Peter Abbarno, left, the host of Let's Talk About It', listens as Scott White, the president of the nonprofit Historic Fox Theatre Restorations, explains some of the history of the theatre during Abbarno's daily 30-minute morning radio talk show.
When Peter Abbarno was a new college graduate, his father asked him to move home to Buffalo, New York, to begin his career.
He recalls he said no because he didn’t feel there were any opportunities for him there.
It’s not a conversation Abbarno wants repeated by the next generation of his family.
“I don’t want my daughter or son to look me in the eye and say ‘there’s nothing here for me,’” Abbarno said. “That’s what drives me every day. You’re either part of the solution or part of the problem, and I choose to be part of the solution.”
Attorney, Centralia city councilor, current radio host and community activist, Abbarno’s path to where he is today started in his hometown of Buffalo, New York. His sister and parents still live in Buffalo, where Abbarno recalls a youth filled with blue collar jobs, such as working for the local butcher shop.
“When I moved here I saw a lot of Buffalo in this community,” Abbarno said of Centralia.
Abbarno started college as a psychology major but quickly decided it was not the right field for him so he switched his major to political science. He worked for the political campaign for Amory “Amo” Houghton, who served as representative to New York’s 34th Congressional District from 1987 to 1992 (he then went on to terms as a representative to New York’s 31st District from 1993-2002 and then New York’s 29th District from 2002 to 2004). Abbarno said the experience solidified in his mind that he wanted to be part of the political scene. He became media and policy coordinator for Republicans in the New York State Assembly, then in 2000 became executive director of the Vermont Republican Party. In 2001, he was asked to move to Washington state to become executive director of the state Republican Party.
Eventually, Abbarno said he had a “what do I want to be when I grow up” conversation with himself and decided to seek a degree in law. He earned his juris doctor from Vermont Law School in 2008 and then his master of law degree in taxation from the University of Washington in 2009. He worked as a deputy assistant prosecuting attorney in King County and an attorney with the University of Washington Federal Tax Clinic before coming to Centralia in 2010 to join then Olson Althauser Samuelson & Rayan, now known as Althauser Abbarno & Rayan.
He became a partner in 2013. His specialty is worker compensation and personal injury.
“It’s satisfying to help people through tough times,” Abbarno said. “As attorneys, you are the butt of a lot of jokes but in tough times you’re the ones people turn to.”
Despite nearly 10 years of political experience, becoming a member of the Centralia City Council in 2016 was Abbarno’s first experience holding a public office. He ran for an open seat unopposed. He said he believes no one ran against him because he had proven himself to have a vested interest in the community. He is active in several organizations, including the Centralia Downtown Association, United Way of Lewis County, the Centralia-Chehalis Chamber of Commerce and the Centralia College Foundation. And despite being a Centralia resident and council member, he serves on boards such as the Boys & Girls Club of Chehalis and Lewis County Bar Legal Aid.
He said he is not afraid to reach across the city border to Chehalis and feels more could be accomplished if rivalries were dropped. For instance, he suggested Centralia and Chehalis could purchase a road paver together and share the piece of equipment, as well as the expense of buying it.
“I think we need to take a regional approach to how we solve problems,” Abbarno said. “I don’t just want our city to get better. I want our whole region to get better.”
Among the issues that interest Abbarno most are homelessness (and the greater issues surrounding that such as addiction and mental health), education and flooding. These and many other issues all fit together into the larger subject of creating a community that is able to attract and keep businesses, Abbarno noted.
“I believe government does not create jobs. Government creates an environment where jobs can grow and flourish,” Abbarno said. “If we start looking at budgets as investments, what are we investing in and what do we expect as a return?”
In his first year on the Centralia City Council, Abbarno said he believes the council has made some great accomplishments. Some of the votes he is most proud of are those supporting road enhancements to Borst Avenue and Vista Avenue, funding of the children’s library section at the Timberland Regional Library, and continuing to push for China Creek to be part of the discussion in flood talks. He noted he is also proud of several votes where he has been in the minority, such as voting against raising City Light rates and property taxes.
“I know what I believe in and I know what I stand for and I vote that way,” Abbarno said.
It has been rumored that Abbarno would be a natural fit if there were an open seat in the 20th legislative district in the future. Abbarno said he served as Bill Bryant’s chair man for his campaign in the 20th District, and while he has considered it, his main concern is making sure any political move in the future is right for his constituents.
“Wherever I can best serve the community, I’ll do that,” Abbarno said. “I would want to know it would benefit the community if I did.”
In his life outside work and politics, Abbarno said he was blessed with a natural abundance of energy. He said he gets up at 3 a.m. in order to be able to hit the gym before hosting “Let’s Talk About It” on KELA. A self-proclaimed comic book nerd, Abbarno goes once a month to the Danger Room in Olympia to get his new stock of comic books. He also recently started taking lessons at the Bethel School of the Arts in harmonica and he is learning to speak Spanish. Oftentimes, he said he won’t get home until 7-8 p.m. at night.
“If you work hard anything is possible,” Abbarno said.
But what he really enjoys is time with his wife, Holly, and children ages 5 and 4. He talks openly and often about his family and the support they have shown him. His wife, Holly, who was raised in Rochester, moved from her dream job teaching 8th grade math in Tumwater to the Centralia School District to compensate for the extra hours her husband’s council position would require. Abbarno said he didn’t realize when he asked her to do it what a sacrifice she was making and he is grateful to have a spouse who was willing to give him such a gift. Abbarno has a tattoo of his wedding ring that he had inked on their first anniversary because it bothered his wife that he took it off at the gym. She reciprocated with the word “love” and a small heart inked under her ring. The March 4 showing of “Say Anything” at the Fox Theatre was chosen by Abbarno as a tribute to his wife and the date just happens to be their wedding anniversary
“Everything I do is for them,” Abbarno said of his family.
