Kevin Shutty on protecting the Puget Sound

Kevin Shutty: I’m a I’m a teacher by trade. So I went to school to be a high school history teacher. And there’s really, you know, my thinking and coming into this line of work is I thought I would come out with I would come out with a lot of firsthand experience of how government works or maybe how government should work.

I think good government is accountable. It’s transparent and it’s responsive. That’s the deal that I made with with the voters was that I would be available to them when they needed me and, you know, to listen to them when they’re telling me I’m doing it right and to listen to them when they’re telling me I’m doing it wrong.

Government is best when people show up and you know, when you see room for improvement or you want to make make change in your community, there’s a lot of ways to show up. And so one of those is running for office. And then I so I thought that that would work out for me. And it’s it’s been a privilege and a great community to represent.

And I’m happy to, though, have me for another couple of years. So they’ll keep me around.

David Martin: Welcome to The Good Government Show. I’m Dave Martin, and you’re about to hear a conversation with Kevin Shutty. Kevin’s a younger member of the Mason County Washington Board of Commissioners while a younger commissioner. He’s certainly made an impact to some of the groups. Kevin is a member of includes the Olympic Region, Clean Air Agency, the Alliance for a Healthy South Sound, and the Puget Sounds Partnerships Ecosystems Coordination Board.

He’s also on the Mason County Planning Advisory Commission, and he’s an adjunct faculty member of the Olympic College. And he’s a former high school teacher. So I learned a lot about shellfish. Mason County is west of Seattle, and it’s right on Puget Sound and with justifiable pride. Kevin says this area has some of the best shellfish anywhere, including the local specialty gooey duck.

Okay, look it up. Google it. I’ll wait. All right, Check it out. Yep. That’s gooey duck. All right, you got to look it up. Okay. Anyway, back to where we were. Apparently, Gooey Duck is the pride of Mason County. Kevin’s region includes the Olympic National Forest and the National Park. There’s two nationally recognized Native American tribes. So there’s a lot of local issues to deal with that are unique to the county.

So get ready to travel to Mason County and my conversation with Kevin Sherry, and I’ll have that right after this.

The Good government show is sponsored by NACO. That’s the National Association of Counties. County Government is actually the oldest form of government, the United States, and it touches more people directly. Roads, highways, hospitals, schools, recycling law enforcement, water and sewers in most of the country, those services are maintained by the county that’s county government. Naco is a nationwide organization that represents all 3069 counties across the U.S..

NACO helps county government work better together to things like sharing best practices. Because when county government works well, well, that’s just good government.

Welcome to the Good Government show and a conversation with. And we’re about to have a conversation with Kevin here shooting, studio and shooting.

Kevin Shutty: You got it right?

David Martin: Yeah. So introduce yourself. Tell us where you’re from and what you what your do what you do.

Kevin Shutty: Yeah. So great to be here, Kevin Judy, I’m a county commissioner from Mason County in Washington State, so we’re about about an hour west of Seattle. And so we’re tucked in there between Olympic National Park and Puget Sound in the Pacific Ocean. So we’re a little bit more rural, but definitely still connected to a lot of our urban partners close to the Cascades.

David Martin: And you’re you’re on Puget Sound.

Kevin Shutty: Yes. Yeah. So our county is on Puget Sound, South Puget Sound. And so we have a lot of great water recreation, a lot of great fishing and shellfish industry partners in our community. And so it’s just it’s a beautiful place to live and represent.

David Martin: Do you fish yourself?

Kevin Shutty: I don’t I don’t fish, but I do like to I do like to have what our locals are bringing in. So we have yeah, so we have I’m sure some of the folks from from, you know, the Chesapeake Bay area and probably New England wouldn’t like me saying this, but we do have the world’s best shellfish in Mason County.

And so I’ll put up I put ours up against anybody else’s any day.

David Martin: All right. Okay, good. We’re going to we’re going to come back to that. You’ll see. You’ll see how it all the while are are there are the salmon, I think you mentioned, and and shellfish. Are these issues that you have to tackle with to keep them?

Kevin Shutty: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, these are big parts of our heritage in Mason County, in western Washington, there, you know, our tribal partners have have relied on on salmon and shellfish, you know, time immemorial, you know, from the very beginning. And so we have a cultural obligation to to provide clean water and do restoration projects to enhance our our salmon runs and our shellfish growing opportunities.

