Reaching out to rural communities

David Spohr listens to people complain all day long. And he doesn't mind at all.

As King County's senior deputy ombudsman for rural and unincorporated area affairs, it's his job to listen to rural residents' complaints about county government.

For more than a year since his job was created, Spohr has been working with rural residents to find solutions to disputes between citizens and the county government. His work takes him all over the county, but he spends a lot of time in Southeast King County, where, to the area's growing rural population, he puts a welcome face on the Seattle-based county government.

"If you don't want to help people, this is not the right job," Spohr said.

Building a connection

Established in 1970, the King County Office of Citizen Complaints — Ombudsman investigates citizen complaints about the seven departments in the executive branch of King County government, including the executive's office and the transportation, health and parks department. (The ombudsman's office does not, however, have authority to investigate citizen allegations of wrongdoing by elected officials.)

With its emphasis on community outreach, the rural ombudsman's job was created to help residents of unincorporated areas feel connected to the county's center of government in Seattle, said King County Ombudsman Amy Calderwood.

Spohr 's typical case is a resident who calls to complain about a land-use issue. He gets a lot of calls from people who live in areas around the urban-growth boundary, he said.

From the first call, Spohr becomes the residents' contact person with King County. He stays on the case until there's some sort of resolution.

Some callers challenge code-enforcement fines or permitting fees. Sometimes a caller wants to report a neighbor with a junk car.

Easygoing and calm, he describes his clients not as complainers, but as people who are calling to work through a problem. He spends a lot of time listening.

"You're not trying to squelch them, they have to vent," Spohr said.

Spohr previously worked as a mediator, and as a trial lawyer for the U.S. Justice Department. Now 38, he also spent one year working as the deputy property-rights ombudsman for the state of Utah.

Calderwood said Spohr is perfect for the job.

"Besides being incredibly bright and having the experience and academic background, he just is able to connect with people," she said.

Helping residents

In Spohr's downtown Seattle office, he keeps track of his open cases on a giant map on the wall. Differently colored sticky-notes — coded by County Council district — cover the map, from Duvall to Hobart.

For Faye Greenleaf, Spohr was a last resort.

Since 1955, Greenleaf's family has run Iron Horse Hay & Feed near Maple Valley. Only recently, she said, they started getting regular visits from county code inspectors, who have told the family that the store's buildings aren't up-to-date with fire-sprinkler requirements.

Stacks of confusing paperwork spread out on her kitchen counter, Greenleaf didn't know what to make of all the complaints. She says the cost of installing fire sprinklers would drive her out of business.

Spohr assured her he'd look into it and see if he could make sense of it.

Visiting residents' property is a key part of the job, Spohr said.

His work takes him out of the office often, traveling at least once a week to visit sites in person. Face-to-face contact reassures the resident that someone is actually working on their case.

"A picture's not going to tell you," Spohr said.

As for Greenleaf, the family's problems aren't over. Spohr is still reviewing her case.

Sometimes the solution he finds is one the resident doesn't want to hear, but the exchange has given the resident a contact at the county, Spohr said.

"I'm just so glad that I got somebody to even look at it," Greenleaf said.

Lauren Vane: 253-234-8604 or lvane@seattletimes.com