Paul approaches his work with enjoyable and humor whereas sustaining a real appreciation for the influence he has on the lives of his constituents. Born and raised in a close-knit neighborhood because the son of a former U.S. Marine and Vietnam Conflict veteran, Paul’s upbringing instilled a way of sacrifice and obligation to serve others. He believes that sharing information is probably the most essential accountability of each elected official. Paul takes his job critically and retains residents knowledgeable of the problems inside their neighborhood and the options for them. He brings this dedication to his position as a Trustee for The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in Washington.
Paul grew to become a Trustee for TNC in Washington after leaving public workplace. Whereas a commissioner, he labored with the group on tasks throughout the Yakima Basin Built-in Plan to guard the Yakima River. The river is residence to Indigenous tribes, key wildlife species, out of doors sports activities lovers, in addition to wineries and breweries. One of many main tasks together with creating the Teanaway Neighborhood Forest—the “crown jewel” of Kittitas County and Washington’s first state-owned neighborhood forest. In a neighborhood forest, neighborhood members, together with municipalities, Tribal Nations, and nonprofits develop land administration plans to protect the landmark for future generations.
“It’s a neighborhood,” he mentioned of working with TNC. “I used to be already interacting with [TNC’s] coverage workers, coordinating advocacy efforts and coverage proposals, so I knew that our values are aligned.” Considered one of these shared values is creating consensus amongst stakeholders to go good insurance policies for folks and the planet.
“You possibly can’t store round for a greater authorities,” Paul mentioned. “You need to work with others to get issues carried out by cooperation and collaboration, not bullishly change issues. The one option to get what you need in life is to assist others get what they need, as a result of that is whenever you get a sturdy, sustainable answer that works within the public’s greatest pursuits.”
Due to the native authorities’s proximity to the neighborhood it serves, Paul believes that it gives essential companies extra successfully with the sources at hand. The Taylor Bridge Fireplace of 2012 was a essential second that proved the facility of small, native authorities to behave swiftly and deploy assist. Regardless of warnings about dry circumstances and robust winds, building employees determined to weld within the August warmth. They sparked a hearth that moved as much as 14 miles an hour. By the point firefighters contained it, the Taylor Bridge Fireplace claimed 62 houses. The error, coupled with local weather change-driven warmth, displaced folks and animals. Paul needed to work with many others to scramble to motion simply because the neighborhood was readying its fairgrounds to host the annual Ellensburg Rodeo, residence to one of many high 10 rodeo occasions within the U.S.
“We had a provide inventory for mass evacuations and arrange our fairgrounds as an evacuation web site and non permanent housing for varied livestock,” Paul mentioned concerning the ensuing chaos. “We had a military of volunteers offering 24-hour feeding and look after chickens, geese, horses, cows, canines, cats, and llamas.”
After this expertise, Paul helped to ensured Kittitas County was the primary within the state to undertake new building and materials codes in fire-prone areas. Though some folks weren’t completely happy about elevated building prices, the brand new laws helped to guard houses in fire-prone areas.