But it’s also a recreational and economic issue for us as well. And so, you know, we’re bringing people in from, frankly, all over the world. We’re a major exporter of oysters to the Asian market. Last year, the we reopened our markets in Europe thanks to some hard work between the federal government here and the European Union. You know, and so it’s a it’s a big environmental issue, but it also has these trickle down economics.

David Martin: So there’s Mason County oysters, Europe.

Kevin Shutty: There are.

David Martin: There are they’re all.

Kevin Shutty: Over the world. Absolutely. Yeah. So we have great.

David Martin: What is it about Mason County oysters? Well, what are they? What’s the brand? What’s the.

Kevin Shutty: So it’s it’s it’s the way that they’re grown. It’s it’s the it’s the the water that we have.

David Martin: And it’s is a particular kind of oyster.

Kevin Shutty: Yeah. So we have they’re the Olympia native oyster is a big one that we export. Okay. But the main one especially into the Asian markets that there is a delicacy over there is gooey duck. And so for for you and your listeners, I’ll have you go Google gooey duck duck, geoduck, gooey duck oyster and it’s it’s once you see a fully ducky you never forget that you saw gooey duck but it’s.

David Martin: All by.

Kevin Shutty: That but it’s a it’s a is a major export of ours especially to the Asian markets and it’s a it’s a real delicacy over there. And our, our growers have perfected it over, you know, over the past couple of centuries of growing in our region.

David Martin: Have you had your oysters overseas?

Kevin Shutty: I have not personally. But you can you can definitely you can definitely find them there. And I.

David Martin: Just what are your quality to China.

Kevin Shutty: Now? I mean, that gives me a great idea. I mean, maybe I’ll go home to my commission and say, I need to go do a little.

David Martin: I need to. Yeah, a little oversight.

Kevin Shutty: Absolutely. Let’s go run this down. But yeah, I did. Yeah.

David Martin: You mentioned something also. You said our tribal partners. Yeah, Not an issue. Many countries have to work with. Tell me. Explain to me what that’s like. Yeah.

Kevin Shutty: So we have two federally recognized tribes in Mason County. We have the Squatch, an island tribe and this Nokomis tribe, and we work with them on on a variety of issues, government to government. So of course I mentioned the environmental side of things, but also when it comes to criminal justice, when it comes to economic development, you know, there are good partners in that.

And, you know, we have to make sure that we’re we’re including them in our decision making and that there’s always a seat at the table for them when we’re going through those processes.

David Martin: Is that easy to juggle?

Kevin Shutty: Not always. You know, I think sometimes we like to think that all of our priorities are in total alignment, you know, But I think the history, you know, might show otherwise. And so that gives us an opportunity to really kind of.

David Martin: Like think it’s fair to say history shows other issues.

Kevin Shutty: Yeah. You know, so, you know, I think we just have to be mindful of those things and, you know, where there are areas that we, you know, our governments might might have a disagreement or a priority difference that gives us an opportunity to kind of lean into that a little bit more and understand, you know, where those differences are.

And then when there are places that we are in alignment, you know, to really run with those areas and build those positive outcomes.

David Martin: Have there been occasions when you’ve tried to do something and someone, one of your tribal parties said, Oh no, it doesn’t work that way?

Kevin Shutty: Yeah, I mean, I think, you know, one of the one of the major areas is, you know, we’re dealing statewide in Washington with water availability, not a whole lot different than other parts of the country, in particular in the Southwest. But, you know, when we’re dealing with water availability issues, that impacts development. And, you know, counties are reliant upon growth to fund basic everyday services.

And so, you know, we need to figure out that balance when we’re looking at water rights and availability, but also sort of trying to understand, well, how are we going to fund these really other critical programs and services that the people in both the tribal communities and the community broadly come to expect from local government?

David Martin: I think we touched about a little bit, but you mentioned shellfish and salmon. I think you said you had programs, too, for both of them. Can you explain all that about us?

Kevin Shutty: Yeah. So in the past year, we we just stood up our first countywide clean water district. And so we have a lot of people who are on subject to septic systems in our community. And so we want to make sure that people are maintaining and operating those safely so that there isn’t runoff into into the growing areas. And what that would eventually lead to is downgrades from the State Department of Health and then, you know, potentially closures for those harvesting areas.

And so, you know, we’re working with property owners, we’re working with our conservation district and again, our our tribal partners on, you know, just sort of focusing in on those those things that create water quality issues. And then the other thing that we work on quite a bit, and this is a state and federal issue as well, is fish passage barrier removal, so culvert replacement.

