Bugert vies for Chelan County Commissioner seat

NCW Media Managing Editor Gary Bégin interviewed Chelan County Board of Commissioners candidate Bob Bugert about various issues. What follows are his answers:

NCW Media: Tell the readers about yourself.

Bob Bugert: I was raised with strong family values – hard work, honesty, your word is your bond, always lend a helping hand, and your name and your reputation are your most prized possessions. My father started his own small manufacturing company which he grew from two employees to over 200. It would have been easy to join the family business, but I chose to follow my passion and study Wildlife Biology at
W.S.U. It was there I met my wife, Carolyn, and we charted our course together.
Carolyn and I first moved to Wenatchee in 1980. We both fell in love with the Valley and while our jobs and my Master’s degree in Fisheries Biology took us to many Eastern Washington communities, we committed to return to the Wenatchee Valley.
That opportunity arose in 1990. We moved from Waitsburg, a town of 1,000 people, to Wenatchee. We have lived in Wenatchee in the same house since then. Our three sons all attended Wenatchee public schools and graduated from Washington colleges. I enjoy skiing, backpacking, bicycling, travel, reading and woodworking -- and of course, my sons.

NCW Media: Why do you want to be Chelan County Commissioner?

Bugert: I believe in giving back to the community. I have nearly thirty years of work experience focused entirely on making Chelan County a better place to live. As Executive Director of the Chelan Douglas Land Trust I worked to improve the quality of life in our county. As the Eastern Washington Coordinator for the Governor’s Salmon Recovery Office, I worked with private landowners, irrigation districts, city elected officials and county governments on water issues so that irrigators had water for their crops or livestock, there was water to maintain native salmon and steelhead for fishing, and cities and counties had a reliable water supply. As Facilitator of the Mid-Columbia PUD’s I worked with tribes, environmentalists, three PUD’s, irrigation districts, growers and the federal government to create an agreement that brought over $100 million to the Wenatchee, Entiat, Methow and Okanogan rivers. This agreement also created 12 new hatcheries, which created many new jobs. My career reflects my commitment to improving Chelan County.
I also believe in the importance of giving back to the community as a volunteer. When my children were in school I was a soccer coach and active band booster. I drove the band truck to regional competitions and spent summers at the band’s concession stand selling hotdogs. I was well known at my children’s schools.
Since my children have grown, I have committed myself to volunteering with many community organizations. My interest in improving transportation in the county led me to serve as a volunteer with the Link Transit Strategy Team and Chelan-Douglas Transportation Council. My interest in education led me to volunteer with the Wenatchee Public Library Capital Campaign. My interest in affordable housing led me to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity. My belief that recreation brings tourist dollars led me to serve on the Board of TREAD, a nonprofit focused on outdoor recreation.
I have a long history of of working to make Chelan County a great place to live. I am now ready to take that commitment to a higher level--as your County Commissioner.

NCW Media: Do you have any managerial or legislative experience?

Bugert: I have many years of managerial and legislative experience. As a manager with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, I supervised 40 professional and technical staff, spread throughout eastern Washington, and I was responsible for seven contracts covering several million dollars annually.
As Executive Director of Chelan-Douglas Land Trust, I managed four department heads, who in turn managed other staff. In my 10 years with the Governor’s Salmon Recovery Office, I worked directly with county governments and both legislative and executive branches of our state government. I have lots of experience with federal legislators as well. As President of the Washington Association of Land Trusts, and as the only eastern Washington representative to the State Salmon Recovery Funding Board, I have made a half-dozen trips to Washington DC to push for issues that benefit Chelan County, ranging from forest health and wildfire prevention to salmon recovery.

NCW Media: What makes you better than the other four candidates?

Bugert: I have experience--lots of it. I have been working on local issues for many years. I have 30+ years of professional experience managing large professional staff, handling complex budgets, multi-party negotiations, and working with local governments, members of Congress and the State Legislature.
I know the job. I have worked closely with county commissioners for most of my career. As Executive Director of the Chelan-Douglas Land Trust, I worked regularly with commissioners in Chelan, Douglas, and Okanogan counties. I’ve worked a lot with commissioners on specific local issues. In my ten years’ work for the Governor’s Office, I worked directly with county commissioners and other elected officials throughout eastern Washington. For 25 years I have worked with dozens--if not a hundred--county commissioners. I have partnered with them in hundreds of public meetings. I know first hand what a commissioner deals with, and have a solid understanding of what makes a good commissioner.
I am the candidate with the background, skills and knowledge to hit the ground running.

