In an election with significant consequences that will largely shape the future of our community, Enumclaw voters have a clear choice for mayor.
Jan Molinaro is clearly the best choice to be Enumclaw’s next mayor. He possesses the better experience, expertise and grasp of the important, wide-ranging issues that will enable him to effectively lead our city government and represent our citizens’ interests.
As such, he has earned the endorsement of the Enumclaw Area Chamber of Commerce board of directors.
Jan Molinaro has built a track record of leadership experience that has prepared him well for this position. He has worked for 35 years in operational management in construction, trucking and franchising during which time he has managed regional offices, developed large-scale budgets and worked with individual business owners to improve their revenue stream andoverall operations. In addition, he has successful experience in leading meetings and bringing together people with diverse interests.
Jan understands the importance of tourism to Enumclaw. He believes that increased tourism is a worthwhile investment that will benefit our local restaurants, hotels and existing retail, encourage new businesses to locate in our community, and increase city sales tax revenue.
He supports the new tourism website and the work of the newly-established Tourism Advisory Board.
For the past 155 years, the Enumclaw Expo Center has showcased our agricultural roots and provided many opportunities for young people to connect with our rural heritage. Jan recognizes the value of the Expo Center and strongly supports the existing non-profit management model that has been in place for the past two years. Both he and the Chamber of Commerce believe that our citizens are much better served now than when the city of Enumclaw directly managed the activities at the Expo Center and annually lost significant amounts of budget monies.
Jan also recognizes that careful planning consistent with our recently approved city of Enumclaw Comprehensive Plan can prevent runaway growth from occurring in our small community. He believes we can accommodate balanced, smart growth within our existing boundaries in a way that meets our citizens’ needs, keeps our local economy healthy and maintains our small town charm and rural character.
The role of the Enumclaw Area Chamber of Commerce is to support existing businesses and bring economic development to our area as a direct way of creating a vibrant community for all of our citizens. We strive to make Enumclaw a better place to live, work and play.
In the past few years, the chamber has enjoyed a resurgence in activity and membership under the leadership of Troy Couch, executive director, Jenn Britt, events coordinator, and the 14-member board of directors.
The chamber has recently sponsored more high-profile events that draw visitors into our community and found new and better ways to support the needs and interests of our growing membership roster. During this time the chamber has enjoyed working closely with Mayor Liz Reynolds, City Council members and city administration staff on a variety of important local issues.
As a means to thoughtfully guide our consideration of local area political races, the chamber board developed the following criteria of business and community interests to use while considering our support of candidates:
• Does the candidate support the ability of small and large businesses in the Enumclaw area to successfully engage in commerce?
• Does the candidate’s previous voting record or profile of action demonstrate support of a strong, vibrant business community?
• Does the candidate support tourism as an economic benefit throughout the greater Enumclaw area?
• Has the candidate acted in a manner that is accountable and responsible to efficient government?
• Does the candidate garner widespread support throughout our business community?
• Is our Chamber of Commerce support of the candidate consistent with the values, quality of life and interests of our community?
Jan Molinaro understands the special nature of our community. He will bring strong leadershipexperience and expertise in managing the operations of the city of Enumclaw. He is committed to a strong business community. He recognizes that tourism and smart growth can benefit our community without sacrificing our special way of life.
For these reasons, he has earned the unqualified support of the Enumclaw Area Chamber of Commerce for the position of mayor of Enumclaw. We urge you to vote for Jan Molinaro.
Board of directors,
Enumclaw Chamber of Commerce