So, you know, when those salmon are coming back, you know, and, you know, going through their reproductive cycle, you know, they need to be able to get back up into their, you know, where they lay their eggs and, you know, and grow new baby salmon to send back out. And so really a lot of effort on on the state and county side to remove those those barriers and replace culverts and make sure that those ecosystem are functioning the way that that they did before.

There was, you know, development and before, you know, other logging practices and things like that. So just a lot of restoration work.

David Martin: Now that you first got elected. I think you were telling me earlier at 31.

Kevin Shutty: Yes. Yeah.

David Martin: Not usually the age someone being a county commissioner. What made you decide to do it?

Kevin Shutty: I really thought I had served on our local planning commission and so kind of got me involved in sort of the policy thinking and deciding side of of work and just really, you know, thought that there was an opportunity to to bring, you know, a different perspective to the county. When I got when I first got elected, you know, we were we were still using WordPerfect, you know, on our computer systems.

And just, you know, there was just a lot of things that, you know, we just needed to take that leap and embrace, you know.

David Martin: Sit others, take the leave it, embrace it with you on.

Kevin Shutty: The board. Well, I’ll tell you, it’s.

David Martin: A charmed vehicle and I’ll say.

Kevin Shutty: Yeah, I’ll tell you that. So we just now got Office 365 rolled out at the end of last year. So it’s a process for sure, you know. You know, but I think, you know, being being a millennial, that’s oftentimes not something that, you know, a lot of people look at is a be a way to promote yourself. Yeah, we were kind of I think unfortunately, you know, kind of, you know, lumped in with much younger generations.

You know, people don’t think we’re responsible or know what we’re talking about. But, you know, as we continue to kind of take over these leadership positions, I think it gives us an opportunity to to kind of create policy and have conversations that, you know, we want to improve things in our communities. And so it’s an opportunity to do that in 2016.

And I’ve been fortunate to be elected twice in Mason County. And just it’s a it’s a great place to work.

David Martin: And how long is it term.

Kevin Shutty: For your terms?

David Martin: Okay. So you’re in your third term?

Kevin Shutty: Yeah, I just well, I’m halfway through my second term. Yeah. Yeah.

David Martin: So will there be a third term?

Kevin Shutty: No announcements here today, but.

David Martin: There may be a third term.

Kevin Shutty: There can be. Yeah. We’re not, we’re not term limited but Yeah. So you know all those just I.

David Martin: Mean, are you enjoying it. Yeah. Just stay with it.

Kevin Shutty: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I think I’ve always kind of.

David Martin: Got the exclusive idea.

Kevin Shutty: I mean, I’ve always, I’ve always kind of approached it from a, you know, process or a project perspective. So, you know, where am I out of my to do list, you know? And so I think when we look at everything that has happened in our in our country, in the world over the past couple of years with the pandemic and recognizing that that presented hopefully unique challenges.

Yeah, but also some really unique opportunities, too, to lean into in the work that we wouldn’t have been able to do otherwise. So if you look at the American rescue plan, if you look at the infrastructure bill that was passed, you know, not long ago, we have an opportunity to do things that a lot of counties and local governments haven’t been able to do for years when it comes to infrastructure, when it comes to building out programing, when you know, you’re able to use those those funding packages to bring partners together in your community that otherwise might not be coming together on things.

And so I’m as optimistic as I have been in my my two terms. I think for us in Mason County, the arrows pointing up and I’m excited to continue moving down that path.

David Martin: We’ve talked about clean water. We’ve talked about the fishing industry, seafood industry. But you’re also in the mountains.

Kevin Shutty: Yeah.

David Martin: What’s what’s what are what are the what are the challenges with being part of the Cascade Mountain Range and having people come to that?

Kevin Shutty: Well, So, you know, great opportunity for tourism. So we bring a lot of people in, especially during the pandemic when indoor activities were a lot more restricted. You can still go out and you can go to your national parks, your national forests. And so over at Olympic now there.

David Martin: Are also the national.

Kevin Shutty: Parks. Yeah. So we have Olympic National Forest and Olympic National Park or in our county or partially in our county. And so, you know, when you have that kind of tourism, it’s great you want people coming into your community, but it also it also strains other, you know, resources, law enforcement. And so we have to work closely with the Park Service and our, you know, state Department of Natural Resources and make sure that we’re being good stewards of that land and still being able to offer access.

You know, and so we’ve been really fortunate to have good partners there with getting projects funded to help out, do some restoration and, you know, get them up to par and that kind of thing. And so, yeah, it’s just it’s it’s a it’s a there’s a lot of counties that have public lands in them. And so it’s, you know, how do we work with the federal government on land management?

