J.D. Greening seeks to replace Cary Condotta

He's a Navy veteran with experience in legislative affairs

NCW Media Managing Editor Gary Bégin interviewed 12th District State Legislative Representative candidate J.D. Greening of Waterville about why he is running to replace the retiring Cary Condotta. Here is what he had to tell us:
 

NCW Media: Tell the readers about your personal profile:

J.D Greening: I’m 28 years old, Christian in faith and love being outdoors with my dog, whether it be hiking or simply going out for a ride in the Jeep with the top off. I have enjoyed swimming since I was a kid, and currently am passionate about running, have been running marathons for the past year and plan to run in the 2019 Boston Marathon. I’m involved with the Eastern Washington University Alumni Board of Directors and the Free and Accepted Masons.
I was born and raised in Wenatchee by my parents Kevin and Joanne, both Wenatchee natives alongside my older sister, Meagan. I attended Lewis and Clark Elementary, Foothills Middle School then Wenatchee High School before moving up to Waterville, where I graduated from Waterville High School.  After graduation I served in the U.S Navy and received my honorable discharge in 2012. After, I attended Eastern Washington University and earned a BA in Political Science with a minor in Sociology. Before I moved back to Washington State I was employed by the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, D.C. and prior to that I worked at the Washington State Legislature. Currently I am working on a Master’s in Public Administration back at Eastern Washington University.

NCW: Why are you running to replace Cary?

Greening: I am running to replace Cary Condotta because this is the right moment for a fresh voice in Olympia. I believe my experience in both the State Legislature and in D.C. working for Congress make me an excellent candidate for the work. Not only did I get exposure to what is entailed in the legislative process, I was actually working for most of the District on both levels. So I’m tuned in not only to the needs of the community but how to implement solutions for them in Olympia.  
I think my service in the military is also crucial because during my service, I gained the confidence to take the lead but also I understand how to be a team player and that is vital when working over in Olympia, because we are there to work together to figure out how to best take care of our resources. That requires diplomacy and cooperation.
Another reason I am running is because I believe that to strengthen democracy we need to segue from a milieu of career politicians to that of citizen legislators. We need State Representatives from all walks of life and not just people that are shifting from one governmental position to the next. Need to be fighting for the priorities that truly represent the interests of people here in the 12th District. There is not a single issue here that doesn’t connect to other issues and other groups, so it is important to hold the needs of the whole community in mind when doing the work. This is the moment to invite a slightly different but completely relevant perspective to the table. I am not planning on making this a career - I don’t believe the Founding Fathers ever imagined the rise of the career politician. They envisioned citizen legislators, public servants that apply our practical experience to solving our state’s toughest problems and then we go home.  

NCW: Is there a specific issue or topic that you want to clear up as your goal if elected?

Greening: So, my experience as a veteran makes Veterans Affairs close to my heart. The amount of support offered departing service members for their transitions is entirely inadequate. Three to seven days is the usual for preparing service members for their transition into the civilian sector.  This means less than a week to learn about putting together a resume, how to compare military experience to relatable job skills, filing a claim with the department of Veteran Affairs and so on. A minimum enlistment is about four years. Then at the end our veterans get less than a week to properly acclimate to returning to the civilian sector?  During my own transition, I was never even talked to about PTSD or mental health, even though I am a combat deployed veteran. So when people are asking “How do we combat the rise in PTSD related suicide? How are we getting these homeless veterans off the streets?” Well, the solution can start here, with us at the state level. I’d like to see Washington State become the gold standard for transitioning veterans back into the community they sacrificed to serve.

NCW: Agriculture & tourism are the two driving industries in the district. What will you hope to achieve to help these two vital industries?

Greening: Agricultural and tourism are such vital aspects of the economy of the 12th District, and rightly so. This is an abundant area that is also alluring for visitors.  But balancing the two is necessary. The needs of the orchard or farm sometimes are in conflict with the interests of tourism.  There’s also the burgeoning agritainment industry that needs a chance to flesh itself out.  Does the local ag industry have adequate infrastructure- roads, access to affordable fuel and seasonal workers?  Do the local businesses that serve tourism have the opportunities and support to entice visitors?  Both have a lot of regulation to contend with on top of the challenge of doing the work itself, so most importantly, I will work to ensure that those who do this work have support in Olympia not to bog them down with further regulation, and I will provide the venue and space for good communication to occur so that we can grow together.

NCW: What is your attitude towards Marijuana Farmers and the industry as a whole?

