The following candidates’ answers to LWV questions are copied from the information that the candidates themselves submitted for VOTE411.org. All candidates were invited to submit their biographical information and to answer our questions.
Candidates may enter their information up until Election Day, May 18. Please urge candidates to provide information to voters, if they haven’t done so yet. We provide this service for free to candidates and voters.
La información en español está debajo de la información en inglés.
Fire Districts provide fire protection, fire suppression and emergency medical services to residents of the district. The board is responsible for developing policies and procedures and a budget.
Although the Alto Park District is named a water district, it no longer provides water services. Instead it provides fire protection and contracts with the City of Lake Oswego for fire protection services. This is why we are listing it with the fire districts.
Here is a link to a document explaining the history and work of the Alto Park District.
Alto Park Water District Board- Position 2
Kristi L Easterlin has not responded yet. She is a current member of the board.
Alto Park Water District Board- Position 4
Gregory Herrenbruck has not responded yet. He is a current member of the board.
Clackamas Fire District website
Clackamas Co. Fire District Board- Position 2
James Brown, Business Owner
Damascus, Oregon 97089
Chris Hawes, Industrial Production Manager.
DAMASCUS, OR 97089-7373
Greg Stoll, Paramedic.
Oregon City, OR 97045
Questions
1. How would you improve communication with the communities you serve, involving them in decision making, keeping them informed of district activities, and increasing fire awareness?
James Brown: I will do my best, to always have time to answer questions from my community. One of the best experiences I had has a volunteer was attending the board meetings. I was able to hear the passion and support that our board had for the firefighter and administration. We were aloud to ask questions to the board members directly. The answers weren’t always what we wanted to hear, but we appreciated the honesty.
I want to make sure that everyone in our community has an open invitation to attend the monthly board meetings. This will be one of the best ways to communicate with our communities, be involved with decision making, staying informed and increasing fire awareness.
Chris Hawes: I advocate a proactive communications strategy and will encourage staff and my fellow board members to attend community meetings, host local events at fire stations, and interact with the public we serve at every opportunity. I will strongly support the efforts of the CFD leadership to be involved in community groups and events.
Greg Stoll: Social media is an important tool for keeping people informed and involved. I would leverage my existing presence on Facebook and Instagram to promote the Fire District and Fire District activities.
2. What experiences or skills do you have that will contribute to your service as a board member?
James Brown: My years of working for a corporate company, now owning my own business and most importantly being an involved volunteer in the fire service for 15+ years.
Chris Hawes: I have been involved with CFD#1 since 2011. I managed the successful campaign to merge Boring FD with CFD#1 resulting in a higher, more efficient, and responsive level of Emergency Services while not raising taxes on the citizens.
Since then I have attended the vast majority of CFD#1 board meetings to maintain understanding of the issues and challenges facing the organization. I do not believe there is another member of the public that has attended as many CFD meetings as I have. I bring this knowledge to the first meeting I attend if elected and will be ready to participate fully on Day 1.
I also have participated in CFD events such as Operation Santa, and my car club partnered with CFD in 2019 to host a Classic Car Show at the CFD Training Center to raise money for the Clackamas Emergency Services Foundation. I was proud to be presented one of the ceremonial Groundbreaking Shovels for my efforts in siting and advocating for the new Fire Station 19 in the Damascus community.
Greg Stoll: I have been in emergency services for over 20 years, first as a volunteer firefighter, later as a paid firefighter and now as a paramedic. I understand the needs of emergency services in urban, suburban and rural settings and will work to ensure those needs are met. In addition, I’m a very analytical person who is unafraid to ask tough questions of those in positions of responsibility. Direct, unambiguous communication with staff and other directors is the only way to get the public’s work accomplished in an efficient, cost-effective manner.
3. What innovative approaches to expand community fire safety programs would you support?
James Brown: One of the great memories that I have growing up, was the firefighters come to our school to teach us fire safety. To this day I still remember “stop, drop and roll”, “knowing your families evacuation plan”, and “your family’s meeting place, if you had to evacuate”. Teaching fire safety starts with our children.
If this last year has taught us anything, it is to be ready to evacuate at a moment notice. With wildland fire season right around the corner, we all need to make sure that we have a large defensible space around our homes, gutters cleaned out, and move your firewood away from structures.
Chris Hawes: I have supported and encouraged the Community Paramedic program with the goal of reducing repetitive calls for service by individuals needing alternate resource access to serve their actual needs and avoid having to use an engine crew better suited to larger calls for service. I will encourage the staff and firefighters to attend school events, community meetings, and educate citizens.I have supported and encouraged the Community Paramedic program with the goal of reducing repetitive calls for service by individuals needing alternate resource access to serve their actual needs and avoid having to use an engine crew better suited to larger calls for service. I will encourage the staff and firefighters to attend school events, community meetings, and educate citizens.