Kevin Shutty: A lot of a lot of counties like ours rely on timber harvests for a little bit of additional funding. And so we want to make sure that the state and federal government are being good stewards of those resources in harvesting when they should be so that we can have a return on those those timber growth.

David Martin: That’s protecting the land and the sea. There’s a lot to pay attention to.

Kevin Shutty: There really is, Yeah. Yeah.

David Martin: Is it hard? Yeah.

Kevin Shutty: It’s not hard. It’s it can be complex and you know, and I think.

David Martin: What’s your background? Are you a forester or a, you.

Kevin Shutty: Know, you know, I’m, I’m a, I’m a teacher by trade. So I went to school to be a high school history teacher. And there’s really, you know, my thinking and coming into this line of work is I thought I would come out with I would come out with a lot of firsthand experience of how government works or maybe how government should work or whatever.

And, yeah, you know, but you know what I what I hope to bring to this job and continue to bring to it is is just sort of a natural curiosity that allows me to learn from people who do work in those industries to really be able to be open to and listen to, you know, their experiences and when and where county government can help to do that.

David Martin: I think this was the easy part. Okay, Are you ready for the hard part?

Kevin Shutty: Let’s go.

David Martin: All right. We have a question here. We’re going to get to the heart of your philosophy of government. All right. All right. You’re you’re no phone.

Kevin Shutty: Of no phone. A friend.

David Martin: No, no. You’re you’re all on land. You’re six years in.

Kevin Shutty: Yeah. Yep, six, six years.

David Martin: And so from your perspective. Okay, here we go. Six years. County commissioner. Define good government.

Kevin Shutty: I think good government is accountable. It’s transparent and it’s responsive. And those are the three things that I try to hold myself to. And so I think those kind of form the basis of good government. But the other thing that I would add to that is good government also means good partnerships. And so where we don’t always have the main responsibility to actually do something well, we always have a responsibility to do is to facilitate and convene people that can do something.

Yeah.

David Martin: How do you mention this a little bit? How do you how do you hold yourself accountable?

Kevin Shutty: Well, you know, I, I try to continue to just be with my constituents. You know, we have the benefit of living and working in the communities that we represent. And, you know, unlike the state and federal level, we actually you know, we don’t represent hundreds of thousands of people, at least in our county and in my district. And so, you know, I get it when I go to the grocery store, I get it when I go to church and, you know, and when I’m out walking my dog, you know, in the neighborhood and, you know, I think certainly it’s appropriate to have some some boundaries and, you know, be able to have, you know, some

privacy. But at the same time, you know, that’s the deal that I made with with the voters was that I would be available to them when they needed me and, you know, to listen to them when they’re telling me I’m doing it right and to listen to them when they’re telling me I’m doing it wrong. So and learn from that.

David Martin: So when you’re so being out of the community and making sure that people have access to you, they can tell you how you’re doing and people.

Kevin Shutty: Don’t hold back. So people are people are pretty comfortable.

David Martin: Too. I mean, I, I don’t want to use the word timidity, but are they are you have no compunction at all with. Hey. Yeah. Kevin.

Kevin Shutty: Yeah.

David Martin: You screwed up last week. Yeah.

Kevin Shutty: You know, I honestly I think from where it was when I started to where it is now, I think people are a little bit less unbridled in how they share their opinions and sort of the tone and tenor of some of that. But the the vast majority of my interactions are ones that are civil and respectful. And yeah, they’re they’re generally they’re gentle, generally productive.

David Martin: And so so you mentioned that people have no compunction with stopping you and telling you what to do. How else should they hold you accountable?

Kevin Shutty: They get to do it every time I’m on the ballot, you know, And that’s I think we have there are some counties that have term limits. Yeah. We’re one of the ones that do not have term limits, you know, And so every time I get to step up and ask for their vote again, they have an opportunity to just say we want to move in a different direction or, you know, keep power and ahead because we agree with with the agenda.

But, you know, those the ballot box still reign supreme in terms of accountability.

David Martin: How did you do in your last election? Were you were you?

Kevin Shutty: I ran unopposed. So I you know.

David Martin: It’s a pretty happy with you.

Kevin Shutty: You know, I, I like to think so. But, you know, at the same time, I ran for reelection in 2020, you know, kind of the height of the pandemic. And, you know, and I think people had a lot of priorities that maybe went beyond challenging your county commissioner. And, you know, and we’re focused on family and health and all those things.

