Flemming, Figueroa Elected to Leadership of Rainier Communications Commission

Pierce County Councilmember Stan Flemming and University Place City Councilmember Javier Figueroa have been elected to leadership positions with the Rainier Communications Commission, which advises local jurisdictions on telecommunications issues and televises local government programming.

Flemming, the new president, is making a return engagement. He was the RCC’s first president in the 1990s when he was mayor of University Place. Flemming is a family physician and retired brigadier general in the U.S. Army who also served in the Washington State House of Representatives.

“This is a time of significant change for federal regulators and the cable industry,” said Flemming, who spent the past year as the RCC’s vice president. “Our job is to track those issues closely and promote access to broadband and other services for our communities without sacrificing local control of rights of way.”

Figueroa, the RCC’s new vice president, serves in several leadership positions with the city, including the Council’s Finance Chair and U.S. Open Task Force. He has 30 years of experience in real estate asset management. He is an Army veteran and certified arbitrator for the Better Business Bureau.

“Televising local government meetings improves transparency and helps educate our community about programs, services and decisions,” Figueroa said. “This commission isn’t a household name, but it provides an important service for our citizens.”

The Rainier Communications Commission (RCC) consists of elected or appointed officials representing Pierce County and 10 cities. The RCC oversees Pierce County TV and other channels that air meetings and other programming for jurisdictions, agencies and schools.

PCTV is available on channel 22 on the Comcast and Click! systems, and channel 20 on Rainier Connect. Programming is available on demand at www.piercecountytv.org.

Flemming succeeds Steilacoom Mayor Ron Lucas, who served as the RCC’s president for the past several years.