Q&A with Ted:

Q: Why Curry County?

Living in San Diego, Seattle and San Francisco for several years was fun, but nothing compares to the beauty and peace of Curry County. It’s a very special place, with its unique history and resources. I’ve always been passionate about helping to preserve and improve everything the area has to offer its citizens and visitors.

Q: What motivates you?

I’m a natural problem-solver. Clients call me to help them navigate every kind of difficulty, from routine problems to managing crises and sorting out legal issues around business partnerships. Over many years, I’ve developed a diverse set of skills to meet a wide array of challenges facing individuals, businesses, organizations and the community.

Q: How exactly do you help these entities?

When I’m called upon to help, I take a holistic look at the situation and identify core problems while developing strategies and action plans to solve problems with cost-effective solutions. My work is distinguished by its transparency and clear communication of goals and methods to achieve the most appropriate solutions within reasonable timeframes.

Q: What unique issues do you see in Curry County?

Curry County is ideally positioned to grow and thrive, but for many years it’s been hampered by antiquated systems and technology, and a lack of balance and fair representation between its more rural north and central zones and its more populous southern area. 

Q: How did you get into local government work?

When the Great Tohoku Earthquake struck Japan in March 2011, it triggered a tsunami that significantly impacted the Port of Brookings Harbor. Among other challenges, the port commissioners asked me for emergency help in getting state and federal funding to cope with critical damage to the port and its facilities. After I’d helped to swiftly solve several of these problems, the commissioners hired me as Executive Director. I spent the next several years modernizing the port’s facilities and systems, and working to bring transparency to services. During my tenure, I turned the port’s finances around from being deeply in debt to operating profitably for several years.

Three years ago, Curry County faced a set of new crises and the recently elected board of commissioners asked me to step in on a temporary basis to act as county counsel, a position that had been vacant and very difficult to fill, due to the extreme challenges of the job and relatively low salary. The commissioners hired me and eventually added the title of Director of Operations, due to the scope of problems they wanted me to tackle with my trademark from-the-ground up approach to bringing transparency and clarity to entrenched and sclerotic bureaucratic systems.