And so, you know, I, I don’t take that for granted just because I ran unopposed in 2020. If I run again in 2024, there’s no expectation that they’ll have that again. So, yeah, and so but I welcome that. I think I think that’s a good opportunity to, to really, you know, debate and discuss not only where our county is, but where it’s headed and how we get there.

David Martin: If people feel like they’re not getting good government, what should they do? What would you like to see them do?

Kevin Shutty: Bottom line is show up. Show up. I mean, you know, so many so many of our meetings, I mean, they’re all they’re all open to the public. We you know, we televise them. We stream them online. You know, there’s no substitute to, you know, showing up to these meetings and, you know, being respectful, of course, being civil. But if you disagree, saying so, you know, and then I think, you know, on the commission, the three of us, each of the commissioners, we have an opportunity then to share why we’re for or against something.

And I think but you’re never going to get that redress if you don’t show up. Yep. And, you know, even when I worked in the state legislature, we always talked about, you know, an email is good, a phone call is better. But if a group of constituents are showing up at the office and they’re and they’re there in person, they’ve really made that effort.

Yeah. You know, to, you know, to have their voice heard. And so I think there’s no substitute for showing up.

David Martin: You have to be there, Right? Six years. And what would you like people to know about how government works or doesn’t work?

Kevin Shutty: Great question. I think what I want people to know about how government works is kind of that same message. You know, we have we have a variety of citizen advisory boards in our community. We try to encourage people to give input throughout, you know, throughout a planning process or whatever. And I just I think what I want people to know is that government works best when people participate.

And so I think just being able to, you know, offer those opportunities is really important. But ultimately, I think at least at the local level, people people are concerned about, you know, is my trash getting picked up or my potholes getting filled. If I call nine one, one, is somebody going to be able to show up to my house if I need them?

You know, And I think I think those those priorities or something that have been communicated back to us time and again. And, you know, it’s just that’s you know, I think that’s good government when we’re able to meet those basic needs at the local level and then maybe make some enhancements to other things.

David Martin: Along the way as well. Who is your hero in politics and government?

Kevin Shutty: Yeah, so I think I’ll say two people. One I’ll say is my grandfather, who was a bit probably I think he would be proud of me regardless, but he was a So I was elected as a Republican. Yes. But he was a longtime Democratic school board member outside of Pittsburgh. Okay. It just, you know, a just a tremendous community minded person.

And, you know, it was in an era of government that was a lot different than ours. Now, they didn’t have the open meetings requirements. And, you know, and it was, you know, is a lot more smoke filled rooms. Yeah. Literally. And, you know, but, you know, what I learned from him? And after he passed away, what I learned from everybody that worked with him was just how how important it is to, you know, be available and responsive.

And I knew that from going and spending summers with with my grandparents. And it felt like their front porch was, you know, kind of the town hall, you know. And so as people would walk by on their way to the store, to church or whatever, you know, just just being able to stop by and have those those informal conversations about the way things are or the way things, you know, people wanted them to be was just really impactful to me.

And then the second person that I would say is a person that I have a lot of respect for is former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge, who I had the privilege of going to high school with his daughter. We were friends in high school and got to spend some time with him and, you know, as he was governor and then obviously went on to be our nation’s first secretary of homeland security and just, you know, a moderate voice, you know, at a time when it just feels like the temperature is up on everything.

You know, he just, I think, provided a good example of how to be bipartisan and effective, how to represent, you know, a diverse set of constituents. You know, so when I’m when I’m going to work, I’m thinking about I’m thinking about both of them. Is just sort of a kind of a political North star for myself.

David Martin: You mentioned that you’re in a great location for seafood. What is your favorite dish? What’s the what’s the what’s the dish I must have when I come to Mason County.

Kevin Shutty: Yeah. So you have to come out to hammer hammer oysters right on Hood Canal and just get a dozen raw oysters. And so.

David Martin: Will we go down on the.

Kevin Shutty: Half? On the half shell.

David Martin: Where you are? You said that name. I forgot it.

Kevin Shutty: Already.

David Martin: So you’re going? Yeah.

Kevin Shutty: Yeah, you got it? Yeah. So you can try some gooey, dark blue. They do that as well. So. But I would, I would get a I would get a, I would get a dozen A always does on the half shell enjoy the brine and goodness right on the canal.

David Martin: All right. Was being in office something you always thought you would want to do.

Kevin Shutty: No no. I mean I, I went to school to be a teacher and I thought, you know, that’s a that’s a good career. That’s a that’s a noble profession. Yeah. And I’ll be happy with with that. And, and fortunately, I still am able to teach in our local community college a couple of times a year. I do a state and local government class and an American government class there.

