CLARK COUNTY COUNCIL
DISTRICT #4
Candidate Shannon Roberts represents Clark County Council District #4. Clark County is the Southernmost county in the state of Washington, with a population of 541,150 as of March 14th, 2024.
MEET SHANNON
Hello! Thanks for stopping by my site
A large part of my desire to run for the Clark County Council District 4 position lies at the feet of my Mother. 24 years after her passing, I still think about her statement that has guided my life.
She lamented when asked if she had any regrets in life, “do what you want to do while your young enough to do it.”
Risk taking started at age 34, when I joined the Navy. Originally, I’m from northeast Tennessee, the Kingsport Tri-City area. In a family of nine I am the oldest sibling. I had aspirations of traveling knew I didn’t want to stay in the town I’d grown up in. I wanted something different.
While in the Navy and working my way through the Gulf War, I came back to my duty station at Moffett Field Naval Air Station, (NAS) in California. A chance conversation about an open position at NASA Ames (co-located with the Navy) put me working there part-time while still in the Navy. I took an early out from the Navy and worked at NASA as a full-time contractor in their electronic shop eventually working my way to supervisor.
While working at NASA, I received an associates degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical College Worldwide campus, majoring in Professional Aeronautics.
After several years, NASA ended the project, and my company re-located me the United Kingdom to work as a U.S. Government contractor on at a British military base. I worked in system maintenance, telecommunications, and project management.
While there I received an associate degree from University of Maryland Global campus in Business Management.
After almost 10+ years in the UK, it was time to come back to the states as the government contract had ended. I landed in White Salmon Washington in 2007 and was hired by fledgling company called Insitu Incorporated (now Boeing) who hired me to start a data analysis group. We investigated UAV aircraft crashes by collecting and analyzing field data to make improvements to the equipment platform.
After 6 years, in 2007 I was caught in a reduction of force. I have since worked in Information Security Identity and Access Management. Currently I am working in real estate, and it has afforded me the flexibility to run for office.
To this day, I say to those who are waiting to make a decision concerning their personal life or career, watch and listen for opportunities. A once in lifetime opportunity only comes around once in a lifetime. That opportunity often includes taking risks and having faith.
Just complaining about property taxes, crime and the state of Clark County doesn’t do anything. One has to put action to their beliefs. I believe I can add depth to the council by adding my previous experience on Camas City Council and career experience in project management, data analysis, as well as being levelheaded, logical and fair.
“I was honored to be elected as a Camas City Council member. After 32 months, I stepped down for major surgery, which required an extended recovery time. I felt like citizens needed to be represented by someone who could sit in the council chair. I am currently fit and healthy as of this writing.”
Shannon Roberts
SHANNON'S BIO
Click below to know more about Shannon’s credentials.
“I believe we can bring Clark County to its full potential as a place of community with nurtured common interests, affordability, and a safe place to live.
The culmination of my professional, personal experiences, and a “get-er’ done” attitude will bring new insight to the council.
I am a Gulf War veteran, a professional who has worked at NASA and also lived and worked overseas for a number of years. I’ve effectively communicated with many personalities and peoples of different backgrounds to complete projects on time and under budget.
Adding depth to the Council with my experience in project management and data analysis should especially assist with growth planning. I will champion quality growth which comes from careful planning so as not to lose the reason why people move to Clark County in the first place.
- University of Maryland Global Campus – Associate’s in Business Mgmt.
- Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University – Associates in Professional Aeronautics.
- George Washington University – Certificate, Project Mgmt.
- International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP) – Certificate.
VFW Post 4278 (Veterans of Foreign Wars) is a very effective organization in the Camas community winning many state awards.
Our Core Values are:
- Always put the interest of our members first.
- Treat donars as partners in our cause.
- Promote patriotism.
- Honor military service.
- Ensure the care of veterans and their families.
- Serve our communities.
- Promote a positive image of the VFW.
- Respect the diversity of veteran opinions.
Lived and worked in the United Kingdom as a U.S. Government contractor for 10+ years. While there, I learned to negotiate, plan work and timelines with UK nationals.
Clark County Veterans Advisory Board (CCVAB). Board member for the CCVAB. We manage a $900,00+ yearly budget, providing emergency relief to qualified veterans and their families. Board members use Clark County Council approved guidelines to determine dollar amounts of money to be given to qualified recipients. CCVAB works alongside Clark County Veterans assistance center and many other organizations.
CONCERNING MY BELIEF SYSTEM
There are concerns listed that are not about the Clark County council bid. However, these beliefs give you a more rounded view of who I am.
- I am alarmed at the rate in which property taxes are being raised in Clark County. I do not want to see people taxed and priced out of their homes. We have enough homelessness as it is. According to the county website homelessness’s is up 75+% from 2022. Our community leaders have a responsibility to take care of its’ citizens and balance the “wants” against the “needs”. As I did on the Camas City Council, I will be voting no on any taxes already in place, and no on any new taxes.
I believe life starts at conception. I believe it’s important for the life in the womb that can’t speak for itself to have a voice.
- There are many families in Clark County that have land that is theirs in name only. I would like to take a deep dive into those regulations, especially urban holding. I will do my best (being one of four other council members) when the opportunities arise, to scrutinize future regulations and see what can be done about the existing regulations.
It also has the burden of needed change. Cycling people, especially the mentally unstable, through the jail with no assistance to restore them is insanity. It makes money for the system but does nothing for the benefit of the people being cycled or the law-abiding citizens who are paying their tax dollars and sometime their lives, for this ineffective revolving door.
Put programs in place that can give inmates a shot at having a quality life upon release. Adequate counseling, onsite pastoral care, a decent gym, classes on how to be the head of their household, how to write a resume, job interview skills, and re-institute the Pell grant for inmates to get their education needs met. If they can become viable in today’s society, isn’t that better then rolling them through the criminal justice system and spitting them out with little self-esteem, no skills, no place to live, to repeat over and over again?
There are any number of programs that could help if county officials and the sheriff would allow it. These changes would relieve the stress of being in a facility that is woefully inadequate to handle the number of inmates housed. Inmates are not supposed to come out worse than they entered. The system is broken when this happens.
I volunteered for over two years at the National Alliance on Mental Illness office (NAMI). The mental health system needs to be re-vamped to incorporate new ways of determining the types of drugs prescribed for the mentally challenged. Currently it’s a guessing game on what works and what doesn’t with no accountability to the harm done to the client. This type of practice is dangerous. It’s dangerous to the person being treated, dangerous for family that’s involved and dangerous to the community in which they live. As of this writing, many of the mental health organizations have not even gone back to in-person meetings at this time. You cannot properly assess someone over a zoom call.
I believe in fully funding LE. I also believe that assaults on LE should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. I believe the law should be levied fairly for all people. No one should be above the law.
PAID FOR BY FRIENDS OF SHANNON ROBERTS
327 NE WEDGEWOOD COURT | CAMAS, WASHINGTON 98607