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closeThe 'council engineer' to retire
Mike Deal is bidding his position on the Puyallup City Council goodbye after a successful 20 year stint at the dais
Neil Pierson/of The Herald
There are at least two things you might not know about Mike Deal if you haven’t been to his well-appointed home in Puyallup’s Manorwood neighborhood.
First, he’s a huge fan of the “The Simpsons.” He’s in the process of rounding out his series collection on DVD and he sports a sticker of Mayor Joe Quimby on the door to his office.
Second, he could be operating a train through Fargo, N.D., at the moment if he had chosen to stick with his first love — trains. That passion remains evident today through the century-old train signal displayed in Deal’s back yard.
Deal began working on trains as a 16-year-old, serving as the afternoon telegrapher at Northern Pacific Railway’s downtown Puyallup station. When he graduated from Pacific Lutheran University in 1968, he interviewed for an entry-level trainmaster position, a job that likely would have sent him everywhere from Boston to Butte, Mont.
“That’s the way it was then in railroad management,” Deal explained. “They would move you about once every year or once every two years at the most.
“That’s the last thing that I wanted to do, was move all over the country,” he added. “My dad was in construction work in California when I was a small kid and we moved around quite a bit.”
Rather than subjecting his children to a similar fate, he chose to pursue a master’s degree in education at Oregon State University. Upon his return to Puyallup, he worked for Pierce College and eventually retired as the principal at Edgemont Junior High School.
The political bug bit Deal in 1989 when he chose to run for city council. He ran, he says, because “local government has the most direct impact on people” through services such as garbage, water, sewer, police and fire.
His wife, Patty, was perhaps his biggest skeptic.
“When I told her I was going to run for the city council, she said, ‘Well, you’re not going to be too disappointed if you don’t win, are you?’” he said. “I didn’t know whether I had a good chance of winning or not, quite frankly. I ran kind of a one-man campaign, really.”
His first victory spawned four more successful campaigns and six years as the city’s mayor. Deal isn’t sure his 20 consecutive years is a record for a Puyallup council member, but he suspects it is. He says it has been a largely positive experience helping balance the evolving needs of a growing city with residents who want Puyallup to remain a small community.
Some of Deal’s council colleagues say the mark he has left here is indelible: The construction of the new city hall, activity center and Pioneer Park Pavilion, the widening projects on Meridian Street and Pioneer Avenue, the numerous businesses that have come to stay.
“It’s easy to say that change is inevitable but progress is not,” Mayor Don Malloy said. “And Mike has been a guiding force to make sure that progress takes place in our community.”
“Mike is one of those constant influences that you can always depend on,” said Councilmember Kathy Turner, who joined the council four years after Deal. “As mayor he brought a stability and knowledge to the council. As a council member he has still used the same professionalism in meetings and decisions.”
Deal said two accomplishments stand out for him: Helping push support for Bradley Lake Park’s construction and giving the Puyallup Public Library a new home.
“The old library was built during the Eisenhower administration,” Deal said. “For a city our size it was just totally inadequate. It was just bursting at the seams and they couldn’t really expand it.”
Addressing criticism of the city hall project, Deal believes the $40 million building “is probably too big” right now. But he also thinks it could serve the city for 100 years and that one day people could say it should have been built bigger.
Malloy, who has been a District 3 council member alongside Deal for 16 years, said Deal is often quiet and unassuming on the council dais. Some might misconstrue that for disinterest but Malloy believes there’s more going on below the surface.
“Mike is very thoughtful. He’s not a grandstander. He’s not playing to the public,” Malloy said. “He simply listens well to the issues that are taking place and both his conscience and good judgement.
“Sometimes it’s hard to forge a consensus on the council but he’s been good at forging a consensus.”
Deal said the recent dissension among council factions is discouraging. He says he chuckles when others refer to “the majority,” a term that often used to describe himself, Malloy, Turner and Councilmember Tami Brouillet.
“It kind of indicates that we travel in lock step and that really isn’t the case,” Deal said. “What you have is four individuals that kind of see things through the same lens.”
Deal said he has spoken with his successor, Kent Boyle, and likes what he sees from the radio broadcaster and longtime Puyallup resident. Deal said Boyle and late Councilmember George Dill’s eventual replacement will be responsible for turning around the council’s negative atmosphere.
“I don’t think anybody on that council right now doesn’t want what’s best for the city of Puyallup and its citizens,” Deal said.
As the new year approaches and Deal finds himself without a regular Tuesday night council meeting to attend, he says he’s open to a number of different activities. He likes to read and is particularly interested in the Italian Renaissance. He might return to Rome, Venice or Florence some day.
Deal says he’s also considering volunteer opportunities with the Puyallup Valley Food Bank in light of Dill’s accomplishments there. He might also head back to the college classroom for some non-credit learning opportunities. Of course, there’s always his beloved trains and “The Simpsons” to keep him company, as well as Patty, his daughters, Nancy and Sheri, and five grandchildren.
Deal consulted with his family this year before deciding against a possible sixth term in office.
“They said that 20 years is something to be proud of but at some point it’s time for me to move on,” he said. “I had reached that conclusion myself.”