So... what does county council even do?

What all is the county in charge of?

The council adopts the county budget, sets planning and zoning policy for unincorporated Clark County, passes county ordinances, and makes appointments to county boards and commissions.

And if your eyes just glazed over, I don't blame you.

Government jargon isn't exactly engaging, and most of the work that goes on here is unsexy but important.

So before I dive into my policy ideas: I want to explain a few things about how the county works, what it's in charge of, and how things get paid for.

Washington State Law Requires Counties to Provide

  • Courts, the prosecutor's office, the sheriff, and the jail
  • Public health services
  • Emergency management
  • Elections
  • Roads and infrastructure in unincorporated areas
  • Behavioral health services
  • Land use planning

Clark County also pays for and manages other services that affect daily life here, including:

  • Parks, trails, and open space
  • Animal control
  • Community planning and development
  • Code enforcement
  • Environmental services
  • Public works projects
  • Housing and homelessness programs
  • Public records and licensing
  • Support for county boards and commissions
  • County buildings, facilities, and maintenance

That's a lot of essential services. The problem is, we don't have enough money to pay for them.

Clark County has a budget problem - and it’s not what you think.

You ever notice how it seems like we're constantly running at a deficit?

It might seem like the county is broke because of wasteful spending, but the truth is a lot more depressing: a lot of departments are already running on fumes.

Between inflation, federal cuts, and a state law capping how much property tax revenue can grow each year, the cost of our courts, public health, parks, and emergency services keeps going up, and the revenue doesn't follow.

The county does have some tools, but they're limited and most are regressive, meaning they hit lower-income residents hardest:

  • Property taxes — capped at 1% growth per year by state law, no matter what services actually cost
  • Sales taxes — can be added in small amounts for specific purposes
  • Real estate excise tax (REET) — collected when property sells
  • Service fees — covers permits and planning reviews
  • Grants — restricted, competitive, and unreliable
  • Impact fees — meant to make growth pay for the infrastructure it creates

So what does that look like?

0.69

park staff per 10,000 residents

Clark County Parks has 0.69 park staff per 10,000 residents, compared with a national average of 3.6 for counties our size. That's less than 1/5 the staffing, with about 1/3 of daily maintenance tasks already going unfinished.

$1.288M

public health funding loss for 2027

Clark County Public Health is losing $1.288 million, about 19%, of its state foundational public health funding for 2027, affecting hepatitis C response, child death investigations, emergency preparedness, and immunization outreach.

~70%

of the General Fund goes to law and justice

When people say the county just needs to spend less, the truth is the places left to cut are often the smaller, chronically underfunded departments people only notice once they stop working.

The bottom line? Counties will always be at a deficit until the state gives us more tools to generate cash.

The county can't fix that alone — that takes the state.

What the county can do is make different decisions about growth: what gets built, what gets protected, and who pays for the infrastructure that follows.

So that's the system and the less-than-ideal hand we've been dealt. Now, let's talk about what's possible.

I envision a Clark County where… 

  • working families can afford to buy a home near where they work
  • you don't pass the same tent every morning on your way to work wondering why nothing ever changes
  • you can safely ride your bike from one end of Vancouver to the other
  • the family farm that's been here for generations isn't sold off to make room for another subdivision
  • a mental health crisis gets a mental health response, not a squad car

So how do we get there?

Creativity, collaboration, and holding the line where we have to.

Protect our land & water

  • Ban data centers in Clark County.
    They consume millions of gallons of water a day, drive up electricity rates, and barely add any jobs. Vancouver is already paying $280 million to clean up PFAS in our drinking water. We shouldn't be adding to that load.
  • Adopt Vancouver's tree canopy standards county wide
    Lower-income neighborhoods in Clark County have significantly less canopy than wealthier ones. That's an equity issue and a climate issue.
  • Find a way forward for Vancouver Lake and Camp Bonneville. 
    Both of these projects have huge potential economic and recreational impact across Clark County. That's money we're leaving on the table.

Make funding decisions through an affordability lens

  • Make the affordability question mandatory.
    Before any major spending or rezoning vote, I'll push to require an explicit answer: who benefits, who pays, and does this make it harder for working families to stay here.
  • Surplus land should lower the cost of living before it gets sold.
    State law allows surplus land to be transferred or leased at low or no cost for affordable housing, but there's no policy that requires asking that question first - I'll change that. When land does sell, a share of the proceeds should go to affordable housing.
  • Put the parks district expansion on the 2027 ballot.
    The Greater Clark Parks District already exists but only covers part of the county. Expanding it countywide would generate around $15 million a year for parks.
  • No public housing money without tenant protections.

    If county dollars are going into housing, the people living in it should have basic stability conditions attached. The council can require that. It hasn't.

Build homes people can afford

  • Streamline ADU permits and cut fees
    Seattle's ADUniverse program offers pre-approved plans that get permits done in 2-6 weeks. Clark County should build something like it.
  • Work with community land trusts to keep homes affordable permanently.
    A subsidized home that resells at market rate helps one family. A community land trust keeps it affordable for the next one, and the one after that.
  • Set clear permitting turnaround targets by project type.
    Small infill and missing-middle projects shouldn't spend years in review. Speed creates supply.
  • Protect manufactured home parks and give residents a right to purchase. Residents own their homes but rent the land. When a park goes up for sale, they should have the right to buy it first. A zoning overlay protects against conversion.
  • Use county-owned land to expand the affordable housing stock.
    Modular homes have a faster, cheaper approval process than traditional construction. County land plus modular housing is a path to permanently affordable homeownership.
  • Build up, not out.
    Dense, infill development generates far more tax revenue per acre than sprawl does, without the long-term infrastructure costs. More homes on land we've already built out grows the tax base without expanding the bill.

Get People Housed

  • Build more shelter capacity.
    Clark County doesn't have enough beds. People who want to get off the street often can't because there's nowhere to go. I'll push to expand shelter and supportive housing so the infrastructure matches the need.
  • Get upstream on eviction.
    Clark County has the highest eviction filing rate per capita in Washington:
    - 2,275 cases in 2025, up 33% since 2023. We have representation and eviction services, but demand is outpacing capacity. Expanding rental assistance and legal aid before people end up in court is cheaper and more humane than processing them through it.
  • Stop treating poverty like a crime.
    Most people who lose their housing in Clark County lose it because of rising costs, not personal failure. The county's response needs to match that: shelter, outreach, and behavioral health services that treat people with dignity.

Is there something you'd like me to address?

If there's a policy you care about, a question about what county council can and can't do, or something you want my position on, submit it here. I'll get back to you with an answer, and if it's something more people need to know, I'll put it on the site.