We Can Fix That

00:00:00:01 – 00:00:04:03
David Martin
This is the good government show.

00:00:04:08 – 00:00:21:33
Amanda Romero
So repair fairs and repair cafes have been happening for a long time around the country, and one of our staff, Rob, he came up with the great idea of bringing that to Thurston County. He.

00:00:21:38 – 00:00:33:23
Amanda Romero
A lot of times our culture finds it a lot easier to throw things away and buy new ones.

00:00:33:28 – 00:00:44:32
Amanda Romero
82% of the items that people brought in were able to be repaired.

00:00:44:37 – 00:00:53:44
Amanda Romero
I mean, you don’t go into public service for the money, right?

00:00:53:49 – 00:01:01:55
Amanda Romero
Good government is transparent and serves the will of the people.

00:01:02:00 – 00:01:21:15
David Martin
Your old toaster stops working. Time to toss it out and get a new one. But wait. Maybe it can be repaired. That’s what’s happening in Thurston County, Washington. Just take it to the fix it fair. You don’t need a new one. Just fix the old one. Welcome to the good government show. I’m Dave Martin. First, help us share the message of good government by liking us and sharing us where we are on social media.

00:01:21:20 – 00:01:38:54
David Martin
Make sure you’re with us and send our show everywhere. We all need to talk about good government. Thurston County, Washington, was honored by the National Association of Counties with the achievement Award for something that’s actually kind of simple. It’s called the fix it fair. Think about it. Years ago, at least when I grew up, every town had at six a shop.

00:01:38:54 – 00:01:56:42
David Martin
You could bring in your old TV, your toaster, your fan, anything. And some guy, usually in a downtown shop with shelves crowded with old parts, sold TVs or appliances. Anyway, he would take it in and fix it, whatever it was. Now it seems like it’s just easier and cheaper to get a new one, and you can probably get a new one delivered overnight.

00:01:56:47 – 00:02:18:11
David Martin
On this episode, I talk with Amanda Romero. She’s the senior program manager for Solid Waste for the Thurston County Public Works Department. Her office launched an overseas this project. Here’s the thing. Not only are folks getting their broken things repaired and for free, but everything gets fixed. And it’s just one less thing that goes in the landfill. That’s the biggest side benefit, as you’ll hear.

00:02:18:13 – 00:02:40:20
David Martin
It’s not a big project. It’s not an expensive project, but it does make a difference. It’s a great example of a small project that is good government. So coming up, Amanda Romero and the fix it for you. You two, we have a new partner here in the Good Government Show. Hello nation. This is a new digital magazine that showcases the best of cities across the nation.

00:02:40:22 – 00:03:07:28
David Martin
We’d all prefer if good news traveled faster. And hello, nation. Positive stories don’t just get told, they get amplified. Hello nation helps businesses, leaders and communities share positive stories that matter building trust, credibility and meaningful connection through professionally produced podcast, digital features and targeted distribution. Hello nation positions you as the answer regular folks are looking for, while expanding and scaling your digital footprint across the platforms that people trust.

00:03:07:33 – 00:03:32:37
David Martin
Good news deserves momentum. Your city or your business can help spread the word of good news across the nation and hello nation! They don’t just have advertisers, they have advertisers. Editorial content from trusted community leaders and cities that are helping spread the good news. Let Hello Nation lift you up and lead the conversation. Visit Hello nation.com to learn more.

00:03:32:41 – 00:03:51:49
David Martin
Once you wrap up this episode of The Good Government Show, give a listen to our friends over at Good News for lefties. This daily podcast highlights news stories that show there’s more good news out there. Other people in government are really trying to do the right thing. That’s good news for lefties. Listen where you’re listening now. Welcome to the Good Government show.

00:03:51:50 – 00:04:10:49
David Martin
I’m happy to have with me the so reluctant Amanda Romero. Thanks for coming on the show. I know this wasn’t your first idea. There are other people you thought would be better, but you are actually the best person to talk to about your upcoming award, the Thurston County Fixit Fair. We’re here at the National Association of Counties, and you’re about to get an achievement award.

00:04:10:50 – 00:04:11:43
David Martin
Congratulations.

00:04:11:48 – 00:04:13:29
Amanda Romero
Thank you. Yeah, it’s great to be here.

00:04:13:30 – 00:04:22:00
David Martin
So, the Thurston County Fixit fair. I read about this, and I thought, what a great idea, a fix it fair where you fix stuff. Is that all it is?

00:04:22:05 – 00:04:36:54
Amanda Romero
Really? Yeah. I mean, we really rely on volunteers and our community and partners in our community to help the community fix things that could still be usable instead of throwing them away and, having to buy more of the same things.

