I met Clallam County commissioner candidate Ron Richards more than a year ago at a PA CAN [Port Angeles Citizen Action Network] park cleanup.
We got to talking at community employment events, and I learned he was a successful businessman who now runs a fishing boat.
I saw a man of action.
There are many stories I might tell, but I will focus on why I trust him to be our county commissioner.
With Ron Richards as my commissioner, I gain a man who listens and then develops solutions.
Most important, he does this in public, with careful listening, a balance between people’s ideas, with tight money controls, and he demands specific measures of success that can be checked along the way.
When I vote for Ron, I am really voting for knowing what my vote means.
It is not blind faith in yet another person whose process and details will be kept secret.
In a county where the constant cry of elected, appointed and publicly funded nonprofit officials is, “Oh, we cannot say, it’s proprietary, it’s protected by confidentiality, it’s your money but our secret,” Ron is a breath of fresh air.
Ron Richards trusts us to be involved and find solutions together.
He insists that our projects declare the measures that define success, and he follows through with public review.
These are standard practices in good business and good government.
It is called being transparent and accountable.
Together, they build community trust and successful projects.
As a taxpayer, this is what I need to judge whether our money is well-spent.
Vote for accountability and transparency. Vote for Ron Richards, county commissioner, District 2.
Doc Robinson,
Port Angeles
Robinson is an organizer of PA CAN.