Grays Harbor County was the first place my parents lived when they immigrated from The Netherlands. They made lifelong friends with Morris and Edna Dagnen from the Wynochee Valley, and I was named after Edna. Now I am a county commissioner in Lewis County. And since the 2007 flood, I have spent a lot of time in Grays Harbor county attending meetings on how to address flooding in our area.
I met Vickie Raines in 2010 in Montesano during a Chehalis Basin Flood Authority open house. I was impressed from the beginning with her intelligence, integrity, and keen desire to have her community be the best it could be. She and I have served on the Chehalis River Basin Flood Authority together ever since.
When she became chair of the Flood Authority, she was the individual who turned that organization around and helped the group work together and work through our differences. Now the Flood Authority is a team working in earnest to protect our citizens and property in the case of a major flood.
Today, local flood protection and salmon enhancement projects are completed in Aberdeen, Montesano, Oakville and across the basin. Those would not have happened without Vickie Raines.
One of the best ways to improve our economic situation for both of our counties is to assure that businesses seeking to locate in our areas won’t fear being destroyed by serious flooding, having roads closed, and access for emergency services blocked.
When Vickie filed for the commission position, I knew she could bring her expertise from Cosmopolis to the county. She has diligently served the City of Cosmopolis since 1999. Vickie is a member of the Governor’s Chehalis Basin Work Group, as well as the Flood Authority. She will hit the ground running when elected county commissioner. I have watched her testify in front of the legislature, and she is an effective advocate for Grays Harbor. She is a leader who listens to her constituency, even when someone has a different opinion.
Please vote for Vickie. I look forward to serving with her as we move forward to protecting our citizens and their property from flooding and increasing economic vitality in our community.
Edna J. Fund
Lewis County Commissioner
