I have had the honor of serving my community as a firefighter for 15 years. During that time, I’ve had a front-row seat to Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz’s overhaul of our wildfire response and mitigation through DNR. Through her efforts, we created a more resilient and effective DNR response to our state’s ever-changing threat of wildfires. This has drastically improved the ability of our smaller rural communities to mobilize state resources and mitigate small or medium fires before they become large incidents taking weeks to contain.

Her actions in Olympia are directly responsible for saving property and potentially the lives of civilians and firefighters. The only way to truly reduce the danger in our profession is by adding additional firefighters and resources. These have been foundational elements of Hilary Franz’s tenure as our Commissioner of Public Lands, combating wildfires while creating well-paid jobs in rural communities and expanding protections for those who put their life on the line.

Her stewardship of our hundreds of thousands of acres of forestland proves her ability to handle even the most challenging of missions. This land touches every corner of our state and required her to build relationships with stakeholders on both sides of the mountains. You would have difficulty finding an elected official in our state with a stronger track record of bipartisanship and relationship-building than Commissioner Franz.

The IAFF has endorsed Hilary for Congress because she cares about jobs and the middle class. Current 6th District US Rep Derek Kilmer endorsed Hilary because the work he’s done matters, and he wants someone he can count on to see it through. I endorse Hillary because the families of firefighters can sleep better at night on account of Hilary’s dedication to ensuring every one of us makes it home.

Caton White

Port Townsend