Cattleman Would Ride Herd On Enumclaw Development -- New City Councilman To Move With Caution

-- ENUMCLAW

If John Farman herded his cattle the way the government ran the city, "I'd have twice as many cattle and not enough to feed 'em," he says.

The 45-year-old lifelong Enumclaw resident was one of three candidates who ousted City Council incumbents in the November general election. The victory followed an unsuccessful bid for the mayor's seat two years ago.

Farman will start his four-year term on the council Jan. 13. He is replacing City Councilwoman Una Waldron.

Joining Farman on the council are Cathy Nelson and David McCarthy, both political newcomers and both, like Farman, advocates of slower growth in the area.

Farman, a cattle rancher and salesman at a Buckley feed store, graduated from Enumclaw High School in 1964 and began working in a nursury business.

He says he ran for office because he was concerned about the city's ability to manage growth. In the next 20 years, the rural city's population is expected to more than double to 14,000.

The city can't just welcome every new development, he contends, without carefully considering whether the area can handle increasing demands on water, sewer, electric and other services.

"We've got to be prepared," Farman says.

Enumclaw is attracting new residents because it provides a country setting within reasonable distance of metropolitan areas.

Yet Farman complains major roads connecting the isolated town with the outside are dark, windy and need repair. Two years ago, he notes, 1,000 building sites opened up and some of the roads people were traveling to get to them are in poor shape and have yet to be fixed.

Farman lives on an 80-acre ranch with his wife Pam, who works in a jewelry store, three children, ages 10 to 17, and 80 head of Limousin cattle. The red and black purebreds were imported from France 25 years ago.

He's a past president of the Enumclaw Rotary Club and is a member of Young Life Adult Committee, a Christian outreach group.

Unlike the cattle ranchers of the Old West who chased down steers on horseback while twirling a lasso, Farman can often be found in the fields in rubber boots and bib overalls - and driving a Honda four-wheeler.

In many ways, he believes managing growth is like herding cattle: Both need to be given a push in the right direction. When a lone calf gets separated from the herd, he says, "I chase 'em down, round 'em up and send 'em back to mama."

He believes the present government doesn't always take into consideration the ramifications of growth. For instance, he says, "When somebody wants to do a housing project, you need to make sure other people in the area don't feel put out."

If it were up to Farman, whose father once served as mayor of Enumclaw, he says he'd just as soon the city wasn't growing so fast.

"I used to be able to walk down the street and know everyone," he says. "Now I don't."

But since there's no stopping growth, he wants to make sure it doesn't get out of hand.

And in that respect, cattle ranching and government do differ.

Farman raises cattle that he sells to commercial breeders in Eastern Washington. If the cattle aren't suitable for breeding, he eats them or sells them, so that he maintains a constant herd of 80.

"The city doesn't have the opportunity of saying, `We've got too many people. The last half has to leave,' " Farman says. "So we have to find the best way to plan for the growth."