Over the past two years much has been said by a small, but very vocal, group of individuals from within our community about the decisions and direction made and set by the board of fire commissioners of our fire department.

In short, the information being distributed and discussed has been entirely one sided, very negative and at times quite nasty. I will not disrespect your time by trying to give a point-by-point rebuttal in this letter. I will simply state that there is much more information to each of the opposition’s points then what is being presented and that most of the stated “facts” are opinions being presented as truth. In my life and my experience, disagreeing with another person’s decisions and beliefs does not make them wrong. It simply means that I don’t agree with, or like, what they’ve done or said. Also, when presenting information, if one party tells only a part of the story or provides partial or incomplete information and presents it as the whole story then the information is, at best, incomplete; and, at worst, untrue.

So, neighbors, as we consider where we stand in regard to providing for future fire and life safety services for our community by voting whether the fire levy should be increased I would ask that we all consider the difficult decisions and tasks ahead for our fire commissioners as they decide how best to meet the demand for services that affect our very lives and livelihoods. Fire commissioners are volunteer elected officials (they receive a very minimal stipend for attending meetings) who are tasked with setting policy and making decisions that directly impact all of us living, working and playing in our community.

As your fire chief I have been blessed to have been called here to serve. Your fire department is made up of dedicated career and volunteer members (including the commissioners) who serve to protect life and property in our community. This election season is not about decisions that may have been unpopular, or that some have disagreed with, this season and this decision is about the future of fire and life safety services on our piece of the Plateau.

I thank you for your time and your consideration. As always, I remain at your service.

Joseph M. Clow

Enumclaw