Nine Kids, One Family

I grew up with eight siblings.

When people hear that, the first question is usually some version of "how did that even work?" Honestly, I think growing up in a family that big shaped me in ways I'm still noticing.

You're never the only one who matters

In a family of nine kids, the world doesn't revolve around you. There are always other people with their own needs, their own plans and their own bad days. You learn to share. You learn to wait. And you learn that taking care of each other is just part of life.

I think that's a big reason I've always been drawn to work that's about other people. On a fire crew, everybody depends on everybody. In property management, the job wasn't the buildings. It was the residents. Leading a sales team, my job was to help other people succeed.

Now I'm the parent

Today I'm a father myself, and being a dad has become the most important part of who I am. I'm a family man. My favorite days are simple ones: hiking, camping or taking my family to the park.

When you come from a big family, you carry it with you. You know family isn't something you get to do only when it's convenient. You show up.

Faith and family

I'm a follower of Jesus Christ, and my faith is a big part of my life. For me, faith and family go together. Both remind me that life isn't just about me.

Three generations in one place

I'm a third-generation Bend local, born and raised here. My family has been part of Central Oregon for a long time. That's a big part of why I want to serve this community.

I'm running for Deschutes County Clerk because I want this county's government to treat people the way a good family does: with patience, fairness and respect, whoever you are.

The general election is November 3, 2026.

— Jon Curtis

Learn more: jonathancurtis2026.netlify.app

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Teaching People Who Had Never Sold Anything

From July to December 2025, I was the sales manager at Amtech here in Bend. I led a team of 15 people selling AI-powered secretaries and custom software to businesses. Here's the part I'm proudest of: some of the people on that team had never worked in sales before. Start at the beginning It's easy for a manager to hire experienced people, hand them a quota and say "go." I didn't want to run a team that way. When someone joined us with no sales background, I taught them the whole process from the start: how the product works, how a call should go, how to follow up, and what you can and can't promise a customer. My job covered hiring, onboarding, training and daily coaching, along with the less exciting parts like pipeline management, forecasting and reporting. But the training is what made the rest possible. A beginner who understands the process will outwork someone who is just guessing. Pay attention to how people fit together I also learned that a...
Read more

Nineteen Years of Practice Saying Things Out Loud

For a long time, people had trouble understanding me when I talked. I had four speech impediments. Until I was about twelve years old, a lot of people couldn't easily follow what I was saying. So I went to speech therapy. Not for a summer. For nineteen years. I want to tell you what those years were actually like, because I think they explain a lot about why I'm running for Deschutes County Clerk. Practice is not glamorous Speech therapy is mostly repetition. You say the same sounds again and again. You get corrected. You try again. Most sessions don't feel like progress. You only notice the progress when you look back over years. I also have autism, which I was diagnosed with as a kid, and later an ADHD diagnosis. I call the ADHD a blessing, because it gives me a lot of energy. But put all of that together and you get a kid who had to work harder than most just to be understood. That work paid off slowly. Today I speak in public. I've hosted my own podcast. I...
Read more