From left: Mark Johnson, WR Sr. VP of Policy & Government Affairs, and Angie Waiss, Skamania Chamber Executive Director.
Mark Johnson, WR Senior VP of Policy and Government Affairs, spoke to the Skamania County Chamber of Commerce last week. The presentation topic was public safety, retail theft, organized retail crime, and WR’s legislative priorities.
The event, held at Elk Ridge Golf Club in Carson, was well attended by elected officials and business owners. Johnson described WR’s “multi-pronged” approach to keeping employees and customers safe while cracking down on retail theft and organized retail crime. He explained that no “silver bullet” exists to fix the problem. Instead, we must deploy a suite of strategies. These strategies include allowing police to pursue property criminals safely when the officers have proper authority and training, supporting the statewide organized retail crime task force, and investing in diversion programs to help break the cycle of theft. He emphasized the importance of going after ORC rings that prey on the vulnerable and promoting state funding for small business grants for theft prevention measures, among others.
WR and the Skamania Chamber have many common goals and look forward to working together to get results at both the state and local levels.