Greening:  Washington State has put itself in a position to be at the ground floor of this new industry.  Representative Condotta has done a lot of hard work to make this happen and I’m grateful that groundwork has been established. Growth is not always easy or comfortable and locally there has obviously been some flashpoints between priorities, as we’ve seen in Chelan County.  
Ultimately, I think that diversifying our economic base and saying “yes” to the opportunity to grow small businesses and jobs is the way to look at the cannabis industry. Helping those businesses and workers navigate the needs of the surrounding community is going to be better in the long run than a prohibition.

NCW: Do you have allies in Olympia ready to help you with any specific agenda?

Greening: I like to think anyone that wants to work for the betterment of our state is an ally, but specifically yes, I have a working relationship with several members of the House of Representatives as well as staff from the Office of Program Research who directly assist members of the House in a nonpartisan basis while I was employed there. I have a deep respect for how Senator Hawkins and Representative Steele have been working hard for the 12th District and will definitely take pages from their book in that regard. How these relationships will evolve if I get elected for District 12 remains to be seen but I envision good things coming from working with others for the betterment of the state.  

NCW: Do you have any plans to spur business growth in the District?

Greening: I think the best thing I can do as a legislator is help Olympia stay out of the way of the innovators and makers that create and grow businesses in the 12th District. Sometimes it’s difficult to tell what concerns will arise from even the best intentioned bills, so being committed to protecting an open and equitable environment for business in my community is the foundation of how I will approach business growth for this region.  

NCW: How do you feel about the Hirst decision?

Greening: I think the future holds more challenges like the “Hirst decision”, as growth puts pressure on resources, there are going to be a lot of opinions about what the fix is, but the fact of the matter is there is no perfect fix and there is no ideal solution - at least that would be universally agreed upon. But burdening local government and hamstringing property owners isn’t how to go about it. Actions has been taken to fix this issue and that’s the silver lining of this story so far - that the State House and Senate reached a deal to fix it and the governor signed it.  That’s exactly the job of the elected in this case.  As this and other issues continue to unfold, I’ll work to protect my community from being overly burdened by regulators and be willing to work hard to find a solution instead of using these instances to play politics.

NCW: The McCreary decision?

Greening: The McCleary decision is rightfully a huge deal but doesn’t come out of nowhere- this drum beat goes back a long way and has only become louder. As a graduate of a rural school, I was educated and supported by hard working people who did amazing work with very little - and I know that is the case throughout public education. Washington State’s Supreme Court put a deadline on addressing a particular part of this issue and the Legislature made some tough choices to try to meet that expectation- but there are wrinkles that need to be massaged out - the ripple effect into how schools can fund through local levies, among other concerns, needs to be handled and not ignored.  
The idea of public education is that it is not only good for the individual, but the whole community, and ensuring that means the workers and leaders of tomorrow have the skills to excel in new opportunities and meet new challenges. In my opinion, this is fundamental to protecting our community’s resources and values. I know that money to fund public education must come from somewhere. People talk a lot about government living within its means and we should - so how can we work together to help our money work better for us here? How can we make sure educators are willing to live in rural communities to teach our children? It’s a bigger issue ultimately that McCleary, and a conversation that should always been happening at the state level.

NCW: Will you seek local allies in the Douglas County and Chelan County commissions, city councils and other local government to accomplish a specific agenda?

Greening: Yes, actually I am scheduling meetings as we speak with local agencies and nonprofits that are working on housing, mental health and fire wise efforts so I can hear directly from them about what is preventing them getting the work needed done. I plan to win this election to support those who are doing the hard work at the community level and learn from them beforehand so I can serve them better in Olympia. I also already have contacts in the community from my previous work with the State Legislature as well as Congress and will build on those relationships as well so that on Day One we are working to make those fixes and solutions.

NCW: Will you seek common ground with all the Democrats ... if there is any?

Greening: Yes absolutely- much as Condotta has, there are many opportunities to cooperate. When I worked with the Legislature, I ran the Capitol Budget Committee as their Legislative Assistant and being bipartisan is crucial when it comes to figuring out the budget for the state and so it was refreshing to see both sides of the aisle working together to make it work for Washington.
When I was working in D.C. for Congress it was disheartening to see both parties refusing to work with each other, whether it be cosponsoring bills or just having a dialogue with each other. That's what I think is really amazing about the Washington State legislature and working on the state level, because it's easy to be in D.C. and forget what you are fighting for and it’s easy to understand the disenchantment the public has with Congress. But here in Washington you see cooperation every day to fix the things you are trying to fix, help the people you are trying to help, because we all live here together. And I think most of the members see that too.