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Chris Willoughby (Chelan County Commissioner Board District 3, Washington, candidate 2024)
From Ballotpedia
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Chris Willoughby (Republican Party) ran for election to the Chelan County Commissioner Board District 3 in Washington. He was on the ballot in the primary on August 6, 2024.[source]
Willoughby completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
[1]Biography
Chris Willoughby provided the following biographical information via Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey on July 12, 2024:
- Birth date: January 26, 1972
- Birth place: Chelan, Washington
- High school: Manson High School (WA)
- Gender: Male
- Religion: Christian
- Profession: Agriculture
- Prior offices held:
- Fire Commissioner (2024)
- Manson Community Council (1999)
- Incumbent officeholder: No
- Campaign slogan: Community First
Elections
General election
General election for Chelan County Commissioner Board District 3
Flint Hartwig and Brad Hawkins ran in the general election for Chelan County Commissioner Board District 3 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | ||
| Flint Hartwig (R) | ||
| Brad Hawkins (R) | ||
| ||||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Chelan County Commissioner Board District 3
Brandt Cappell, Flint Hartwig, Brad Hawkins, and Chris Willoughby ran in the primary for Chelan County Commissioner Board District 3 on August 6, 2024.
Candidate | ||
| Brandt Cappell (R) | ||
| Flint Hartwig (R) | ||
| Brad Hawkins (R) | ||
| Chris Willoughby (R) | ||
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Election results
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Willoughby in this election.
Campaign themes
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Chris Willoughby completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Willoughby's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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My name is Chris Willoughby and I was born and raised in the Chelan Valley where I still live. I am a 4th generation farmer in the Chelan Valley. Family is important to me, my wife and I raising a son and daughter here. Active as a public servant since 1988 when I became a volunteer Firefighter and in 1999 became part of the Manson Community Council representing our community, which I still do today. In 2024, I took an elected position as Chelan County Fire District 5 (Manson) Fire Commissioner. Volunteering is a passion, or as my wife says, I am a professional volunteer. Serving my community, working with others on important items, and being a voice to our county and state is what I do. I have also been a business owner and manager. Leadership is natural to me. When I see an issue that needs worked, I am willing to take up the challenge and see it through to a solution. This has been proven many times working with agency and county officials to seek resolution to many of our community wants, needs and issues.
- Agriculture is what built our County and is still the economic driver. Over the decades, farming has become a burden to many with over regulation, low returns, and increased costs. Farms are not lucrative for most, so trees are coming out and land sits bare. We need to protect our farming. I want to work with other farmers to find a solution that allows farms to once again thrive. Many farmers are getting ready to retire, but do not have anyone in the wings to take over what is currently a difficult, and many times, losing career. Solutions are there, but it takes action to make those solutions work.
- Infrastructure is a core element to any community and county. Roads, the connecting pathways between our communities have been losing funding for maintenance year after year. Water systems are reaching capacity in many communities, as is waste water mitigation. These items, and more, is what helps a community grow and prosper, and it is important to maintain and increase infrastructure ad our communities grow. Many times, infrastructure is a back burner topic until it becomes an issue, and then we have to play catch up at a greater cost to taxpayers. If we are able to keep our current infrastructure in good condition, it saves taxpayers dollars to be used to better our infrastructure when the time comes.
- Public Safety has many facets in a community. It includes our emergency services, hospitals, health departments and more. Crime is on the rise in our county along with drug use. Chelan County is impacted every year with wild land fires that severely impact communities. Our medical systems are overwhelmed with medical appointments being months or up to a year out. All of these things impact our lives. This is why I support our law enforcement, Firefighters, Emergency Medical Services and more. Chelan County works well with out agencies currently, but there is room to improve public safety, especially with Olympia legislating away key components of what protects the people. We need to bring back common sense policies.
