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Q&A with Pierce County Councilmember Dr. Stan Flemming

Pierce County Councilmember Dr. Stan Flemming

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Dr. Stan Flemming currently serves as the Pierce County councilmember for the 7th District and as the Pierce County executive pro-tem. With close to 20 years in public service, he has served as a member of the Washington State House of Representatives representing the 28th Legislative District and as the founding mayor, mayor pro tem and councilmember for the city of University Place. Prior to his civil service, he served a distinguished career in the United States Army retiring as a brigadier general and later was appointed as an ambassador to the United States Army Reserve at the two-star protocol rank. Dr. Flemming is a board-certified family medicine physician in addition to holding sub-specialties in the areas of adolescent, HIV/AIDS related diseases and aviation medicine with more than 25 years experience in public and private practice, academic and military medicine, aviation medicine, health policy and health care administration

WHY PUBLIC OFFICE? I was very interested in how our political system worked and wanted to be actively involved in helping to shape and make differences in our community.

A LESSON THAT NEVER GETS OLD: Everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. Be careful whom you step on climbing life's ladder. You may meet them on your way back down.

ON CIVIL SERVICE VS MILITARY SERVICE: I see a lot of similarities between civil service and military service. First, you have constituents who first and foremost are your primary concerns. In Civil service there are those who elected you and give you the privilege of serving their community on their behalf. In the military, it is the Soldiers you lead and their families to whom you are responsible. In addition to that responsibility, it is the taxpayers who provide for your salary and the equipment you use. Unlike civil service, an elected does not have a "boss" that they report to, except for the voters. It does require a lot of politics with one's peers however; to make things happen. In the military, one may argue that there's politics that goes along with working for a specific boss, but ultimately, things get done because there is only one person in-charge to ensure that it happens. A couple of differences between the military and civil service are accountability.  First, there is greater accountability in the military than in civil service.  Voters, unless they are REALLY unhappy with what an elected is doing, there is little accountability built into the system. One may argue this is a flaw in our system. Second difference is qualifications. In the military, qualifications are a key consideration to an individual getting a job. In civil service, there is no qualification required to hold any office. 

THE HARDEST PART: Trying to keep issues focused on the people and keeping Partisan creep out of discussions.

ON RUNNING FOR OFFICE: Do it for the right reason. Have passion in your heart, a fire in your belly, and a true commitment to serve others first.

TRANSFORMATIVE MOMENT: Army life in and of itself is transforming in so many ways. My first time on a humanitarian mission left me realizing while many see the military as an instrument of power in preserving peace and prosecuting war, it is also an element that can soften the pain and suffering that so many experience in life. Changing and saving lives, while a small part of our mission, was huge in the life of the person we touched. While there are many other transforming examples, one more that I will share had to do with my first experience in combat. When the offensive began, I watched grown men engage the enemy force. Those who trained well - fought well. Those who trained poorly - fought poorly. Thus, I never espoused to the Army saying, "Train as you fight." I used to tell my commanders and Soldiers, "Train to win. There is no second place prize given on the battle field." 

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