In 2006, the Lewis County PUD hired me to help select a new phone system. My point of contact was Jeff Baine. Over the next dozen years, the PUD brought me back to help replace its business and customer information systems, and later to build a long-range technology roadmap.
Jeff was there for all of it. When that work ended, our friendship didn’t.
I advise public agencies across the Pacific Northwest on major technology projects. Most of my clients are public employees, and many are good at their jobs. Very few are of Jeff’s caliber. He asked hard questions and listened to the answers. He challenged assumptions, including mine, and never settled for a half-finished answer. He took care of his people without losing sight of what the whole utility needed.
That perspective matters on the commission. I’ve presented to the PUD board several times, and I’ve seen how hard it is to weigh decisions in an industry you don’t know from the inside. Low rates built on deferred maintenance aren’t savings. They’re a bill that comes due later, usually at a worse time.
Jeff spent most of his career inside the PUD, most recently as its information systems and telecommunications manager. He helped lay the groundwork for its fiber network, including projects that won $9.4 million in state grants to bring broadband to Vader, Mineral, Elbe and Ashford.
He knows the utility’s people, its strengths and weak spots, and the pressures it faces.
Jeff isn’t polished. He’s practical, thoughtful, kind and genuinely funny. If you judge a candidate by how he looks in a suit, you might miss the best person for the job.
Vote Jeff Baine for PUD commissioner, District 1.
Joseph Brookhouse
Oregon