00:04:36:58 – 00:04:38:48
David Martin
So first, where is Thurston County?

00:04:39:03 – 00:04:42:31
Amanda Romero
Thurston County is in Washington state at the tip of the South Sound.

00:04:42:35 – 00:04:45:40
David Martin
That’s a South sound. So how far away from Seattle would you say?

00:04:45:40 – 00:04:47:35
Amanda Romero
Is about an hour from Seattle on a good day?

00:04:47:37 – 00:04:48:53
David Martin
Straight south.

00:04:48:58 – 00:04:54:20
Amanda Romero
Just about where that would be on the, up the east side of the sound.

00:04:54:23 – 00:04:59:15
David Martin
Okay. And the Thurston County fix it fair. Where did this idea come from? How did this come together?

00:04:59:27 – 00:05:28:17
Amanda Romero
So repair fairs and repair cafes have been happening for a long time around the country. And one of our staff, Rob, he came up with the great idea of bringing that to Thurston County. Because we know we have some amazing partners that we can, group together. One being the Lacy makerspace, they have a publicly accessible workshop where folks can come in, get a membership, and they have access to amazing equipment and tools, to create all kinds of cool things.

00:05:28:19 – 00:05:31:32
Amanda Romero
Okay. And so using those tools, we can repair things.

00:05:31:37 – 00:05:44:28
David Martin
So what’s the idea behind, you know, fixing it? I used to be there every town how to fix a shop. Those are all long gone. And now you sort of buy something that it’s cheaper to just replace it than it is to repair it.

00:05:44:30 – 00:06:05:06
Amanda Romero
That is often the case. So a lot of times our culture finds it a lot easier to throw things away and buy new ones. But we want to promote the idea that some things can be repaired, and by repairing them, we’re keeping them out of the landfill. Particularly, people bring in things that have sentimental value. They don’t want to throw those things away because they they have meaning to them.

00:06:05:11 – 00:06:13:56
Amanda Romero
And so if we can help the community keep even a few things out of the landfill. Yeah, we’re fulfilling our our mission in waste reduction.

00:06:13:59 – 00:06:21:34
David Martin
Well, let’s talk about keeping these out of the landfill. What type of things are we talking about that you can that you really can repair? That maybe folks don’t think they can repair.

00:06:21:38 – 00:06:41:44
Amanda Romero
Oh, sure. Small appliances. Metal items like, metal watering can. I’ve watched, folks bring in their tea kettles to be soldered that were leaky. A lot of textile items, sweater repairs. I’ve watched and learned how to darn socks at one of these events. To.

00:06:41:44 – 00:06:42:40
David Martin
Darn your own socks now.

00:06:42:42 – 00:06:49:57
Amanda Romero
I plan to I learned how to. And I have a pair of socks I really love, and I don’t want to throw them away. So we’re going to we’re going to Dinham.

00:06:49:57 – 00:06:53:58
David Martin
Darn your socks. You said small appliances. What are we talking about? Toasters. What?

00:06:54:12 – 00:07:08:43
Amanda Romero
Yeah. Microwaves. Toaster oven. Microwave. Yeah, well, I can’t, but the the volunteer is often. Yeah. You know, we had a pretty good success rate of about 82% of the items that people brought in were able to be repaired. 82%, 82%.

00:07:08:43 – 00:07:12:37
David Martin
So have you seen things walk in the door? Do you look at that and go, oh, they can’t fix that.

00:07:12:47 – 00:07:18:52
Amanda Romero
I’m sure some of the volunteers have. And so it’s just really great to see those things, be brought back to life.

00:07:18:52 – 00:07:23:01
David Martin
And you said 80% of these things get fixed. Give me a wide array of things that are that are broken.

00:07:23:02 – 00:07:42:56
Amanda Romero
Oh, gosh. I’ve seen things like sweaters. We put out a video, and in the video there is this really sweet story of, child that is in a wheelchair and had this other sort of wheelchair device that he, he uses to get around and play, okay. And the wheels were unsafe and needed to be fixed, and they brought in and and fixed it.

00:07:43:07 – 00:07:53:19
Amanda Romero
We also call about, our local bike repair people, and they come in and fix bikes. All right. It’s just good. Such a wide array of things. I’ve seen that the cleaners, vacuum cleaners.

00:07:53:19 – 00:07:54:16
David Martin
Have you brought anything you can?

00:07:54:16 – 00:08:11:28
Amanda Romero
Techs I have, and I kind of want to see the works. Not everything works, but I also want to make space for the community members, you know, as as I, I’m kind of behind the scenes. I don’t want to take a spot from a community member. We’ve already had our second event this past April, and there was, so we’ve had.

