Accessible, approachable, open-minded, eager to help and will “do what’s best.”

That is what Yarden Weidenfeld wants the Federal Way community to know about him as he settles into his new role as senior policy adviser to Mayor Jim Ferrell.

“I’m committed to doing the best I can,” the Mercer Island resident said.

Weidenfeld notes, however, that he first plans to look at “everything” before advising on Federal Way public policy, which will include issues such as Lake Jeane, the Federal Way Link Extension, the Homeless Encampment Initiative, aircraft noise and violent crime.

Although he has already begun investigating what the city can do to help residents near Lake Jeane, he has a special interest in helping with the city’s crime. After all, it’s where most of his experience lies.

At nearly 50 years old, Weidenfeld has an extensive background in criminal law, with his most recent position as assistant attorney general, a position to which he was appointed by Attorney General Robert Ferguson. Weidenfeld had his start in the Attorney General’s office after current District 30 Rep.-elect Mike Pellicciotti urged him to apply in 2014. At the time, Pellicciotti was the deputy director for the Medicaid fraud control unit and needed a criminal prosecutor. Pellicciotti later supervised Weidenfeld from July 2014 to November 2015 before announcing he was running for office that December.

“He was a smart attorney who led important cases in our office,” Pellicciotti said, adding he was sorry to see Weidenfeld leave the Attorney General’s Office.

Weidenfeld has other Federal Way connections, as well. The native upstate New Yorker has known Ferrell since his days at the King County Prosecutor’s Office.

The two met during Ferrell’s Deputy Prosecuting Attorneys Association presidency. Ferrell later became Weidenfeld’s boss for two years during Weidenfeld’s six years as a deputy prosecutor for King County from 2004 to 2010.

“I’ve always been a kind of fan of his,” Weidenfeld said about Ferrell. “He’s a great leader.”

During their time together, Weidenfeld said Ferrell excelled at developing camaraderie and team spirit as he led the domestic violence unit for which they worked.

“For a long time, we had talked about opportunities that might be here – off and on for several years, actually – and I think, at this point, the timing was right,” Weidenfeld said, adding he initially applied for the vacant city attorney position.

Ferrell said Weidenfeld was “the most prolific legal writer and best strategic mind” that he has ever encountered in the legal field.

“I came to rely on his judgment and ability to untangle legal and factual issues that we both encountered,” Ferrell said. “He is the perfect person to help me and the city as we face numerous policy issues that affect our community. He has my utmost confidence to take on this exciting challenge.”

Sandwiched between the King County Prosecutor’s Office and the Attorney General’s Office, Weidenfeld spent three years — from 2011 through 2014 — as the chief criminal prosecutor in Skamania County, just east of Vancouver, Washington.

“At the beginning, it was an extremely hard adjustment,” Weidenfeld said of Skamania. “I had never lived in a really rural area where everyone knew each other, where roots go way back and people live on streets with their last name because their grandfather founded the street. It was very foreign to me at the beginning, but I grew to love it.”

Weidenfeld said he loved the police force and maintains a good relationship with the elected prosecutor of the county, but he encountered personal challenges.

“It was hard because I was part of a religious Jewish community, and that was very kind of isolating for that,” he said.

Weidenfeld’s interest in public policy stems from a Bachelor of Arts degree with a concentration in government, a degree he graduated with in honors while at Harvard University.

After Harvard, Weidenfeld worked for a fundraising company raising money for nonprofits, such as the National Trust for Historic Preservation. He found himself in Washington after taking what was supposed to be a six-month job for Rabbi Daniel Lapin, the founder of Toward Tradition — an organization with the goal to unite Jews and Christians by supporting traditional values. The job lasted five years.

Weidenfeld decided to return to college following a 12-year gap from Harvard to pursue his law degree from the University of Washington School of Law. During that time, he was also involved in the Mercer Island Arts Commission and was the chair for the 41st District Republicans of Washington in 2000.

Weidenfeld said he is not bringing “right-wing politics” to Federal Way, and he will consider each issue in an objective, independent and nonpartisan manner.

As senior policy adviser, Weidenfeld will earn $115,000 a year.

To contact him, call 253-835-2420 or email at yarden.weidenfeld@cityoffederalway.com.