Sean Davis for Astoria

Most candidates love to talk about themselves. I have certainly spent plenty of time telling people about my military service, my Purple Heart, my years fighting wildland fires, and the work I have done in our community.

But I have always told my kids: You are who you hang out with.

So, if you really want to know who I am and what I value, I would rather tell you about my family.

This December, my wife, Kelly Davis, and I will celebrate our twentieth wedding anniversary. Kelly works full time as a compliance director while pursuing her master’s degree in social work. She believes our mission in life is to help others, and she lives that belief every day.

On top of her job and full-time graduate studies, Kelly interns at an inpatient recovery clinic. Every Wednesday and Sunday, she teaches a Roller Fit class at the Astoria Armory, where she also volunteers whenever she can. I honestly do not know how she keeps everything moving, but she does it with determination, compassion, and a deep commitment to serving others.

My son, Cody Davis, lives in Denver with his wife, Brandi. Cody earned his degree in nuclear engineering. He is incredibly intelligent, but what impresses me most is how hard he works.

While attending college, Cody spent several fire seasons working alongside me as a wildland firefighter. Today, he travels the country selling carbon-scrubbing technology that helps remove carbon from industrial emissions. He is doing his part to reduce pollution and address the effects of climate change.

My oldest daughter, Cora, also fought wildland fires with me. The day after the Holiday Farm Fire burned more than 173,000 acres along the McKenzie River, where we lived, she put on her greens and yellows and climbed aboard a Type 1 fire engine with the Upper McKenzie Rural Fire Protection District to help her community.

Cora is now working toward her environmental science degree at Oregon State University. She recently learned that she has earned a place in next year’s fire academy with the Idanha-Detroit Rural Fire Protection District. She continues to combine education, public service, and a willingness to step forward when people need help, and she does all of this as a single mother. My grandson Ambrose is set to do amazing things himself.

My youngest daughter, Jackie Davis, will be a senior at Astoria High School this year, but she has already done more fieldwork than many adults.

Last year, Jackie participated in a science expedition with Sea Birds, an organization working to encourage young women to pursue careers in science. She helped deploy hydrophones into the Arctic Ocean to collect data that researchers can use to better understand and protect marine species.

This summer, Jackie works two days a week at Astoria Brewing Company and spends three days a week interning at the North Coast Wildlife Center. She is learning about science, wildlife, responsibility, and the community she calls home.

I could sit here and yammer on about myself: combat veteran, Purple Heart recipient, wildland firefighter, teacher, community organizer, and so on.

But I think the priorities of my family tell you more about me than another list of titles ever could.

My family believes in education. We believe in hard work. We believe in protecting our environment, helping people recover, responding when communities are in danger, and giving our time to the places and people around us.

Serving as mayor of this amazing town would not be something I do alone. The decisions I make and the issues I prioritize will always be shaped by the people I love most and the values we share.

Service. Compassion. Responsibility. Community.

That is the kind of leadership I believe Astoria deserves.