Crime, drug use, mental health issues, and homelessness are some of the intertwined issues that are having a huge impact in our county. All of these are on the rise and we need action. Olympia has made decisions not in the best interest of the people when it comes to public safety. Criminals are emboldened by legislation that has put the handcuffs on our law enforcement, not the criminals. Drug use has been incentivised with taxpayer dollars, mental health issues are not being adequately addressed and homelessness has become a business. In Chelan County, we have tried to address all of these issues and we need to keep the momentum going. I have ideas to help us become more proactive in these areas. We can set the bar and show what works.
County Commissioners are unique as they not only handle policy and financial responsibility for the county, they also are independent from the state in governance. Even though they must follow laws set in place by the state and federal governments, they do have a powerful voice in these arenas. It takes a strong leader and great representative to fill this position. Managing of county affairs affects cities and communities within their borders, this means that they also can direct the future of the county economically.
There are several people I look up to. Ronald Reagan was one person that influenced my political beliefs, allowing me to be who I am today.
Integrity, honesty and servitude. These three components are what keeps a politician on the right path of serving the people who elected them and not siding with special interests. Elected officials are put into place by the people to represent the best interests of the people. Special interests are mainly interested in making money, many times at the expense of the people. When an elected official aligns with Special interest groups, they stop representing the people. This is what is happeneing in not only state offices, but federal. Itbdoes happen on a local level at times. How dobwe make sure this does not happen? Term limits. Any and all elected officials should only serve in a single position for a certain amount of time. 8-12 years is about the maximum any elected official should serve in any one office in order to maintain their integrity and servitude to the people who elected them. Although honesty is not always impacted, it is difficult to maintain an honest and integral relationship with the people they serve when leadership is exchanged for power, and representation is lost to money. This is how a professional politician is born.
I have good people skills, but more so, I am a problem solver. Challenge me with a problem and I will find a solution.
Elected officials have a responsibility to uphold and protect the Constitution and laws of the state and nation they serve. Representation of the people and their best interests is equally important. The ability to work across party lines should be a necessary requirement. Politics is about finding a solution through compromise much of the time. Today's politicians seem to have lost that and use hostage like tactics to make policy rather than having a discussion. This is not effective and is a waste of taxpayer dollars. The politicians that utilize these tactics are not acting in the best interest of the people and should be replaced. The founding fathers, I believe, wished government service to be done by people who are working class. Never did they see possibility that one day, an elected office would be a profession instead of a representative position. We need to get back to the basics of representation and service to break the political quagmire of long term professional politicians.
A major fire hit our town and greatly impacted me. I remember at age 12, watching this fire grow and move in an area I commonly frequented. This single event changed my dreams of being a police officer to being a Firefighter. I became a volunteer Firefighter a few years later and still am, as well as now being a Fire Commissioner.
Very first job was working with a city public works department during the summer in high school. Three summers I did this and rotated from roads, to water department and finally to waste water treatment managment. Each position gave me a new look at how much public works was responsible for, and that it could be a career position.
Desperado by the Eagles
I have had many struggles in my life, but I do not let them bring me down, I work through them. As a first responder, I have seen horrific things and it used to affect me. Now, I know how to process and handle them. This has helped me become a mentor to others, and help them learn as I did, how to best process and cope with life changing events.
County Commissioners are not only managers of budgets, personnel, and policy for the county, but they also sit on numerous local, state and sometimes federal boards. The representation of the county is much more than two.meeting a week. Although a County Commissioner in Washington state is only required to work 11 hours a week, most work 40 hours, and many much more than that. In times of emergency, county commissioners are present in part of the command process many times.
Previous experience is helpful, but not a must. An understanding of the processes and local law and codes is a great help, as these are what County Commissioners work with on a daily basis. Being a part of a civic group or council, or community organization does help provide the experience needed to be a good Commissioner. Understanding of financial and budget items is also good to have.
Community volunteering, finance, public speaking and a basic understanding of law would all be helpful. Effective communication skills are really important also.
Many people have personally endorsed me. Most organizations are not endorsing the position I am running for until after the primary elections.
No question, financial transparency a government accountability is a must. Without these, the people are unable to hold their representatives accountable for what they do with taxpayer funds and decision making.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
Footnotes