So I still have my I still get my toes in the in the teaching world a little bit. But no, it wasn’t something that I had set out to do. But I think as I as I mentioned a couple of times during our conversation, you know, your government is best when people show up and, you know, when you see room for improvement or you want to make make change in your community, there’s a lot of ways to show up.

And so one of those is running for office. And then I so I thought I thought that would work out for me. And it’s been a privilege and great community to represent, and I’m happy that they’ll have me for another couple of years. So they’ll keep me around and longer.

David Martin: Maybe. Maybe. Yeah. Yeah. So no one else. Okay, six years in, give me an example of something. You’re able to do a good government project you were able to put together.

Kevin Shutty: Yeah. So I mentioned earlier the American Rescue Plan was a real game changer for us and certainly local government nationally as well. The direct appropriation from the federal government gave us an opportunity to actually put all the planning that we’ve been doing for years and years on infrastructure and community projects actually put those into into motion. And so our county received just under $13 million in rescue plan funds.

And so, you know, I’m really proud of the process that we went through to bring people together to do projects. But one of the ones that I’m most excited about is one of our fire districts has started, basically has revived house calls for for their rural residents. And so they have we funded them with about $250,000 to do this pilot program where they now employ a physician’s assistant that goes out and works with patients who have non-life threatening but still emergent issues.

And, you know, the goal there is one hopefully get more and more people connected to primary care. Right. But also to to really start to tackle the issue of, you know, overcrowding in emergency rooms and just the tremendous amount of cost that comes along with that. So we know that there are significant workforce issues in health care for a number of reasons.

Pandemic related predominantly. And, you know, my wife is a nurse practitioner. And so I hear about those issues and.

David Martin: Oh, you hear about this.

Kevin Shutty: And so, you know, I’m acutely aware of that. And so when the fire District North Mason Regional Fire Authority came to us with this project proposal, it was a no brainer, you know, to be able to get people more access to health care as a result of a of a pandemic, you know, is a no brainer. And so we’re excited.

And they want to really they want to reduce their trips to the emergency room by 40% in that fire district. I think they’ll get there and I think they’ll get there in large part because we were able to come together and fund a program that otherwise would not have gotten funded.

David Martin: That’s an impressive program. I mean, and it’s it’s got to be I won’t say changing lives, but certainly making a huge difference.

Kevin Shutty: Yeah, absolutely. And I think being able to meet people where they are. Yeah. Is is super important when, you know, they’re struggling with health issues or transportation or, you know, and you know, you walk through the door of any hour via ambulance and, you know, the clock starts running at $5,000 and, you know, a lot of people can’t afford that.

Yeah. You know, And so wherever we can reduce the amount of people who are having to make difficult choices about getting health care or not is a good thing.

David Martin: This has been a great conversation with you. Kevin Sheedy, I appreciate it. Thanks very much. Thanks for your time. Enjoy the salmon.

Kevin Shutty: Absolutely. All right. Going to see you out in Washington.

David Martin: Okay. Thank you. The good government show is sponsored by our CO. That means our community, our CO has found a way to make government even more effective. Article provides a platform that blends in-person and digital interactions and that connects people with their government. Their mobile app transforms meaningful conversations into reliable data, and the result is actionable insights that inspires a positive change.

It’s sort of like having a flagpole. Do you want to know if the community would rather have a dog park or a bike trail? Our coach can get you an answer immediately. When the folks in your community with our CO, you can engage your citizens or any group, learn what they want and build programs and policies that advance your county, your job creators and your constituents.

So visit our COCOM. That’s 0urco dot com and learn how they do it. And while you’re there, book a demonstration Puget Sound, shellfish, mountains and lakes, hiking and swimming. There’s a lot in Mason County and it’s good to see a young commissioner getting elected and working for the county. Now about that gooey duck and we may have to travel to Japan to try that out.

So that was my conversation with Kevin Sherry and how he keeps busy in Mason County. Join me again on the Good Government show for another conversation with another government leader and hear what they think good government is. And I’ll have that next time on the Good Government show. I’m Dave Martin. Thanks for listening to the Good Government show and a conversation with is produced by Valley Park Productions Jim Ludlow, David Martin and David Snyder are the executive producers.

Our editor and producer is Jason Stershic. This is a good government show. Thanks for listening.

**This transcription was created using digital tools and has not been edited by a live person. We apologize for any discrepancies or errors.