About Me
I’m Casey Garrett and I am running for Columbia County Commissioner Position 3.
I have lived in Saint Helens for the past 18 years and was raised outside of Scappoose in rural Chapman.
I have an amazing, supportive wife and we are blessed with two beautiful daughters, 11 and 12 years old.
I Believe In
- Keeping local taxes and fees low.
- Economic growth and living wage jobs.
- Increasing access to public lands.
- Improved customer service.
- Efficient use of the limited resources we have.
my Platform
Serving The Community
We take great pride in our county’s history, culture, and future potential. I have the utmost respect for local business owners who take pride in their product and strive to be good employers and community partners.
It is my honor to serve the residents of Columbia County and will always strive to make it an even better place to live, work and visit. With your support, I will work tirelessly to manage public resources responsibly and make the absolute most out of what we have.
In my upcoming term when re-elected as Columbia County Commissioner, my focus will remain on delivering tangible results for our community. Leveraging my positions on various regional and state-level boards, I'll continue to advocate for more resources to better serve our residents.
Key Priorities
- Overseeing the completion of substantial county facility improvements.
- Enhancing Public Works, particularly County Road maintenance, by prioritizing funding and seeking innovative ways to increase staffing and continued investment in an adequate fleet and equipment.
- I am dedicated to fostering economic growth by supporting initiatives that attract industry and create local job opportunities.
- I’ll continue to lead efforts to increase access to public lands and leverage grant opportunities and partnerships to improve county parks and trails.
- I am committed to hands-on, results-oriented leadership, ensuring accountability, and delivering practical solutions that benefit the people of Columbia County.
Qualified and Experienced
As your County Commissioner, I currently serve on multiple boards and commissions:
- President of Columbia Economic Development District
- Chair, Columbia County Board of Commissioners
- Vice Chair, NW Area Commission on Transportation
- Co-Chair, Association of Oregon Counties Governance and Revenue Steering Committee
- Board of Directors, Columbia Economic Team
- Board of Directors, NW Oregon Workforce Partnership Consortium
Prior to serving as a Columbia County Commissioner
- I owned and operated a local general contracting business and successfully coordinated a wide range of private sector capital projects. This experience taught me how to effectively manage a large staff, significant budgets, and tight schedules to make big things happen.
- I also served as the County’s Director of General Services, where I had the opportunity to build an amazing team that fundamentally changed how we manage our internal services, facilities and public lands. I leveraged partnership opportunities with numerous public agencies, non-profits and volunteers to help make significant improvements to county owned assets.
BACKGROUND
EDUCATION
Attended Scappoose Schools from Kindergarten to High School
Portland State University, Bachelor of Science: Architecture and Project Management
Clackamas Community College, Project Management Certificate Program
PRIVATE SECTOR EXPERIENCE
Owner/Operator, Garrett Contracting Company for 10 years
Contracted millions of dollars in Residential, Commercial and Industrial local construction projects.
Pacific Stainless Products, St. Helens Operations
Project Manager/General Contractor responsible for all phases of relocating company from Beaverton to St. Helens.
Lead Port/City/County negotiations for Enterprise Zone benefits for each new facility.
Project Success has lead to over 150 new living wage jobs in Columbia County.
PRIOR PUBLIC SECTOR EXPERIENCE
COLUMBIA COUNTY DIRECTOR OF GENERAL SERVICES
Major improvements of County facilities, services and forest, parks and recreation programs.
Reallocation of funds spent on low performance, high priced service contracts to recruit a higher skilled work force to get more done at a lower cost.
Significant reduction in deferred maintenance and a significant increase in preventative maintenance programs.
Hands-on, cost-conscience approach has added millions of dollars of value to County assets, while saving the tax payers hundreds of thousands each year.
Revitalization of County Parks infrastructure and financial stability without asking for new taxes, or local fee increases.
Columbia County Tourism Initiative: 2018 Award for Outstanding Collaboration, Cooperation & Mutual Respect.
2015 – Present, have successfully lobbied for over $20 million in grants, State and Federal funding allocations to improve County facilities and parks.