NCW Media: Why are you running as an independent? Or do you lean GOP or Dem in general?

Bugert: I am a moderate non-partisan candidate. When I cast my own vote, I do not vote by party line. I base my vote on four things: candidates’ experience, their values, who is endorsing them, and where they stand on current issues. Since issues that are important to the community right now may change in the future, I look for candidates that have strong core values and leadership experience to guide them.
For the past year I talked with hundreds of people throughout the county about running for County Commissioner. Over and over I have heard the same comment--we need to get past partisan disputes and focus on solutions that meet the needs of everyone in our community, regardless of party, race, or economic status. I will put the public interest ahead of any special interest, will use common sense, and find common ground to solve problems. The most important responsibility of a commissioner is to set the tone for our government. I am inclusive, respectful, and open to all ideas. I will set the right tone.
I encourage voters to look beyond party and evaluate me based on my track record, qualifications, effectiveness and values.

NCW Media: As far as you are concerned, what is the biggest issue facing the county right now?

Bugert: By far, our county’s biggest issue is making housing affordable to our workforce. The high cost of buying or renting a home has been a concern for years and is only getting worse. The problem has many reasons: available land, permits, materials costs, and labor shortages, to name a few. The solutions will take many steps.
I am not new to this issue. I served on the Board of Habitat for Humanity and, for the past few years I have been actively involved with Our Valley, Our Future , a local grassroots group working on solutions to local issues. The OVOF Housing Solutions Group brought together realtors, appraisers, builders, land use planners, and others to talk about creative solutions to the housing crisis. Their recommendations include ideas such as streamlining the permit process, providing incentives for alternative housing designs (bungalows, townhouses, 4-plexes and micro-homes), supporting covenants that allow more flexibility, and incentives to build homes within the urban area. Other communities have successfully used these new home concepts--and we can learn much from them.
I support the recommendations developed by the Housing Solutions Group. The best solutions often come from grassroots, voluntary efforts of people most impacted by the problem. Our Valley, Our
Future has brought all the right people to the conversation to come up with local solutions that benefit our community. We are always better working together.
If you are interested in learning more about where I stand on other issues, please visit my website at electbobbugert.com.

NCW Media: How will you help bring tourism, Ag dollars to county coffers?

Bugert: I have been working on outdoor recreation issues for many years. The economic benefit of recreation to Chelan County is growing and is well documented. Besides my work with the Land Trust, where we completed a $8.7 million campaign to create an extensive trails system in the Wenatchee Foothills, I am on the Board of Wenatchee Valley TREAD, the newly-formed nonprofit to promote outdoor recreation and tourism in Chelan and Douglas counties. Our work is done with the financial support and partnership of the Chamber of Commerce and Port of Chelan County, and many recreation businesses and nonprofits in the area.
As the Governor’s Eastern Washington representative to the Salmon Recovery Funding Board, I am responsible for providing roughly $2 million in grants each year to Chelan, Douglas and Okanogan counties for restoring and protecting salmon habitat. This allows for the strengthening of our sports fishing industry and it provides for more reliable water supplies for agriculture. I can strengthen this work as a County Commissioner.

NCW Media: How do you feel about marijuana growers having the same rights as orchardists?

Bugert: Since marijuana production was approved in Washington State through Initiative 502, growers have specific rights that are outlined in that law. There are many growers in Chelan County that acted in good faith, they operate in a professional manner, and they contribute significantly to our economy. They have rights under the state’s law, which should be recognized, but also the County’s rules must be followed. At this time the Chelan County Commission has specific restrictions on marijuana production.
Since those are the rules set by our current commission, they must be followed. However, I am willing to consider modification of those rules as a commissioner, as this is an important industry to be supported.

NCW Media: How do you feel about the Hirst decision now that it is amended?

Bugert: I have background experience related to the Hirst Decision. When I worked with the Governor’s Office, I was part of the planning effort that created instream flow rules for the Wenatchee and Entiat rivers.
Chelan County’s foresight to create those water plans set it up well to respond quickly when the legislature modified the state law to address the Hirst Decision. Other Eastern Washington communities did not participate in the same planning process and suffered negative consequences.
I believe good regional planning saves taxpayer dollars. As your County Commissioner, I will bring these same planning skills to a wide variety of issues in the county.