Candidate Surveys — Franklin County Assessor

I will elevate professional real estate standards through advanced training. As a Certified Residential Appraiser with a Supervisor designation, I am uniquely qualified to train the assessor staff to become licensed or certified appraisers with the Department of Licensing. This directly benefit the residents of Franklin County by ensuring the Assessor's office will have a superior, expert-level understanding of the appraisal process. Additionally, this professional development provides the employees of the Assessor's office with valuable credentials to work as fee appraisers in other counties, after the conclusion of their training, as well as for the Assessors office in Franklin County.I will bring a higher level of service and transparency to the Assessor's office. Advanced training will empower the appraisers in the Assessor's office to communicate clearly with the residents, ensuring that everyone understands both the appraisal process as well as the final conclusion. When there is a dispute over the valuation of a property, the first response should be open dialogue and explanation not "go file an appeal with the Board of Equalization." I am committed to work with and serve the residents of Franklin County.As Assessor, my role is to ensure fairness, not to levy taxes. Many mistakenly view the Assessor as the "taxman," but taxes are created by the County Commissioners approving taxing district's budgets, voters passing levies and bonds, and by the legislature in Olympia passing bills. The role of the assessor, amongst others, is to accurately and equitably value property throughout the county so that the tax burden is fairly distributed. In short, no one pays more or less than their rightful share. I wish I would be able to lower taxes, but that is not the role of assessor. I will, however, work diligently to make sure that the residents of Franklin County are not burdened by over taxation.

As your County Assessor and having been raised in Franklin County my focus is to deliver consistency, transparency, and professional service you can trust. Since taking office in 2021, we have strengthened training, improved consistency in valuations, and implemented clear standards that promote fairness and accountability. We have enhanced internal processes, increased responsiveness to taxpayers, and built one of the most professional and highly trained assessor offices in Washington State.I have worked with the Washington State Association of County Assessors to support responsible tax policy—advocating for fair and sustainable property tax relief, improved exemption programs for seniors, individuals with disabilities, farmers, and small business owners. These efforts ensure property values are applied equitably, reduce errors, and build public confidence in the system. I remain focused on steady leadership, proven results, and doing the job right.I am honored to have received Endorsements from 35 of the current County Assessors from across Washington and the Appraisers Union Local 2658 F AFSCME AFL-CIO along with dozens of public service professionals reflecting confidence in my leadership and professionalism. I remain committed to serving with integrity, accountability, and respect for every taxpayer. I would be honored to continue serving as your County Assessor.

I have been a real estate appraiser for over 20 years and have a Supervisor designation from the DOL. This designation qualifies me to train appraiser trainees and I have been part of the process of training multiple real estate appraisers. I am running for Assessor to bring the same level of expertise to the office through professional real estate training. Additionally, I will bring a level of service to the office that will work with the residents of Franklin County. As the Assessor, my goal is to ensure that the residents of Franklin County do not pay more than their share of the tax burden.

My Education includes: Executive MBA M.Min, B.Th, I was raised in Franklin County in a farming family and graduated from Connell High School. I have more than 40 years of leadership in business, finance, and public service. Former First Vice President and Senior Regional Manager overseeing 500+ employees and 26 financial centers. Career includes law enforcement service from patrol officer to Chief of Police, pastoral leadership, and service on numerous boards and associations. Elected Assessor in 2021 and re-elected in 2022 with over 98% of the vote. Elected three years as Chair of the Southeast Washington Assessors and to the Washington State Association of County Assessors Executive Board.

As a business owner and a fiscal conservative, I am passionate about tax reform, balanced budgets, and affordable housing. I am concerned that the American Dream of home ownership is slipping away for future generations as well as our seniors who are finding it harder afford the homes they already own. I am committed to ensure our valuation and taxing systems remains equitable and supportive of housing stability for all generations in Franklin County.

Tax reform in the State of Washington which emphasizes fair taxation to all individuals.

Tri-City Association of Realtors, Washington Farm Bureau PAC, State Representative April Connors, State Senator Perry Dozier, Pasco City Manager Gary Crutchfield (ret), Pasco Fire Chief Bob Gear (ret)

35 Elected County Assessors throughout the State of Washington have Endorsed me for Re-Election Dozens of Professionals, Current and Former Elected Officials support my Re-Election Appraisers Union Local 2658 F AFSCME AFL-CIO Endorses me for Re-Election

My decision to run for Franklin County Assessor was actually a difficult one to make. I had a lot of people encouraging me to run, and I was dragging my heels in the ground for a couple of years. I have a very successful appraisal practice which I can control my work volume, who I choose to work with, and stress load. After seeing first-hand the impact to Franklin County residents by erratic property valuations, I decided if an appraiser of over 20 years could not fix this problem, who could, so I decided to run for office. My decision was supported by the many industry professionals as well as current elected officials in Franklin County.

The three most important things I want to bring to the Assessor's office are transparency, service, and confidence in the assessor's position. I will bring transparency back to the office by communicating with the residents of Franklin County about the process and reasoning as to why their assessment is at the assessed value. I would invite residents to my office to have a conversation with them to hear their concerns and show them the "why and how." What I have been assuring people while canvassing neighborhoods is that I when I sit down with property owners, somebody is going to walk away with a better understanding about their property; either I / the assessor's office will learn more about their property or the owners will see what sales were used to support their valuation. Either way, there is a level of communication that is desperately needed in that office that is not currently being provided to our residents. One of the biggest complaints and frustrations I hear from Franklin County residents is the process of appealing property assessments. Currently, if you have a concern about your assessment, the protocol from the office is to advise the owner to file an appeal with the Board of Equalization. While this is the right of every owner, being instructed to go directly to the B of E discourages a large majority of owners from appealing the value. If that does not discourage a property owner, the process to file an appeal may discourage the owner. To file an appeal you need to provide an appraisal, which costs the owner money, a comparative market analysis from the Realtor, or if you're savvy, comparable sales to support your reasoning as to why you're over assessed. All of this to then possibly get a stipulated value lowering your assessed value. This is not a public service! I will hear the property owners when they come in or call the office. After 20+ years of appraising, I can pull comparable sales on most properties in less than 5 minutes. We will then go over these sales and if, after that discussion, they are still unsatisfied with the value and reasoning, they would then proceed to the B of E if we can't come to an understanding. In short, the B of E is the last resort, not the first. I am confident that if the first two topics are fulfilled, the confidence that in the assessor's office, that has been missed since Steve Marks retirement, will return. There is a lot of misinformation out there about the assessor being able to tax as much as they want / can. The assessor does not tax anyone; they only set the tax / millage rate, which is derived from the total assessed values and the dollar amount that has to be collected. Every dollar that is collected has a name and place, meaning there is a taxing district that has a budget that was passed by the City Council, County Commissioners, State Legislature, and voters. I understand that nobody likes to pay taxes, and they are getting higher and higher every year, but knowing that you are only paying your share of the taxes will be reassuring. That is the confidence that I will bring back to the Assessor's office.

Your last question is an interesting one. I strive to always do the right thing even if doing the right thing is harder, takes longer, or involves admitting you were wrong. I feel that there is a level of frustration from the voters towards a lot of elected officials. To me, it feels that some have forgotten that they are there to serve the public, regardless of political ideology. The position each elected has is on loan from the public who put them there and that their position belongs to the public. They are there to give their services to the community and not there to see what the community can give them in return. In short, transparency and service over self-interest. We would have less division in our county if more elected officials lived by that.