Linda Weeks

Linda Weeks said she is seeking a position on the Key Pen Parks commission because she wants to preserve land resources for generations to come. Inspired in part by the goals she achieved with the help of the Pierce County Conservation District to manage her 18-acre farm, where she raises, breeds and boards horses professionally, she said she is both conservation oriented and environmentally focused.

“I’ve worked closely on my farm with the Pierce County Conservation District over the last 22 years,” Weeks said. “They’ve helped me with farm planning, implementing and doing things that preserve water quality—the gist of their reasoning—but I’ve found it also reduces mud, runoff, reducing the need for chemical fertilizers. All of that has been a real win-win for the farm and hopefully to the environment as well.”

Weeks was raised in Baker City, Oregon, and feels most comfortable in a rural setting, such as the KP, where she has lived for 25 years. She’s the mother of two daughters who attended Vaughn Elementary, Key Peninsula Middle School and Peninsula High School, and both went on to graduate from college.

"I do believe that helping people to realize that what we have is worth preserving and enjoying is a great beginning.”

Weeks is running for an elected position for the first time. She served on the KP Fire District Citizen Advisory Panel, which prepared the 2018 Future Planning Report. She and her former husband had a veterinary practice on the peninsula. She earned a master’s degree in equine reproduction from Oregon State University and continues to breed horses in Vaughn. “It’s really a seven day a week job that keeps me very active,” she said.

Weeks said her primary agenda is to increase awareness of the broad range of spaces already available in local parks and assure productive communication between commissioners and the community. She seeks to accommodate bikers, hikers, children and all users; horses would be a small part of her agenda, she said.

She expressed an interest in chairing the Key Pen Parks Recreation Committee in order to provide more educational and workshop opportunities, especially for school-age children. After attending commission meetings over the last several months, she said she has become familiar with the process and has some thoughts on working with other commission members. Weeks said she was pleased with the response to Gateway Park from KP residents.

“I personally want to be more actively engaged in participation instead of just seeing the things that are happening, like global warming and environmental degradation, and feeling like there isn’t much we can do about it,” Weeks said. “While I’m not sure the parks commission is the place to address all that, I do believe that helping people to realize that what we have is worth preserving and enjoying is a great beginning.”