00:08:11:28 – 00:08:12:20
David Martin
Two events so far.

00:08:12:22 – 00:08:20:25
Amanda Romero
Yes. So we hope to do them twice a year. But, when I arrived, there was a line already. So it’s getting it’s really growing in popularity. Yes.

00:08:20:26 – 00:08:22:07
David Martin
I’m nine people waiting for.

00:08:22:12 – 00:08:28:48
Amanda Romero
Yeah. Where do you do this? We do it at the Lacy makerspace. They have an amazing, workshop with all.

00:08:28:53 – 00:08:31:53
David Martin
These people a couple of times. So. Yeah. Tell me about lacy makers.

00:08:32:05 – 00:08:51:56
Amanda Romero
Lacy makerspace partners, or they’re they’re stationed out at the Saint Martins campus, which is, a college in our area. Okay. And they have this workshop, and there are different rooms with different sorts of, tools. So there’s like a sewing room. There’s a room with lots of different kinds of 3D printers. There is a room with like metal soldering things.

00:08:51:56 – 00:08:56:02
Amanda Romero
There’s a room with, just all kinds of tools and, and.

00:08:56:09 – 00:08:59:24
David Martin
Carpenter shop, a metal shop, electronics shop.

00:08:59:29 – 00:09:09:03
Amanda Romero
It’s amazing. Yeah, yeah. And through this space, we are able to, get people, you know, out to fix their things. And is it hard to.

00:09:09:03 – 00:09:09:28
David Martin
Bring them on.

00:09:09:28 – 00:09:17:40
Amanda Romero
Board? No, no, it wasn’t, that was primarily done by staff, but I think that that, Yes, Rob played a huge role in this.

00:09:17:40 – 00:09:19:24
David Martin
Let’s tell Rob’s full day.

00:09:19:28 – 00:09:26:37
Amanda Romero
Yeah. Rob Hudner this was his, vision, and he really brought it to life. I’m impressed. So impressed with it. Yeah.

00:09:26:42 – 00:09:29:31
David Martin
And he took it and ran with it. And your whole department got behind it.

00:09:29:33 – 00:09:49:01
Amanda Romero
Yes, yes. So, this was something he had heard about, and I think he had worked on a similar event in a different jurisdiction when in his past at another place you worked. And so he still had that, that idea in his mind. And when he brought it here, especially with the lacy maker space, it was just a match made in heaven.

00:09:49:01 – 00:09:49:46
Amanda Romero
It was perfect.

00:09:49:46 – 00:09:57:46
David Martin
So who are these lacy makers? I mean, is there a jeweler in there? Is there a bike repair guy? Yeah, there is our auto mechanic. I mean, who are the people?

00:09:57:52 – 00:10:19:16
Amanda Romero
An amazing group of amateur fixers that just want to be able to make things. They fix things, but also make things. So you think of like artists or, textile artists, artists that like to play with 3D printers. They have with a membership to this, space, they’re able to access so many tools that would be normally cost prohibitive.

00:10:19:23 – 00:10:21:13
David Martin
You don’t have jewelry tools in your house?

00:10:21:18 – 00:10:23:12
Amanda Romero
Yeah, no I don’t.

00:10:23:17 – 00:10:24:36
David Martin
Okay. Broken plates.

00:10:24:36 – 00:10:45:00
Amanda Romero
Yeah. They can do ceramics, too. I believe in the in the video that we, sent out to the community after the event, there was a person that brought in, a ceramic tile that was vintage while hanging and had shattered, and they were able to, piece it back together and use, I think she said chalk to kind of hide the cracks.

00:10:45:08 – 00:10:50:58
David Martin
Wow, that sounds like a real project. Yeah. And how long this is when you you’ve had two of these fairs now, are they all day events? So.

00:10:50:58 – 00:10:58:13
Amanda Romero
No, no. So the one that, that we submitted to this, for this award was only three hours. Oh, yeah.

00:10:58:21 – 00:11:00:00
David Martin
And how many people stop by? Do you.

00:11:00:00 – 00:11:04:18
Amanda Romero
Know? Yeah. So we had, 65 people that got things repaired.

00:11:04:20 – 00:11:07:24
David Martin
Okay. But that 65 things that didn’t get thrown away.

00:11:07:24 – 00:11:08:34
Amanda Romero
Exactly.

00:11:08:39 – 00:11:14:16
David Martin
Can you talk a little bit about, you know, what’s going in landfills and what needs to not grow? Reminds us.

00:11:14:21 – 00:11:31:11
Amanda Romero
I mean, everything under the sun is getting into landfills. I know that, but there are so many things that can be repaired. And also, I personally think of also all the recyclable items in our community that end up accidentally in the garbage that could have been diverted for recycling.

