Astoria newcomer is adamant: ‘We couldn’t really have picked a better place’

Published 4:00 pm Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Josey Ballenger reaches between a bookcase and an entertainment center in the Astoria home where she recently moved with her family.

She pulls out an aging poster decorated with the green, yellow and black colors of the African National Congress. It shows a face recognizable the world over and reads, Mandela for President: The Peoples Choice!

This is vintage 1994, she says. This is original.

Even though many years have passed and Ballenger now lives half a world away, the poster is a reminder of a formative period in her life. It hung in her room in Johannesburg, South Africa, where she worked as a journalist for several years in the 1990s. She was there soon after South Africa held its first democratic elections and Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as president.

Ballenger wrote for several South African newspapers and covered everything from financial markets, to environmental issues, to socio-economic development.

I got to witness a country in transition, she says. It was just such a transformation of society on a grand scale, and to this day, I feel immensely grateful for having been able to be a witness to that.

Ballenger moved back to her native United States almost 15 years ago, but she continues to feel a special connection to the country where she spent an important part of her early career. Mandelas recent death caused her to reflect on her time in South Africa and on the man who led his country through that period of change.

(Mandela) should serve as a reminder not only to South Africans, but to all people, of what we should strive for as societies, and also of the power of an individual, she says.

Ballenger calls her time in South Africa an exhilarating and profound experience, and also one that sharpened her skills in investigation, writing and policy analysis.

Federal job

Today, while she no longer practices journalism, she brings those talents to her work with the U.S. Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan agency that works at the request of Congress.

As a senior analyst in the GAOs Natural Resources and Environment division, Ballenger she works with a team to evaluate federal government programs and policies for their effectiveness and efficiency.

I like policy evaluation, Ballenger says. I like researching, writing, becoming educated on different topics, and then being a nonpartisan voice to give others a full set of information.

Though officially based in the GAO field office in Seattle, Ballenger spends 70 to 80 percent of her time telecommuting from her home office in Astoria. She travels to Seattle for two or three days every other week, and travels to field sites as necessary.

Ballengers position gives her the opportunity to explore a variety of issues.

Our work spans everything from energy, to nuclear weapons, to agriculture and food safety, to the Department of the Interior and the Environmental Protection Agency, she says. In recent projects, she has studied the International Atomic Energy Agency, the adequacy of funds for decommissioning nuclear power plants, and the agricultural sectors readiness for a terrorist attack.

Moved from D.C.

Before moving to Astoria, Ballenger was based at the central GAO office in Washington, D.C., where she and her husband, Scott Tucker, had lived since 1999. They decided to make the move to the Northwest when Tucker was offered a job as superintendent of the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park. They chose Astoria after a whirlwind trip to explore the area, and after making sure that Ballenger could continue her career with the GAO by teleworking.

The two of us were able to come out here for five days, round-trip, but that included the travel both directions, so it was really like three solid days on the ground, Ballenger says. We checked out five houses between Astoria and Warrenton to rent, and we checked out four elementary schools from here to Seaside, and I think we checked out five daycares. We had to line everything up in that three-day trip, and Astoria was where it all lined up really well for us.

Adjusting

Since the move, Ballenger has been adjusting to her new work situation. She feels grateful to have the kind of job for which teleworking is an option, and notes that without a daily commute, she is able to spend more time with her 6-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter.

Ballenger and her family have also been exploring the local area, and they look forward to continuing their explorations. Were outdoorsy people, so just the psychological boost of being in these surroundings is a welcome development for us, Ballenger says. She says the family plans plenty of future outings for camping, hiking and visiting the beach.

Of her new hometown, Ballenger says, I think Astoria is a fascinating town that has so much to offer, especially for its size. She points to the artistic community, as well as Astorias variety of restaurants and its rich and intriguing history.

She says that her mother recently visited and called Astoria a modern-day Brigadoon, referring to the mythical Scottish village that appears once every 100 years in the eponymous musical. Ballenger finds that analogy fitting, as Astoria can seem just kind of mysterious and mythical.

And on a smaller scale, Ballenger is happy to be getting settled into one of the hillside homes that she believes makes Astoria unique.

Were thrilled that were in this 1929 Craftsman on a hillside overlooking the Columbia River and The Goonies house, and right down the street from Astor Elementary School, and we hear sea lions barking all the time, she says. We couldnt really have picked a better place.