William Saas - Black Diamond City Councilman

My name is William Saas, Black Diamond City Councilman for the years 2010 - 2014. My desire as your city councilman is to bring you a greater awareness on matters that directly impact you and your family’s quality of life.

Case in point - our city was recently in jeopardy of losing much of its pure spring water to a large corporation and most of our citizens were completely unaware! Do you realize that most of Black Diamond citizens have fresh spring water running through their faucets?

Also, as we are poised for residential and commercial growth, I seek to preserve the historic & small town culture we have all grown to enjoy and, why many of us chose to settle in Black Diamond. Growth is inevitable and it's happening, (See Future Growth - Past to Present below for a timeline of events) and I believe it will take a strong council in keeping the development of these areas as originally envisioned while maintaining the history and memories that originated with Black Diamond Coal. (See History of Black Diamond - the 3rd post below)

I envision a close knit community in Black Diamond, with plenty of trails, sidewalks & open space to include common areas & parks for the families. I am a big advocate for community as well as community involvement, your voice and input matters with me.

At the age of 36, married with 2 children, I will bring to the council a fresh perspective based upon traditional family values. I look forward to meeting you in the upcoming months, listening to your story and understanding your perspective!

Who am I, here is a brief history:

Born & Raised

I was born & raised in Long Island New York and served in the US Army from 1991 - 1995 which brought me to the beautiful state of Washington. When I was stationed in Ft Lewis, I met my bride to be. My wife Alyssa and I were married in April 1993. We have two beautiful children, Bryanna who turned 14 in May and Preston who is the age of 8. We have resided in Black Diamond on two different occasions; in 1998 - 1999, we lived on Lake Sawyer, the NW side of the lake, and then moved to Covington. After spending our time in the city of Covington we found a beautiful home on Lawson Hill in Black Diamond the year of 2003. We, like so many of you have come to love the history and culture of Black Diamond, the businesses and most importantly, the people that define this community.
I grew up in a family owned drywall business; my grandfather was a custom home builder and built many of the homes on Montauk Point on Long Island, NY.

Hobbies
My hobbies include a heavy dose of camping with my family in both the summer and winter. I enjoy fishing the lakes with my children, niece & nephew and doing some river fishing as well. I also enjoy reading books that help and challenge me to become a better person; I believe that we all have much more inside of us than we are aware of. In addition to these, occasionally I attempt to make music on my acoustic guitar and spend 3 - 4 days at Tahoma Fitness in Maple Valley.

Faith
My family and I are very much involved in our local church - Solid Rock Community Church and we put our complete faith and trust in God through our savior Jesus Christ in all that we do.

Business & Education
Having been raised in a family owned drywall company as well as my grandfather owning his own custom home building business I realize the concerns and needs of a small business. I have been to many business and leadership courses, have some college at both Green River, South Seattle and currently a student in Global University's online college course - Berean School of the Bible. I am a member of the Auburn morning Toastmasters club, a non-profit organization developing public speaking and leadership skills through practice and feedback in local clubs that was established in 1924. For the last 5 1/2 years I had worked hand in hand with the owner of a manufacturing plant down in Auburn in charge of sales & marketing as well as business operations, I have a passion for small business and more importantly the profitability and success of them.