Rory Summerson for Thurston County Commissioner District 1

Rory Summerson is running for Thurston County Commissioner District 1.

Please click here to read Rory’s WSPC questionnaire.

Statement from the Candidate:

Rory moved to Washington state in 2001. He attended and graduated from Onalaska High School in Lewis County and eventually moved to Thurston County. He and his husband Joey were one of the first 15 same-sex couples in Thurston to get their marriage licenses. Rory and his husband have 2 fur babies. Rory serves in management for a local flooring service company and his husband works in information technology for the state.

Rory has been involved in LGBTQPIA+ Civil rights actions going all the way back to 13 years old when he lobbied the Oregon state legislature for anti-bullying protections in schools, ensuring the community had groups like Gay-Straight Alliances, providing organizing efforts for National Day of Silence movements and advocated for inclusion and equity in college clubs, student governments, programs, and leadership organizations like SkillsUSA. He promotes diversity at all levels of leadership.

Rory has been with his flooring service company for 8 years, providing services in over 7500 homes, businesses, and facilities in Thurston County and beyond. He manages the hard surface portion of the business and plays a leading role in maintaining the service side of the business including shop and equipment maintenance, inventory, compliance, safety, as well as organizational strategy and forecasting. He has provided training and education to employees and management within the company and expanded the services the company provides. Rory also provides bids, estimates and negotiates contracts on behalf of the company.

Currently, Rory serves on the boards for two local critical service non-profits. The first, Partners in Prevention Education (PiPE), works with marginalized domestic violence and sexual violence survivors within the houseless population, providing advocacy, counseling, and community support to those who need it. Also, Rory is the Vice President for Mpowerment Washington, which works on HIV prevention and education, with a mission to promote long term sexual health and community. Rory is a Precinct Committee Officer for the Thurston County Democrats (TCD – PCO Olympia 219). He is one of a group of local founding members of the LGBTQ+ Democrats of Thurston and active with organizations like Our Revolution, Our Revolution Thurston, and youth led climate activism groups.

There is a lot of work to do to create space for generational inclusion, address climate and conservation concerns, balance budgets and advocate for marginalized persons. Rory is uniquely positioned to advocate for his community and wishes to work with everyone to create a future that works for all of us.