County Chooses Kyle Markstrom as Third Port of Centralia Commissioner

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County commissioners chose Kyle Markstrom to fill the third seat of the Port of Centralia on Wednesday in a 2-1 vote, after Commissioners Julie Shaffley and Peter Lahmann failed to come to a consensus on who would fill the vacancy left by Dan Keahey.

In his interview with county commissioners Tuesday night, Markstrom highlighted his experience on the county’s citizens budget committee and the Centralia School District’s budget task force as evidence of his fitness for the job. 

Sitting port commissioners were unable to choose a replacement for Keahey largely because of perceived conflicts of interests associated with several candidates, which Shaffley argued would be unethical. The commission held six unsuccessful meetings this year to appoint a third commissioner.

Markstrom, who works for ZEV Technologies, a Port of Centralia tenant, addressed the concern around conflicts of

interest on Tuesday. 

“I understand that there has been a lot of contention around conflicts of interest, but I don’t feel that this is a conflict of interest,” he said. “I’m not a shareholder of the company, and I would obviously recuse myself of any contract negotiations that have to do with the Port and the company I work for.”



The county’s prosecuting attorney reviewed all applicants and said that no perceived conflicts of interest would disqualify any of the candidates. Still, Commissioner Bobby Jackson voted against the motion to appoint Markstrom, saying “a conflict of interest, from my perspective, is a conflict of interest, period.” He instead voiced support for Richard Schnatterly, a Centralia native and business owner, who was not identified by Commissioners Edna Fund or Gary Stamper as being in their top two choices. 

Fund noted that if a conflict came up, Markstrom could simply recuse himself — an argument Lahmann made before the Port was forced to lob the decision to the county level. But Jackson noted that the Port could easily be hamstrung if only two Port commissioners were left to make important decisions — the very situation that led to the county having to make a decision for the Port. 

“Personally, I don’t think this should have ever come to the county commissioners,” Jackson said. 

Markstrom will fill the vacancy, but will have to run for re-election in November, 2021. 

“I grew up in Centralia, lived in Centralia pretty much all my life,” Markstrom said Tuesday. “In times of need this community has lifted up my family, I’m at a point in my life where I can commit the time, I’d love the opportunity to give back by serving on the port commission.”