The Kent Chamber of Commerce will have its March membership luncheon 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 3 at the Meridian Valley Country Club, 24830 136th Ave. S.E. The featured speaker will be Kent Police Chief Steve Strachan, speaking about the city police department, crime-fighting, statistics, and public-policy issues.
To register for the event, contact the chamber at www.kentchamber.com, or call 253-854-1770. There is a fee for the event, but that information was not immediately available as of March 1 on the chamber Web site.
Strachan is a 23-year veteran of law enforcement, and has served since 2006 as chief in Kent. He previously served as chief of police in Lakeville, Minn., a Twin Cities suburb of 56,000, where he had been an administrative sergeant, detective, school resource officer, SWAT team leader, DARE officer and patrol officer.
In 1996, Strachan was elected to the first of two terms as a city council member in the city of Farmington, Minn., where he oversaw the construction of several new facilities, including a new police department, and population growth of 50 percent. In 2002, he was elected to the Minnesota State House of Representatives, where he served on the Judiciary Committee. In his time in the House, Steve was the chief author of several high profile and controversial bills, including the reduction of the alcohol limit to .08 and an overhaul of Minnesota’s sex-offender registration policies.
Strachan served on the Minnesota Public Safety Facilities Commission for Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura, and was later appointed by Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty to the State Sex Offender Policy Commission, the DWI Task Force, and the Governor’s Stadium Commission. In 2007, Strachan was appointed by Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire to the Washington Auto Theft Prevention Authority. Each of these commission appointments has dealt with high-profile issues. He is the co-chair of the Washington Association of Sheriff’s and Police Chiefs Corrections Committee.
Strachan holds a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of Minnesota, and a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Minnesota State University, Mankato. He is a graduate of the FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development Seminar No. 51. He is a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the King County Chiefs of Police Association, and is an active member of the Kent Rotary Club.
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