Submitted by Bruce Dammeier, Executive.
Many of us are drawn to public service out of a strong desire to make things better for the generations who will follow us. I know I was. And that was long before my grandchildren arrived and made that perspective even more of an imperative.
Caring for and supporting the children in our community helps set them up for a bright future. Great early learning is shown to make a difference in the years that follow. That’s why our Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (or ECEAP) is such an important County program for families who can use some additional support.
I had a delightful tour of one of our ECEAP classes in Orting recently with a wonderful teacher, Miss Peggy.
Check out the video below to learn more about how some of our youngest residents are benefitting from this fantastic program.
My thanks to Peggy Baublits, Family Educator, and Carol Mensah, Community Action Program Manager, for allowing me to stop by for fun and learning. Please give the kids my best from “Mr. Bruce!”
As I mentioned at the beginning of this blog, a career in public service is often prompted by wanting to make our communities better for today’s residents, as well as tomorrow’s.
In my lifetime, no one exemplified this more than former Governor Dan Evans. He served during a more genial, collaborative time in government. I considered him my mentor and I’m grateful for the many lessons I learned from him.
He passed away at the age of 98 in September and I was honored to attend a celebration of his life and service at the University of Washington this week. His storied commitment to public service included three terms as a governor of the state of Washington, one term as our U.S. Senator, President of Evergreen State College, and a Trustee at his alma mater, the University of Washington. He championed education, fiscal conservatism, environmental causes, and human rights.
The University of Washington wrote: “In every role and in all that he did, he was unshakably committed to his values and integrity, which always served as his north star. He believed deeply in civility, mutual respect, and bipartisanship, and throughout his long career in public service, he refused to sacrifice his principles for the sake of expediency or personal advancement.”
His character and leadership stood out the most to me. He unfailingly did what he thought was right for people of Washington, regardless of political consequences. Among the legacy he leaves behind for our benefit, he helped create the North Cascades National Park and Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area, founded Evergreen State College, and embraced Vietnamese refugees after the fall of Saigon in 1975. You can read his full obituary here.
Speaking of public service, I want to congratulate the new and returning County leaders from the General Election: Executive-elect Ryan Mello; Sheriff-elect Keith Swank; Assessor-Treasurer-elect Marty Campbell; Council Member-elect Rosie Ayala; and returning Council Members Amy Cruver, Paul Herrera and Jani Hitchen. Also, congratulations to our newly elected Superior Court Judges: TaTeasha Davis, Rebecca Reeder, Scott Peters, Phil Thornton, and Ingrid McLeod.
Before I wrap up this blog, I want to invite you to join us for a fun holiday celebration – the annual tree lighting at the County-City Building! Can you believe the holidays are already upon us? Come swing by the CCB on December 3 at 12:30 as we kick off the season.
Thanks for reading.
Trump and Musk will change the country, unfortunately here in the place of my birth we will be preoccupied with pronouns, trans, race victims, communal bathrooms, feminizing police, self flagellation all the important aspects of life, who cares about inflation, gas prices, homeless criminals it is just pathetic!
Dear Mr. Dammier,
Thank you for your service to Pierce County. I hope you will consider coming to speak to Rotary 8 club some time about your work as Executive leader of the county. Wishing you and yours a peaceful and fulfilling holiday season.
Diane T
As a lifelong civil servant, I got to see first-hand the dedication of many if not most of my co-workers. When I retired, I wanted to leave a message telling them that both their work and their dedication were important. To do that, I included in my parting email an excerpt from an article written years ago by the columnist, Gloria Borgia. In it she recounted a congressional committee’s praise of the appointment of a particular civil servant, Jack Lew, to a position in the Administration. She took exception to the committee’s characterization of him as a “rare occurrence,” a public servant “there for the right reasons.” She said, “I hope you will agree that his is not a rare story and that there are many in public service like him.
She concluded, “And guess what? Lew is not alone. Here’s the anti-cynical other truth: There are plenty, like Lew, who serve discretely and honorably. Lost (or unnoticed) among the legions of self-promoters are the number crunchers, the substantive thinkers, and the devoted policy mavens–most of whom toil in obscurity at every agency and department. For them, the notion of actually being able to affect policy is still a reward.”
Public service is a high calling; and the work these people do is often the steadying hand at the tiller of State, even in the most turbulent of political times. I’m happy to see their dedication and contribution recognized in Mr. Dammier’s article.