How does Thurston County Commissioner Wayne Fournier balance his two jobs?
Thurston County Commissioner Wayne Fournier doesn’t just hold a full time job as commissioner. He typically works about 48 hours a week as a firefighter for the City of Aberdeen.
“I’ll go into the fire station on Sunday and I’ll work a 24-hour shift,” Fournier said from a meeting room in Thurston County’s general government building in Olympia. “I’ll get off Monday morning. I drive straight here. I spend the whole day here working.”
Fournier said he typically works about 100 hours a week between his two jobs. He said he schedules his firefighter shifts on weekends and attends to his commissioner duties throughout the week.
“Even on Sunday when I’m at the fire station, I’ve got my computer open,” Fournier said. “I’m responding to constituent emails. I’m reading briefings. I don’t know if I could do it with any other job.”
This arrangement is not new for Fournier. He’s been a career firefighter for about 30 years and has been an elected official for over a decade. He served as a Tenino city council member from 2012 to 2015 and as mayor of Tenino from 2015 to 2023. Now, he’s serving his second term as a county commissioner.
Yet, his decision to hold both jobs has drawn criticism from some people in the community. That criticism has gotten louder in recent months, prompting Fournier to respond.
When reached by The Olympian, Fournier said he’s recently gotten a little frustrated.
“I’m a blue-collar dude from Tenino,” Fournier said. “I’m not going to be able to walk away from my career for some four-year gig to help my community. That doesn’t make any sense.”
He said many other elected officials have held or maintain white-collar jobs or other business interests.
“If I was a rich kid whose parents owned a couple businesses, I would still be able to be involved in that and no one would question a thing,” Fournier said.
Fournier and his seatmates each earn $147,936 a year as county commissioners.
In 2024, he also made somewhere between $100,000 and $199,999 a year as a firefighter, according to his Financial Affairs Disclosure with the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission.
He also lists his role as a volunteer board member for the Thurston County Economic Development Council.
For comparison, here are the personal incomes and business associations other county commissioners reported in their most recent Financial Affairs Disclosure forms.
- Commissioner Tye Menser reported he earned between $0 and $29,999 as a self-employed musician in 2024. For a business association, he listed his role as a Board of Director for the LOTT Clean Water Alliance, a non-profit regional wastewater utility.
- Commissioner Carolina Mejia reported no additional income in 2024. However, she did report owning 25% of CMB&M Consulting LLC, a company that provides consulting, interpretation and translation services.
- Commissioner Rachel Grant reported no additional income in 2024. However, she did report owning 50% of Building Through Community LLC, which is described as a company that provides a transitional housing service.
- Commissioner Emily Clouse reported no additional income in 2024. However, she did report being an unpaid Board Chair and Executive Director for Collaborative Association for Reintegration and Education (CARE), a non-profit dedicated to improving the lives of justice impacted youth and families.
Thurston County’s personnel rules and policies generally prohibit employees from engaging in “employment or other outside activity, such as volunteering or participating on an external board committee, that in any way interferes with or compromises their ability to perform their work for the county.”
However, county commissioners are independently elected by voters rather than hired by the county. So essentially, there’s no explicit county rule against commissioners having second jobs.
Kennett v. Levine, a 1957 Washington State Supreme Court decision, held that “no one should hold incompatible public offices.”
An example of an incompatible office is if a county commissioner simultaneously serves as a mayor of a town, according to the Municipal Research and Services Center.
For his part, Fournier said that doctrine doesn’t apply to his job as a firefighter, which he holds in a separate county.
He said he works a 24-hours-on, 48-hours-off schedule as a firefighter, meaning he works 24 hours one day and then takes two days off. However, he said firefighters have what are called “Kelly Days,” which essentially serve as days off.
He said he’s built-up Kelly Days and other time off in his 30-year career. He then uses that time off to ensure he can attend county meetings and other duties as a county commissioner.
“I use my days off for the benefit of the county, instead of really, for the benefit of my family,” Fournier said. “They’re the ones that are making the biggest sacrifice, but they’re very supportive.”
Fournier said he hopes this discussion will encourage more people to run for office.
“I’ve worked hard to get here, but I mean, there should be a line of people in front of me that are ready to beat me out for this kind of thing,” he said.
Still, Fournier said he enjoys working as a commissioner and feels honored to be helping guide the growth of the county. At the end of the day, he said it’s up to the voters to judge if he manages his time well.
“If there’s anyone that wants to say or believe that I’m not here, being effective, they can come talk to me about it,” Fournier said. “I can give you a million reasons why and how I am being an effective county commissioner.”