00:11:31:19 – 00:11:34:50
David Martin
How much do you think you’ve saved from from landfill?

00:11:34:54 – 00:11:49:57
Amanda Romero
Well, for this, particular event, we we your most recent. Well, the, one in November, we scale in all of the items that are repaired, so we at least get a weight. And that one was, 387 pounds of, items repaired.

00:11:50:08 – 00:11:53:03
David Martin
That’s like, I’m going to guess the back of a pickup truck.

00:11:53:08 – 00:11:59:31
Amanda Romero
Yeah. I mean, yeah. So that’s like one less load going to the landfill. Yeah. From one of our self haul customers.

00:11:59:31 – 00:12:04:06
David Martin
And you are the, senior program manager for public works. And I think you said sanitation.

00:12:04:17 – 00:12:04:56
Amanda Romero
Solid waste.

00:12:05:02 – 00:12:09:27
David Martin
Solid waste. Sorry, sorry, sorry. So is this a big part of what you’re doing there?

00:12:09:31 – 00:12:22:32
Amanda Romero
Yeah. So I lead the programing staff, the the educators. I lead a staff of four educators that are, waste reduction specialists, as well as, a small litter team and a planner.

00:12:22:37 – 00:12:32:00
David Martin
How hard is it to get people to change their mind when it’s so easy to go online and order it and have it the next day to to to not stop doing that?

00:12:32:13 – 00:12:32:29
Amanda Romero
Yeah.

00:12:32:32 – 00:12:40:10
David Martin
Repair it, fix it. Leave it here. We’ll have another fair in a couple of months. Put it to the side. We’ll get you another one. How hard is it to change that mindset?

00:12:40:14 – 00:12:58:28
Amanda Romero
I mean it’s it’s really hard. It’s it’s our daily work. It’s something we think about every day. So we do everything we can and learn what we can about behavior change and community based social marketing so that we can show people how they can change behavior and maybe make a difference.

00:12:58:31 – 00:13:01:42
David Martin
This has got to be a massive reeducation program always.

00:13:01:42 – 00:13:12:26
Amanda Romero
Yeah. I’m sure. And every, every person listening to this probably has people that they probably don’t see on a regular basis, somewhere in an office working on this.

00:13:12:26 – 00:13:15:03
David Martin
And how popular are these across America?

00:13:15:08 – 00:13:21:27
Amanda Romero
I don’t know how popular they are, but I have heard about them in other places, including Washington state, for example.

00:13:21:40 – 00:13:23:38
David Martin
Where, as we know, Rob stole this from someone else.

00:13:23:38 – 00:13:45:33
Amanda Romero
Yeah, yeah. So, for example, when we were getting ready to, recruit volunteers, we talked to another Washington County to get some information about, what kind of, policies and rules they put in place. You know, having volunteers on board, you have to make sure that you have all of your policies clear and straightforward for them so they know what their job is, and everyone’s safe.

00:13:45:40 – 00:13:48:04
David Martin
And how do you do all of this for free?

00:13:48:18 – 00:13:53:46
Amanda Romero
It’s, in partnership with the Lacy makerspace, like I mentioned. So they do a lot of that.

00:13:53:51 – 00:13:57:36
David Martin
Plus the city, nothing, the county, nothing. This costs the citizens nothing.

00:13:57:36 – 00:14:23:51
Amanda Romero
We spent for the first, event, just a little over, $1,000. I think it might have been around 1600. Okay. And a lot of that we will continue to use. So, for example, we needed to buy volunteer aprons. We needed to buy, a scale, a certain kind of scale for this. So as we move forward, the cost reduces because we are friends.

00:14:23:51 – 00:14:28:23
Amanda Romero
Yeah. So it comes down to like refreshments and

00:14:28:28 – 00:14:33:06
David Martin
But on a, on a county budget, $1,600 is not minuscule. No.

00:14:33:07 – 00:14:33:28
Amanda Romero
Yeah.

00:14:33:28 – 00:14:35:02
David Martin
You said it. Nothing good. I didn’t have.

00:14:35:02 – 00:14:54:29
Amanda Romero
To. Yeah, yeah. And so it’s really great. And I should also mention that it’s possible because of the master recycler composter volunteers as well. They are a pool of volunteers that we pull from the WSU extension. And, they come out and volunteer as well. And a lot of those folks have amazing skills that they were able to contribute to the event.

00:14:54:30 – 00:14:55:51
David Martin
And you got to feel good doing this.

00:14:56:06 – 00:15:00:56
Amanda Romero
Oh, of course. Yeah. I mean, you don’t go into public service for the money, right?

