Some background..

I moved to Bainbridge Island in 1991 with my wife and three small children. We wanted to move to a rural community which still had the advantages of a large city. We have never regretted it.

If you are looking for a small rural community to raise your family, I would be happy to answer questions. We looked far and wide and voted for Bainbridge with our feet by moving here from the San Francisco Bay Area.

My family and I agree that this is a terrific community with an incredible amount of support for different forms of learning and access to a wide variety of sports, cultural activities and opportunities within a few hours of home. We were homeschoolers, but our kids are now grown and in college and graduate schools.

Professional Focus
Qualifications
Performance

I have worked in real estate for over 23 years - my first 8 years as a commercial and investment real estate agent. For the last 15 years, I have been a residential specialist on Bainbridge. Although I left the fast lane and moved to the Bainbridge slow lane, I still do some of the commercial work in our office.

Bainbridge Island is a well defined area, small enough that one can be a specialist working on Bainbridge and be equally conversant in land, waterfront, and existing homes.

I feel that I do a good job with properties in all these areas because I am good at helping buyers and sellers work together towards their goals. For people new to an area, it is often more important to spend a certain period of time understanding the community and the general real estate market than seeing a particular home.

I believe in the long term and am willing to spend the time it takes to help buyers educate themselves so they know as much as possible about their segment of the real estate market. It is important that you as a client know enough to make your own informed decisions.

Education: B.A. Economics/Psychology from Claremont Men's College, 1976; MBA Finance/Information Systems - University of California at Berkeley, 1981

• Licensed Realtor in Washington since 1992
• Associate Broker
• Commercial and Investment Specialist
• Real Estate Law
• Real Estate Finance
• Shorelines Workshop
• Member Washington Association of REALTORS
• Member National Association of REALTORS
• Member Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS)
• Washington Dept. of Transportation advisory committee for Highway 305
• Bainbridge Commission for development of Transferable Development Rights (TDR’s)
• Open Space Commissioner

After working for several years consulting in information systems and small company designs, I switched to Commercial Real Estate. I liked the freedom of no overhead and not dealing with company politics. It turned out that I was very good at it and had a successful career in that area.

Gradually growing disenchanted with living in the San Francisco Bay area, I knew I would also have to change professions in my quest for a simpler lifestyle. I wanted to be able to go home for lunch.

Once we decided to move, we looked throughout the west coast for an area with a small town or rural feel which still had the advantages of a big city. Bainbridge appealed to us because of its proximity to Seattle coupled with the rural feeling it had as a small town. While most areas near big cities get gobbled up by urban sprawl over time, Bainbridge is relatively protected because of the ferry system.

Our office as a whole is responsible for roughly one third to one half of the sales activity on Bainbridge Island depending on the specific area of specialization. As a result, we tend to know what is happening long before the general community. By comparison, the next three offices together total less than our market share.

Every agent in this office was invited to be here and came from another office. That is significant because it means that we are all good, experienced agents. At any given time, one agent in our office may have a better month than another. But rather than compare myself to the other agents in the office (with whom I have to work with every day) I would rather say that we are all good professionals.

I was born in Lafayette, Louisiana. After going to college in southern California, I spent about a year and a half hitchhiking around the world. I married my wife, Kitty, in 1979 near Lake Tahoe and lived in Northern California until 1991.

We sold our house in 1991 and put everything in storage. Loading our three kids into our VW Camper, we traveled the U.S. and Mexico for 9 months. Returning to Bainbridge in 1992, we settled down to make a new life here on the Island.

I didn't think it was still possible to raise a family in a small, friendly community. We also didn't want to move to a place which would itself become overgrown in another 10 years. For these reasons and more, we chose Bainbridge to make our home.

We were homeschoolers, which is no reflection on the school system here. As a matter of fact, the Bainbridge School District is one of the top two or three in the State. The educational, sports, and general activities available through the Park District, School District and general community are truly a great resource.

As I mentioned, I didn't think it would still be possible to find a place like this, and I think it must be one of the best places on earth to raise children.

In a larger city, it is easy to feel that what you do doesn't make a difference. Here, everything makes a difference. If you have an interest or you want to change something, it is almost too easy to become involved. You may want to think twice about being rude at an intersection too.

In 2000, I was appointed to a volunteer city commission for the purchase and preservation of open space. The creation of the aptly named Open Space Commission resulted from the passage of an $8 million dollar bond issue for the purchase of open space. With this 8 million dollars, we have been able to acquire land that is now conservatively valued at over 25 million dollars and includes farms, trails, waterfront and other forested property.

During 2006 and 2007, I served as chair of the 2025 Committee created by the mayor. Our purpose was to develop a strategy pan for future growth on Bainbridge Island. Hopefully, our work will serve as a blueprint or guideline for future local development.

I have a black belt in Shotokan karate and taught at the local dojo for many years. I have since stopped, but with the help of another black belt, I started a Women's Self Defense class based on the Model Mugging and Take Charge programs offered in larger cities around the country. These classes teach women how to take care of themselves in a variety of situations. We offered a scaled down version of this course at Bainbridge High during the school year.

My wife (and I, by default) was actively involved in rejuvenating the Farmer's Market here on the Island. We have a strong interest in keeping Bainbridge rural, which translates to operating farms and land stewardship. One outgrowth of this is the famous annual Zucchini Races of which we were the Grand Marshals for several years. Held annually at the Harvest Fair in the fall, children of all ages test their racing skills using a zucchini with some type of rolling conveyance that will get it down a ramp. The Indianapolis 500 is nothing compared to this!

As Bainbridge struggles to absorb state-mandated density, I've worked over two years on the committee for the development of Transferable Development Rights. Economic incentives to encourage higher density in downtown Winslow would keep other parts of the Island more rural. This is a complicated area, and our work provided the foundation for what I hope will help us all in the future.

Additionally, I have served on a local committee which works with the Department of Transportation. We had a chance help develop the type of service we can expect from this state authority on Bainbridge Island for the next 20 years.

Our children may tire of hearing “be the change you want to see”, but we are very proud of their volunteer efforts. Our daughter raised two Guide Dog Puppies for the Blind. Our sons volunteered computer and other skills in bicycle advocacy and political issues on the Island as well. We are proud that they carry this social consciousness into their lives beyond Bainbridge.