every year we honor the amazing people who freely give of their time and talent to benefit our residents.  In fact, this Saturday we are honoring nearly 50 people who give back to our youth, teach us gardening, care for our environment, are prepared for emergencies, and much more.  The annual Volunteer Recognition Brunch is one of my favorite events because it reminds me of what really makes our community so special - the people. One of the people we are honoring may be familiar to those of you who have lived in the region for quite a while.  I was in awe of the incredible achievements of the young boxers from the Tacoma Boys Club. Leo Randolph grew up in Tacoma and attended Wilson (now Silas) High School in…

April weather in Pierce County can be wild!  It clearly lives up to the old adage, “if you don’t like the weather, wait 10 minutes and it will change.”  Last Saturday, we saw blustery winds, hail, drenching rain, sunshine, and cold temperatures alternating throughout the day!  I was in Wilkeson, but my thoughts were with those participating in the Daffodil Parade! Why was I up in Wilkeson?  I was invited to speak at an event hosted by the Pierce Conservation District, the Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR), our Department of Emergency Management (DEM), the Buckley Fire Department, East Pierce Fire & Rescue, Orting Fire & Rescue, the US Forest Service, the US Geological Survey (USGS), the WSU Master Gardeners, the Friends of the Carbon River Canyon, and the Tacoma-Pierce…

  There are so many “rites of spring” underway right now. March Madness is upon us. Did you see the amazing Sweet 16 Game last night where Gonzaga beat UCLA in a classic? The days are getting longer and a bit warmer. Trees and plants are sprouting new leaves and of course the daffodils are out - and not just the flowers! I look forward to meeting the Daffodil Court each year.  Spending time with these incredible young women, representing high schools from across the county, is encouraging and inspiring. You can’t talk with them - listening to their accomplishments, plans and dreams - and not be hopeful for our future.  They are leaders today and will be our leaders of tomorrow. I hope the sunny days this past week…

This last Wednesday I delivered my annual State of County Address at the Steilacoom Town Hall.  I was honored to be joined by Nisqually Tribal Chairman Willie Frank III, Bobby Whitener from the Squaxin Tribe, Judges Tim Ashcraft and Kevin McCann, Auditor Linda Farmer, Council Chair Ryan Mello, Councilmembers Dave Morell, Jani Hitchen, Amy Cruver, and Paul Herrera.  Beyond our host, Steilacoom Mayor Dick Muri, we were also joined by Mayor Victoria Woodards of Tacoma and Mayor Kathy Hayden of Sumner.  But I especially appreciate those of you who took time during your lunch to hear more about what we are focused on this year. During this speech, I spoke of the importance of hope, dignity, and purpose in the human experience. With all three, you are likely living a fulfilled…

This month is Women’s History Month, and this past Wednesday we recognized International Women’s Day. If you look at the history of Pierce County, you will be amazed at some of the women who blazed trails for the women leaders we have today. Authors Deb Freeman and Michael Ann Konek wrote a book titled “Leading Ladies: Twenty-one of Tacoma’s Women of Destiny.”  Three of them stood out to me.  Clara Antoinette McCarty Wilt (born in Steilacoom, lived as a child in Sumner, and as an adult in Tacoma) was the first graduate of the University of Washington (then called the Territorial University) and the first woman to hold public office (Superintendent of Pierce County Schools). Tacoma philanthropist Franke Tobey Jones was a key backer of what is now the University of Puget Sound…

I have a robe that I wear in the morning.  It keeps me warm on cold winter days when getting the coffee for my wife.  My robe is not symbolic of a foundational element of our society (although I still have a West Point bathrobe I won in a bet on the Army-Navy game more than 40 years ago!).  And even when “zooming” into a meeting, I would never think of wearing my robe to work!  But we have over 40 colleagues who do wear robes to work every day - and these robes represent their impartiality, objectivity, wisdom, and fairness. Many of us will never see the inside of a courtroom unless we are serving on a jury (and please answer that summons!).  However, what happens there is a…

In celebration of Black History Month, we asked Delmar Algee of Human Services to chat with our partners from the Tacoma Ministerial Alliance (TMA). The team at TMA is doing work today that will change the history of many people in our community. You will see in the video below a fantastic example of what can happen when people use their shared cultural experiences, knowledge, and respect to build bridges and develop trust. In many instances, it is only because of that common culture that a struggling person accepts an offer of help. Located in the Hilltop community in Tacoma, TMA works to prevent people in the African American community from sliding into homelessness.  Additionally, their staff reaches out to those without a home to give them the support and…

One of the best parts of this past week was meeting with the chairs of the four new employee resource groups (ERGs) that launch today! If you haven’t heard the term before, an ERG is an employee led, self-directed, voluntary group that offers employees an opportunity to network, develop their careers and help us attract new employees. ERGs offer people with similar interests or backgrounds the chance to meet on their own time to provide support, encouragement, allyship and some fun.  Currently, we have ERGs serving the LGBTQ+, Black/African-American, Hispanic/Latine, and Veteran employees. Along with Raul Leal-Trujillo of Human Resources, I met this week with the chairs of the four ERGs: Anika Moran (Human Services), Aaron Copado (PPW), Matt Milenkovic (Human Resources) and Eric Brown (PPW). They welcome everyone who…

  It was hard to watch.  A year ago, Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine. (Actually, the Russian efforts to subjugate Ukraine extends back to 2014 with the annexation of Crimea). Many of my generation and older can vividly recall Soviet tanks rolling into Czechoslovakia in 1968 to crush an independence movement - and before that in Hungary in 1958.  But this time was different.  The Ukrainian people stood up to what appeared to be the overwhelming Russian military.  They fought for their freedom - and I was inspired by their courage. But they could not stop the devastation wrought by the invading forces.  Cities, homes, schools, and hospitals were attacked, and many civilians had to flee their country which had become a war zone.  Millions of refugees fled - to…

This week we launched a critically important tool to make sure we serve everyone in Pierce County. The Equity Index website is now live and County employees are getting trained on how best to use this new way to consider the breadth and impact of our programs and initiatives. You can learn more about the Index here and I encourage you to check out the interactive maps that allow you to see how a proposed project can benefit those who need it most. [caption id="attachment_3866" align="aligncenter" width="1764"] A screenshot of the Equity Index across Pierce County[/caption] [caption id="attachment_3867" align="aligncenter" width="1679"] A screenshot of the map that shows access to a variety of services and support[/caption] I think it is fair to say that in the past, investments and policies were…

Last night (and this morning), I was out in the field as part of our annual Point in Time (PIT) count of chronically homeless residents.  Each year, our Human Services team leads a community effort to conduct this “Count” to meet a Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) requirement.  It is a big effort. In the weeks leading up to the Count, teams are collecting food, Gatorade, clothing, hygiene kits and other items to distribute. In addition, they are bringing together counting teams made up of service providers, Human Services staff, community volunteers - and several County elected officials!  They also prepare maps of the County so we can fan out to count and interview many of the chronically homeless living unsheltered in our community. Other teams count…

The iconic naturalist John Muir once famously said, “The mountains are calling, and I must go.” Those of us blessed to live in this region can appreciate Muir’s sentiment.  We look at Mt. Rainier and the Cascades each day (when the clouds allow), and many of us answer the call to connect with the grandeur of our environment - hiking, backpacking, snow shoeing, and skiing.  Looking at nature from afar is great - but being in it is awesome! This week I reflected on connecting as part of the groundbreaking for a new pedestrian bridge being built across the White River.  This new bridge will extend our amazing Foothills Trail from Buckley to Enumclaw.  When finished, the bridge will connect two cities, two counties, two communities - and it took…