00:15:01:01 – 00:15:10:35
David Martin
I don’t know, some do they they often get in trouble. But yes, I understand. No, but I mean, the people who come in to the fair, they must leave like just thrilled.

00:15:10:40 – 00:15:20:13
Amanda Romero
Yeah. Yeah, I think that they feel like it’s an evening well spent and can hold on to that feel good feeling for a while, at least till the next event, you know, six months later.

00:15:20:13 – 00:15:27:13
David Martin
I know you prefer to be behind the scenes and not so not the spokesperson for all this, but do people come up to you and talk to you about six?

00:15:27:16 – 00:15:44:41
Amanda Romero
It’s there at work in the office? Yes. I don’t think on the street people necessarily associate me with it. I’m always quick to promote it to my friends and family in town, but, yeah, I, I always let people know when they’re coming up. So if anyone needs something fixed, they know.

00:15:44:42 – 00:15:46:43
David Martin
So do you have a pile on your house, the things you’re waiting?

00:15:46:44 – 00:15:51:14
Amanda Romero
I have a couple of things that I. But I’ll wait my turn. I don’t want to take a spot from someone else.

00:15:51:14 – 00:15:57:15
David Martin
Well, I’m sure they would. They would, they would be happy to have you, to join in. What’s the future for that? Fix it. Fair.

00:15:57:19 – 00:16:22:07
Amanda Romero
We hope to continue doing them. I know, we’re hoping to do them every, spring and fall and just grow where we can. Right now, the size we have is pretty good. But if opportunities arise to bring in more of, you know, a different kind of skill set, or I know, you know, we’ve talked about maybe doing like pop up bike, fix it and things like that.

00:16:22:16 – 00:16:23:33
Amanda Romero
So,

00:16:23:38 – 00:16:26:38
David Martin
Ways this is a small thing, but it really isn’t a small thing, is it?

00:16:26:49 – 00:16:36:46
Amanda Romero
Right. Yeah. And if it’s something that, other communities realize that it’s really not that difficult to do, maybe this can be happening everywhere.

00:16:36:57 – 00:16:49:41
David Martin
Well, one of the things we hope we do on the Good Government show is share a good idea and best practices. What would you tell someone from another county about this project and how easy, apparently it is to get started? Is it easy to get started?

00:16:49:55 – 00:16:54:12
Amanda Romero
It’s about as easy as any other projects. And in.

00:16:54:12 – 00:16:56:15
David Martin
Terms of government projects, it’s not that bad.

00:16:56:15 – 00:17:19:16
Amanda Romero
Yeah, yeah. If you have amazing staff like I do working with you and a great board of county commissioners and leadership, you can make it happen. You need access to some tools and to recruit some volunteers and a space and a lot of times these are hosted at libraries. Okay. And if your tool if your library has a tool library which many libraries do, even better, even better, you can access it.

00:17:19:16 – 00:17:25:07
David Martin
When you when you presented this idea to the county commission and other people, what was the immediate reaction?

00:17:25:12 – 00:17:40:05
Amanda Romero
I think at first we were just kind of, I don’t think the vision was understood fully. I mean, it was completely supported. I just don’t think that everyone knew how impactful it would be until it happened, including myself. I mean, it it was like, oh, yeah, you know, we have these lists.

00:17:40:13 – 00:17:41:17
David Martin
How this really.

00:17:41:17 – 00:17:49:27
Amanda Romero
Worked. Yeah, yeah. So it’s always it’s always, feels good to see an event go off so. Well, without a hitch.

00:17:49:27 – 00:17:54:59
David Martin
And do you feel like this is now part of your county mission and part of the part of what makes the county, you know, unique and work?

00:17:55:05 – 00:18:06:15
Amanda Romero
Yeah. I mean, we are so fortunate to have so many talented, fixers in the community. I don’t see why it wouldn’t be. And, why not use our local talent?

00:18:06:20 – 00:18:07:31
David Martin
And what do you fix?

00:18:07:36 – 00:18:09:32
Amanda Romero
Oh, I don’t fix. I don’t fix much.

00:18:09:33 – 00:18:10:46
David Martin
Don’t fix anything.

00:18:10:50 – 00:18:13:01
Amanda Romero
I fix problems in the office.

00:18:13:05 – 00:18:17:46
David Martin
Well, that’s important to any of the recycling programs you want to talk about.

00:18:17:51 – 00:18:38:18
Amanda Romero
Oh, we’ve got all kinds of things in the works. We just started, as of July 1st, bike drop off space at our transfer station in partnership with Inner City Transit, which is the institution that runs our bus lines and things like that. And so what we’re doing is we noticed a lot of what appeared to be bikes in great condition, being thrown away.

