Meet Mike

Hear My Story

I am educated in the following disciplines, Forestry, Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Business. My education was earned within the following states: New York, Idaho, Washington, and Arizona. I have been a professional Forester for 50 years and I am still active. I am also a farmer, my wife Emily and I own 50 acres in Orondo, Washington. We bought this land in the 1980’s, and we farmed fruit trees for many years, but we have since moved onto other farm products. 

Today on our farm we grow alfalfa hay, cut flowers, mushrooms, and harvest our hydroponic greenhouse production of vegetables, herbs and spices. I was an educator at Wenatchee Valley College. My areas of instruction were Agriculture and Natural Resources. I no longer instruct at that institution. My focus now is full-time farming and natural resources. I sit on several state and county boards: Washington State Farm Bureau, Douglas County Water Conservancy Board, South Douglas Conservation Board, and Chelan/Douglas Farm Bureau Board. 

Besides focusing on getting elected as a county commissioner to Douglas County 3rd District. I am focused on Natural Resources in North Central Washington. It tears at my heart to see our forest and other natural resources burn every summer. I am focused on sustainable use of these resources through sustainable science management. I want forest products to be affordable within the tri-county area (Douglas, Okanogan, and Chelan). My vision to this affordability, is to once again have an active sawmill in North Central Washington. Local Natural Resource Management can provide many family wage jobs, make the wood products available locally, and provide affordable housing. 

I'm also focused on ways to slow down the reduction of prime agricultural lands within this North Central area of Washington State. Data centers do not come anywhere close to the full-time employment that Agriculture operations and facilities employ. 

If elected, I will focus on the return to local management of our agricultural lands, Natural Resource Products, and revitalizing the wood products industry within North Central Washington. To help provide home affordability, greater family wage jobs, and the reduction of carbon emissions from wildfires due to reduced silviculture and on-site management.