Centralia City Council candidate Kurtis Engle gives his opening statement as fellow candidate Kelly Smith Johnston looks on during a debate Thursday held by the Centralia-Chehalis Chamber of Commerce.
The Centralia-Chehalis Chamber of Commerce has released their report cards on candidates running for Centralia City Council on Tuesday’s primary ballot. The candidates were rated based on their answers to a series of questions from the chamber.
Steven Hubbard, running for position 1, received an overall grade of C +. Chamber members expressed concerns that Hubbard did not completely understand the function of the chamber and would not do enough to help businesses.
Matt Evans, also running for position 1, received an overall grade of A -. Chamber members commented that he understood issues clearly and seemed qualified.
Elizabeth Cameron, also running for position 1, received an overall grade of B-. Chamber members thought she sounded pro-business and supported the chamber, but thought some of her responses were difficult to understand.
John Ver Valen received an F because he did not participate.
Kelly Smith Johnston, running for position 2, received an overall grade of A-. Chamber members thought she answered questions thoughtfully.
Kurtis Engle, running for position 2, received an overall grade of D-. Chamber members said he didn’t understand the issues, provided poor answers and was generally disappointing as a candidate.
Lee Coumbs, currently mayor of Centralia and the only incumbent of the candidates on the primary for position 2, received an overall grade of B-. Chamber members were impressed with answers related to downtown improvements, but thought he did not adequately answer several questions.
Former councilor Ron Greenwood, running for position 2, received an overall grade of B-. Chamber members were impressed with his long-range thinking but were concerned by unclear answers.
Ballots are due by 8 p.m. Tuesday for the primary election.