00:18:38:23 – 00:18:49:48
Amanda Romero
And so now we have a space where we’re promoting folks to bring those bikes to us, and they go to Inner City Transit, who has a pedal it forward program and repairs the bikes and puts them back into the community.

00:18:49:52 – 00:18:50:46
David Martin
Do you ride a bike?

00:18:50:51 – 00:18:51:29
Amanda Romero
I do.

00:18:51:34 – 00:18:52:25
David Martin
Do you ride a bike to work?

00:18:52:39 – 00:18:58:17
Amanda Romero
No, I don’t ride a bike too far. It’s a little far. The roads are a little rural. Okay. It’s not much of a shoulder.

00:18:58:17 – 00:19:12:26
David Martin
Well, I live in New York City. You have bike share city bikes everywhere. And, it is a little harrowing to eat across midtown Manhattan on a bike, but I certainly do it regularly. All right, well, that was the easy part, because that was the part you’re familiar with. Now we’re going to get to the hard part. Are you ready?

00:19:12:33 – 00:19:13:09
Amanda Romero
I’m ready.

00:19:13:09 – 00:19:40:34
David Martin
Okay. The Good Government show is sponsored by our. That’s. Oh, you are for our community. Get involved. We hear that all the time from government leaders. Our co-branded with your governments name and logo. Your staff and the people you serve are connected and part of your community. From any device your members provide reliable data and meaningful feedback. Ask a question like, do we want more parkland or better homeless services?

00:19:40:47 – 00:19:52:20
David Martin
More engaged conversations come through the our app. Visit our Co that’s ou rco.com and book a demonstration.

00:19:52:25 – 00:20:15:53
David Martin
After you get done with this episode, hear more good government stories with our friends at How to Really Run a City for mayors. Kassim Reed of Atlanta and Michael Nutter, a Philadelphia, and their co-host, journalist and author Larry Platt. Talk with guests and other mayors about how to really get stuff done in cities around the nation. Check them out where you’re listening now or through their nonprofit news site, The Philadelphia Citizen.

00:20:15:58 – 00:20:22:16
David Martin
Dot org slash podcasts.

00:20:22:21 – 00:20:31:55
David Martin
So now we’re going to get your true ideas on what public service and government is all about. Okay, I know you weren’t prepared for this, so don’t worry. What is good government? Define it.

00:20:32:00 – 00:20:36:12
Amanda Romero
Good government is transparent and serves the will of the people.

00:20:36:17 – 00:20:41:08
David Martin
When people are frustrated with government, if they don’t like what they see in government, what should they do?

00:20:41:23 – 00:20:54:03
Amanda Romero
I think, contacting your representatives, I mean, your representatives should be your soundboard and and the folks that are representing you in policy decisions. So those are the people you need to reach and communicate with.

00:20:54:03 – 00:21:04:24
David Martin
What drew you to public service? We before we turn the mics on, you mentioned that you spent two years of the Peace Corps. Very impressive. What made you do that? And, I guess that was a natural progression into, government, right?

00:21:04:29 – 00:21:19:39
Amanda Romero
Yeah. I’ve always, sought work that had a mission I believed in. And I’ve always been interested in natural resources. So putting those two together, you end up doing environmental work? For local institutions and local government and so.

00:21:19:45 – 00:21:28:27
David Martin
Well, let’s let’s let’s brag a little bit. You you, you, you started a recycling program in a rural mountain community, mountaintop community in Peru, right?

00:21:28:28 – 00:21:45:21
Amanda Romero
For two years. Yes. I did garbage programs in, the mountains of Peru. For two years in my 20s. And, that was an amazing experience and really set me up for not only a public service career, but also one in solid waste, which is garbage and recycling.

00:21:45:26 – 00:21:47:36
David Martin
And you have a floor where you lived.

00:21:47:40 – 00:21:54:09
Amanda Romero
I did, I was really lucky to have a floor. I was one of the few homes in the village with a real toilet.

00:21:54:12 – 00:21:55:07
David Martin
Wow.

00:21:55:12 – 00:21:56:12
Amanda Romero
Yeah.

00:21:56:17 – 00:21:57:26
David Martin
People wanted to be your friend.

00:21:57:27 – 00:21:59:34
Amanda Romero
I did. Yeah, yeah.

00:21:59:39 – 00:22:01:33
David Martin
That must have been an incredible experience.

00:22:01:42 – 00:22:21:31
Amanda Romero
It was. It was a really, once in a lifetime. Two years that, really shaped. Shaped how I see the world and how I understand, policy and bringing, you know, promoting public service messages to the, to the people, you know, helping them understand that we.

00:22:21:31 – 00:22:23:53
David Martin
Received by the key, by the community that you served in.

