Prior to serving as Mayor of Snoqualmie for eight years [1998-2005], Fuzzy was a Snoqualmie City Council Member for two years [1996-1997].
Before Fuzzy moved to Snoqualmie, the King County Council approved the Snoqualmie Ridge development in 1989 after the nastiest land-use battle in the county's history. This plan was one of the nation’s largest housing projects.
During Fuzzy’s elected tenure, Snoqualmie’s population grew from 1,583 in 1996 to 6,218 in 2005, which was one-third of the planned population of 18,000.
The New York Times quotes Fuzzy: “We can't stop all growth, but we can get up front and steer.'' The Times attributing his success to a platform of controlled growth.
By 2001 Fuzzy led the effort to preserve 145 acres near Snoqualmie Falls from development in addition to 130 acres at Snoqualmie Pointe Park. This effort was to manage growth and preserve important rural character.
In 2002 Gretchen Daily, one of the world's leading ecologists, with Katherine Ellison, a Pulitzer-prize winning journalist wrote New Economy of Nature the Quest to Make Conservation Profitable. Chapter 6 tells about Fuzzy’s part in a landmark pact that helped the local environment by preserving nearly 150 acres of forested landscape above the 270-foot Snoqualmie Falls, a major tourist attraction as well as a sacred site for local Native Americans. The area, Washington State’s most visited place after Mount Rainier, was about to be developed by Puget Western, which owned the land and planned to build homes and shops on it.
CERTIFICATES / AWARDS / AUTHORED PLANS:
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT (current):
SNOQUALMIE CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEES AND COMMISSIONS (past):
- Public Safety
- Finance and Administration
- Parks
- Public Works
- Planning Commission - Multiple years attending
- Civil Service Commission
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT (past):
- iTEMA (Tribal Emergency Management) education, training and preparedness activities with Tribal, Federal, state, and local agencies and organizations for emergency management and services.
- Advisory councilmember to Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust
- Code writing for communication readiness and operability for the 1st Responders for the City of Snoqualmie.
- Trained with the City of Snoqualmie’s HAM team (SECAST) as a technician.
- Communications for Homeland Security, fire, police and emergency services for Tribes and rural jurisdictions.
- King County Executive Radio Policy committee.
- SAFECOM Executive Committee as a Tribal representative.
- SAFECOM Executive Committee (EC)
- SAFECOM Emergency Response Council (ERC) work with existing Federal communications programs and key emergency response stakeholders to address the need to develop better technologies and processes for the multi-jurisdictional and cross-disciplinary coordination of existing communications systems and future networks.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:
- Emergency Management Consultant for Tribes and Municipalities
- Executive Director of Tribal/Public Safety for the Snoqualmie Indian Tribe
- Chief of Police/Police Officer/ Volunteer Snoqualmie Police Department/ Probation Officer/Parole Officer
- Emergency Management and Homeland Security - 12 years
- Machinist/Tool Maker – 30+ years
- Retail business owner
INTERESTS:
- Serving the citizens of Snoqualmie, WA.
- Local government, Criminal justice, Safety, Housing and infrastructure.
- Family/Friends
- Knife making
- Motorcycle riding
EDUCATION:
- Association of Washington Cities Municipal Leadership Training (Certified)
- Tool Maker/Machinist apprenticeship
- Bellevue College – Blueprint reading
- Lake Washington Vocational-Technical – Welding/Metallurgy
OCCUPATION:
- Cutler
- Retail Clerk (retiring 2019)