Greg Stoll: I would support increased funding for prevention personnel, including fire marshal services, public education services and fire mitigation services. We saw last year that nobody in our area is immune to the risk of wildfire, and the community needs guidance to help them help firefighters with things like defensible space and fuel mitigation.
En Español
1. ¿Qué experiencias o destrezas tiene usted que contribuyan a su trabajo como miembro de la junta?
Greg Stoll: He participado en servicios de emergencia por más de 20 años, primero como bombero voluntario, después como bombero profesional y ahora como paramédico. Comprendo las necesidades de los Servicios de Emergencia en áreas urbanas, suburbanas y rurales y trabajaré para asegurarme que esas necesidades sean cubiertas. Además, soy una persona altamente analítica, que no tiene miedo de realizar las preguntas difíciles hacia las personas en cargos de responsabilidad. La comunicación directa, sin ambigüedades, con los miembros del equipo y directivos, es la única manera de llevar a cabo el trabajo público de una manera eficiente.
2. ¿Qué enfoques innovadores apoyaría usted para ampliar los programas comunitarios de prevención de incendios?
Greg Stoll: Apoyaré el aumento de presupuesto para personal de prevención, incluyendo servicios de bomberos, servicios de educación pública y servicios de mitigación de fuegos. El año pasado pudimos observar que nadie en nuestra área es inmune al riesgo de incendios y que la comunidad necesita conocimientos para poder apoyar a los servicios de bomberos, con cosas como espacio defendible y mitigación de combustibles.
Clackamas Co. Fire District Board- Position 4
Jay Cross has not responded yet. He is a current member of the Board.
Glenn W Wachter, Health Care Executive.
Clackamas, OR 97015
Questions
1. How would you improve communication with the communities you serve, involving them in decision making, keeping them informed of district activities, and increasing fire awareness?
Jay Cross has not responded yet.
Glenn W Wachter: Although the Fire Board meetings are open to the public, and the meeting minutes are made public, I would advocate for two additional steps. First, I would like to see public comment period being added into the Fire Board agendas, allowing the free and open expression of thoughts/concerns/kudos for the Fire service in Clackamas. Second, I would make myself available to engage the community and solicit input. Community events, visits to fire stations, and connections with business owners would be some examples of ways to solicit input from the public.
2. What experiences or skills do you have that will contribute to your service as a board member?
Jay Cross has not responded yet.
Glenn W Wachter: I’ve spent my career in the delivery of health care, often focusing on ensuring human services to vulnerable populations. Throughout my career, I’m known to be a Strategy Accelerator, Systems Thinker, and Results Driven. Presently, at Providence, I’m responsible for a $500M budget and 230 pharmacy professionals in over 20 locations providing lifesaving pharmacy services to 750,000 patients in 7 states. Innovation and determination amidst competing priorities is my strong suit! I have driven success that provided health, housing and food/safety resources to vulnerable populations. Exemplary Fire Service is not achieved in isolation but with a diverse set of stakeholders. I’m also interested in pursuing higher standards of safety for our fire services professionals, including “4 Person Staffing (NFPA 1710)”. To achieve this goal, I will advocate for smart budgets to deliver this basic safety measure to protect our firefighters while providing nationally known fire service excellence.
3. What innovative approaches to expand community fire safety programs would you support?
Jay Cross has not responded yet.
Glenn W Wachter: Clackamas Fire is well received in the community, and especially at in-person events, such as parades, National Night Out, and school visits. These are ways that historically have been effective to share community fire safety programs. Given the pandemic, I would challenge Clackamas Fire to think of ways it can virtually connect with the school age population to build a foundation of fire safety habits that would be drawn upon as they reach adulthood. Very specifically, I’d like to see some virtual classroom teaching opportunities geared to K-5 that can be streamed into classrooms or home school locations and integrated into their curriculum. That way, fire safety programs will reach our students at in-person events when possible, but also is extended to a broader population virtually when in-person events are not possible.
Corbett Fire District website
Corbett Fire District Board- Position 1 (No candidates have filed.)
Corbett Fire District Board- Position 2
Victoria Purvine has not responded yet. However, she has a statement on page M-59 of the Multnomah Co. Voters’ Pamphlet.
Multnomah Rural Fire Protection District Board – Position 1
David A Persons has not responded yet. He is a current member of the Fire District Board.
Multnomah Rural Fire Protection District Board – Position 3
Charles Ciecko has not responded yet. However, he has a statement on page M-59 of the Multnomah Co. Voters’ Pamphlet. He is a current member of the Fire District Board.
Multnomah Rural Fire Protection District Board – Position 5
Bob Battles has not responded yet. He is a current member of the Fire District Board.
Riverdale Rural Fire Protection District Board – Position 1
Andrew Gibson has not responded yet.
Riverdale Rural Fire Protection District Board – Position 2
John E Fettig has not responded yet. He is a current member of the Fire District Board.