00:22:24:00 – 00:22:49:46
Amanda Romero
So I was there for two years. And so at first I was just, you know, an oddity. Right? But then I became known as more of, a professional and also a teacher. I would do lessons in the classroom often about, environmental issues and then, work with them, the local mayor on, on garbage projects. So the kids, you know, would take that message home that that I was a teacher in the school sometimes.

00:22:49:46 – 00:22:58:59
David Martin
Is it hard was it hard to get those folks to realize trash goes here, recycling goes here? You know, just throw it out the back door. That kind of thing.

00:22:59:04 – 00:23:19:46
Amanda Romero
Yeah. I mean, it’s it’s definitely a different culture. So the the messages were a little different. Instead of telling folks, you know, please don’t throw your recycling away. We were also talking to folks about the harm of burning plastic. There was a lot of burning plastics. That was one of our big messages. Is, you know, you don’t need to burn those plastic bottles.

00:23:19:46 – 00:23:32:19
Amanda Romero
We you can sell them to recycler and make some money. And so figuring out what motivates those, folks and then trying to build a message around that, that would also promote waste reduction and recycling.

00:23:32:23 – 00:23:34:35
David Martin
So you’re in government. Who in government inspires you?

00:23:34:45 – 00:23:36:03
Amanda Romero
That’s a hard one.

00:23:36:08 – 00:23:39:54
David Martin
I told you this is the hard part. Yeah. Now the easy part was to start for you here.

00:23:39:58 – 00:23:57:15
Amanda Romero
Yeah. I mean, I think that I see so much amazing leadership in some of the folks that I see on a regular basis back home. I know I really look up to some of the women in our local government and the work that they do. And, you know, to follow in their footsteps.

00:23:57:19 – 00:24:00:04
David Martin
Okay. Were you high school class president?

00:24:00:08 – 00:24:03:23
Amanda Romero
Oh, no. Band geek.

00:24:03:28 – 00:24:04:08
David Martin
What did you play?

00:24:04:09 – 00:24:04:42
Amanda Romero
Oboe.

00:24:04:53 – 00:24:05:32
David Martin
Do you still play?

00:24:05:45 – 00:24:08:12
Amanda Romero
No, I, I haven’t played in years.

00:24:08:25 – 00:24:13:39
David Martin
All right. So did you think about ever think about, you know, running for office yourself or doing other things in government?

00:24:13:50 – 00:24:19:18
Amanda Romero
No, I can’t imagine running a campaign. I think that would that would be a limit for me.

00:24:19:21 – 00:24:25:46
David Martin
You’re in public works for Thurston County. You’ve been there for a little bit. What would you like people to know about government from the inside that they don’t know?

00:24:26:00 – 00:24:54:39
Amanda Romero
I think that what I wish people understood is that when we take what feels like a long time to do things, it’s only because we’re trying to make sure that we meet all the criteria. We’re doing it up to standard and we’re doing transparently, and that takes time. I know the private sector can turn around a project a lot faster oftentimes, and it may seem like the bureaucratic process is a little slow, but there’s a reason it’s slow.

00:24:54:39 – 00:25:01:31
Amanda Romero
It’s because we want to be transparent. We want the public to see, and we want to be cautious and careful with the resources because they’re the public’s resources.

00:25:01:40 – 00:25:02:50
David Martin
What’s the best part of your job?

00:25:03:03 – 00:25:06:48
Amanda Romero
The best part of my job, I would say my team is incredible.

00:25:06:53 – 00:25:09:09
David Martin
Yeah. How many people on your team?

00:25:09:13 – 00:25:13:56
Amanda Romero
I’ve got four educators, two litter staff and one planner.

00:25:14:03 – 00:25:25:12
David Martin
Now, I’m going to ask a question, and it’s going to allow you to brag on your own. Your hometown, your home county. If I were to come there, what’s the thing I must try? Where’s the place I must go to? What is the what is the dish of Thurston County?

00:25:25:12 – 00:25:31:57
Amanda Romero
Oh. The dish. Well, we’re known for salmon. Okay, I would say get some smoked salmon in any form. Yeah, right.

00:25:32:02 – 00:25:32:47
David Martin
What do you do for fun?

00:25:32:54 – 00:25:43:47
Amanda Romero
We’re in Washington state, so I’m all about hiking, camping, especially at this time of year. Got some camping trips planned for August. Really excited for that.

00:25:43:52 – 00:25:46:23
David Martin
How rural do you get to? How far? Deep into the mountains.

00:25:46:27 – 00:25:53:42
Amanda Romero
I’m not going out in super far backcountry areas, but we get some nice camping spots. Yeah, yeah, a.

