I was born and raised in the 16th Legislative District, and am an advocate for the issues important to southeast Washington – a sound business climate, job creation, support for agriculture and education, and an efficient state government that delivers the services people demand without reaching deeper into their pockets. I bring to the state Senate a set of practical skills learned in a lifetime of farming and agricultural affairs, building on the district’s longstanding tradition of community consensus and problem-solving. I maintain government should listen to the people and reflect their concerns.
I’m a wheat farmer from Waitsburg who has owned and managed irrigated and dryland farming operations in Walla Walla and Columbia counties for more than 35 years. I graduated from Prescott High School and earned a B.A. in economics from Whitman College.
I serve on the Senate’s Business, Financial Services & Trade Committee (Ranking Member)
Early Learning & K-12 Education Committee and Human Services, Reentry & Rehabilitation Committee. I also serve on the Legislative Executive WorkFirst Poverty Reduction Oversight Task Force.
Before coming to the Legislature, I was a Walla Walla County commissioner from 2009 to 2016, and served on numerous boards and commissions, including the Walla Walla Watershed Partnership and the Snake River Salmon Recovery Board. I later was interim manager of the Walla Walla Fair and Frontier Days organization.
I have long been an active member of the state’s agricultural community, and has testified before Congress on agricultural issues. He is a past president of the Washington Association of Wheat Growers and a former board member of the Northwest Grain Growers and of Tri-Cities Grain. I also have served on the Washington State Barley Commission.
My spare-time passion is flying, and I’ve been a licensed commercial pilot for more than 35 years. My wife Darleen and I have two grown sons, Logan and Kyle.
