UPDATE: Chris Nye Sets Up Blog; Says He's Not a Career Politician

UPDATE: Today, Chris Nye shared his thoughts about the reaction people have shown to his recent bid for the Pierce County Council.

Nye, who on Monday was sworn into the University Place City Council and announced a simultaneous bid for the Pierce County Council hours later, posted on his campaign website that he appreciates some of the "clever takes" people and media outlets have had on his announcement, but that he's not a career politician.

If I was a career candidate who was managed by political experts perhaps I would have waited a few months when the political climate would be better, but we don’t have this time or luxury to wait to get focused on making the US Open the single most successful transformational event in the history of University Place and its surrounding communities in Pierce County.

His full statement can be found here.

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Chris Nye says he wants to make one thing clear to University Place residents: he does not plan on abandoning his post on the City Council anytime soon.

Instead, he wants to serve on both the City and Pierce County Council with a specific goal in mind for the latter. He wants to make sure Pierce County and University Place are ready for the .

"There is no state law that says I can't do both," Nye told Patch today. "Until the state Legislature says I can't, I'm going to try."

Nye, hours after on the University Place City Council, announced his bid for the Pierce County Council on Tuesday.

His announcement prompted some to question why the president of MLS4owners.com, who in November's general election, apparently wanted to bolt from his newfound municipal position.

That, he says, is unequivocally not the case. He plans to continue serving if elected to the County Council.

"There is a lot of synergy between the two positions," he said. "That will work well."

Nye has studied the state's laws with his lawyers, and he says there is no violation or conflict of interest. One role is a full-time salaried position; the other is part-time. The performance of either has no direct effect on the other, unlike, say, a sheriff who serves on a city council, and that sheriff's salary is directly affected by that city council's actions.

The idea to run for Pierce County Council came after the moving University Place to Position 4 with Tacoma and Fircrest, he says.

With County Councilman Tim Farrell not being able to run because of term limits, Nye said, there was an opportunity to do something few elected officials have tried throughout the country: serve on a city and county level board simultaneously.

Nye will run as a Republican in the partisan County Council race. State Rep. Connie Ladenburg declared her candidacy for the position two months ago.

The biggest issue on Nye's platform is making sure UP and Pierce County are ready for the 2015 U.S. Open, one of golf's premiere tournaments and the first major hosted by in University Place.

He says the region needs to pull off the tournament correctly, becase doing so will mean a big financial windfall now and in the future.

To date, he says, some in Pierce County have kept their "heads in the sand" when it comes to getting the area ready to host an five-day event that experts say is the equivalent of hosting five Super Bowls.

In particular, Nye says he's concerned with public safety and the logistics of getting tens of thousands of visitors in and out of University Place every day.

"There is no sense of urgency on our county to continue to get our community ready for the U.S. Open," he said.

Check back for updates to this story.

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(This announcement was sent to Patch this morning)

University Place City Councilmember Chris Nye has announced that he will also be a candidate for the Pierce County Council position No. 4 currently held by Tim Farrell, who will not be running in 2012 due to term limits. The district includes University Place as well as Fircrest and parts of Tacoma.

Nye thinks his skills and passion as a fiscally conservative problem solver will serve Pierce County well.  His business and military experience has taught him to do more with less and to understand and execute the mission.  He believes the county’s priorities over the next four years should be to promote public safety and a strong economic base, and to prepare the community for the world stage of the 2015 US Open.

Nye’s first foray into politics was successful, as he won the three-way University Place primary election by a 22% margin and the general election by 26%.  He received the endorsements of The News Tribune, Master Builders Association of Pierce County, Pierce County Deputy Sheriff's Guild, West Pierce Fire Fighters, and the Tacoma Pierce County Association of REALTORS, and hopes to earn their support in 2012.

Nye is the founder of the real estate marketing and listing service MLS4owners.com, a Director of Fircrest Golf Club and Washington REALTORS, and a member of US Congressman Adam Smith's Technology Advisory Council. He has also served as co-chair of University Place’s Traffic Impact Fee committee and a member of the city’s Economic Development Commission, as well as on the Seattle King County REALTORS Board of Directors. At Niagara University he graduated cum laude in Criminology and Political Science, and interned in Washington DC for the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan.  After graduation he became an officer in the United States Army, where he commanded a Special Forces Counter Terrorist Team at Joint Base Lewis McChord.