00:25:53:51 – 00:26:02:50
David Martin
Couple miles hike in, yeah. Set up. Right. Okay, so this is the good government show, and we always ended on good government. Tell me about a good government project that you’re excited about.

00:26:02:52 – 00:26:21:38
Amanda Romero
Well, I already mentioned to the bike program. I’m really excited about that one. That one’s on the forefront of my mind. Can I bring up that one again? Absolutely. So I’m really excited because as of July 1st, Thurston County Transfer Station is piloting a new program to collect adult sized bikes from the public that they no longer want.

00:26:21:38 – 00:26:28:08
Amanda Romero
And those bikes will be taken by inner city transit to be repaired and put back into the community for people who need them.

00:26:28:22 – 00:26:29:15
David Martin
Starting in July.

00:26:29:25 – 00:26:30:10
Amanda Romero
July 1st.

00:26:30:10 – 00:26:32:18
David Martin
Yeah, July 1st. So you’ve already started the program?

00:26:32:18 – 00:26:33:32
Amanda Romero
We just started. Yep.

00:26:33:35 – 00:26:40:20
David Martin
Okay. So we’re recording this in July of 2025. And so the program has started. Any immediate feedback.

00:26:40:25 – 00:26:48:01
Amanda Romero
We’ve been getting bikes. They’re coming. It’s been almost two weeks okay. So we don’t have any numbers yet. But anecdotally we’re seeing bikes coming in. Yeah.

00:26:48:02 – 00:27:05:35
David Martin
All right Amanda Romero of the Public Works Department for Thurston County, Washington, congratulations on your, Naco Achievement award for volunteers for the Thurston County fix it for fixing stuff that people ordinarily throw out and keeping it out of landfills. All good government.

00:27:05:39 – 00:27:06:20
Amanda Romero
Thank you. Yeah.

00:27:06:21 – 00:27:08:00
David Martin
All right. I hope this wasn’t too horrible.

00:27:08:05 – 00:27:10:24
Amanda Romero
No, it was great.

00:27:10:29 – 00:27:28:59
David Martin
I want to hear more about good government. Check out another show I host leading Iowa good government in Iowa cities. I host the show with Brad Cavanaugh, mayor of Dubuque, Iowa, and the immediate past president of the Iowa League of Cities. Together, we talk to leaders in Iowa cities. We talk about what works and what good government looks like in Iowa.

00:27:29:04 – 00:27:37:39
David Martin
Join us right here. We listening now that’s leading Iowa. Good government in Iowa. Cities.

00:27:37:43 – 00:27:59:39
David Martin
It was called the War to End all Wars. But it didn’t. Three royal cousins, all kings, one from England, one from Germany and one from Russia blundered their way into a war. I completely avoided the war, but left millions dead in the trenches across Europe. Good government Show executive producer Jim Ludlow details the blunders, mistakes and bluster that started World War One that didn’t end all wars.

00:27:59:43 – 00:28:16:08
David Martin
The book The Royal Cousins details the events and creates an alternative history. Imagine a World War One never happened. It didn’t have to just read it yourself. Download the book today on Amazon. It’s just $0.99 and a timely look at history.

00:28:16:12 – 00:28:34:30
David Martin
As you heard, Amanda Romero wasn’t really excited to talk on a podcast, but hey, she was a great ambassador for really great government project. Good government can come in all sizes, as you’ve heard in this show from Revitalize Downtowns, or maybe it’s a new big construction project, or a work study program, or small projects that can make a small difference.

00:28:34:35 – 00:28:53:11
David Martin
But it all adds up to good government. I’ll fix it fair. Don’t just toss it in a landfill. As you heard, over 80% of the items folks bring into the fair. Get fixed. And that’s just a few less things at the landfill. And here’s a side benefit Amanda is now darning her socks. Almost a lost art, but not in Thurston County, Washington.

00:28:53:26 – 00:29:15:23
David Martin
So congratulations on the award. That’s our show. Thanks for listening. Please like us and share this with your friends and reviewers right here. We’re listening and check out our website. Good Government show.com for extras. Help us keep telling stories of good government and action everywhere. Join us again for another episode right here. I’m Dave Martin and this is the good Government show.

00:29:15:27 – 00:29:54:20
David Martin
The Good Government Show is produced by the Good Government Institute, a nonprofit organization promoting civic engagement and civic education. All donations to the show help promote trust in government. You can donate at Good Govt institute.org. That’s good govt institute.org. Executive producers are Jim Ludlow, Dave Martin that’s me and David Snyder. Jason Sturgis is our editor and producer. Join us again to hear good stories about our government right here on a good government show.

00:29:54:25 – 00:29:57:05
Narratori
This podcast is part of the democracy Group.

 

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