Larry Grove, the Lewis County Auditor, locks the last ballot box in his office in Chehalis in November 2017.
A trio of Centralia residents filed paperwork with the Lewis County Auditor’s Office on Monday, affirming their status as non-incumbent candidates for city council positions set to be on the ballot this fall.
All three Centralia City Council terms expiring at the end of the year are at-large positions. Elizabeth Cameron and Steven Hubbard declared their candidacy Monday for the seat currently held by Joyce Barnes, who has chosen not to seek reelection. Former council member Ron Greenwood, who lost his seat in 2017 to Cameron McGee, has filed to run against Lee Coumbs, who currently serves as mayor.
Centralia Councilor Peter Abbarno also wasted no time in filing to run for reelection on the first day of filing week, which runs through Friday afternoon. A trio of incumbent Chehalis City Council members also had confirmed their intent to seek another term as of 4:30 p.m. Monday afternoon: Terry Harris (Council District No. 1). Daryl Lund (District No. 2) and Isaac Pope (District No. 4).
All told, 46 Lewis County residents filed to run for 42 offices on the first day they were allowed. A total of 163 positions are open this year, with many more filings expected before the close of business on Friday.
“People are talking about how they don’t want our town to stagnate,” Greenwood said. “… I think we need to start looking at those people who have been in the background and bring in some new minds and bodies, while still working with those who have been in power for a long time. I think it’s time for us to have more of the younger
Greenwood served the people of Centralia Council District No. 1 from 2014-2017. McGee ran as a first-time candidate and earned 57 percent of the vote to unseat Greenwood. Greenwood said Monday that he holds no hard feelings against McGee and that he has so far performed well as a councilor.
Greenwood believes he and McGee share the same opinions on a number of city issues, such as a desire to ease zoning restrictions on retail marijuana establishments. McGee voted Jan. 8 in favor of a request to allow marijuana outlets in areas zoned for general commercial use. Greenwood testified at that council meeting in favor of the zoning change, which failed 5-2.
He said Monday that he has severed ties with the pro-marijuana political action committee he was involved with at the time of the most recent council vote.
“I was constantly voting in favor of opening up regular business districts for retail marijuana,” Greenwood said. “We should be treating it like tobacco or alcohol. We have three or four bars in town — I work at one, the Olympic Club — and sell both of those in stores close to schools.”
Hubbard is a first-time political candidate and a self-identified Republican — the office is classified as nonpartisan. He works as a special finance manager for I-5 Toyota and previously served as a corrections officer in the maximum security wing of Green Hill School in Chehalis.
He shares Greenwood’s belief that the City of Centralia should not stand in the way of marijuana businesses who have navigated the process of receiving a state license to operate a legal shop. Hubbard would like to see additional changes to city zoning laws to spur economic growth.
“The Miracle Mile is dying in my opinion, and it needs to be reenergized with new businesses and new opportunities,” Hubbard said. “My platform is just that I want to see change in the community. I want to give the people a voice, be available to them 24 hours a day, and will not be one of those guys who sit on the stand at meetings and don’t respond to people they don’t see as important.”
Hubbard said the tipping point for him throwing his hat in the political ring was his sense of Centralia “going into shambles.” He cited the homeless population, declining road conditions and a recent vote of no-confidence against Centralia School Superintendent Mark Davalos by the teachers’ union.
“I’m seeing all of the homeless populations wandering in the streets with the city having no real plan of action for how to take care of that,” Hubbard said. “I don’t like that I can’t go to (George Washington Park) in downtown Centralia and sit in the gazebo there, because it’s locked up to keep out transients.”
Cameron moved last year from California to Centralia. A native of Scotland, she first moved to the United States in 1983 and obtained her citizenship in 1992. She has made a career working as a legal assistant and office administrator for law firms.
She said Monday that she had spoken to Barnes about her candidacy and that the outgoing councilor was pleased to hear Cameron would run for her seat. Barnes, who did not return a call seeking comment prior to press time, has made the restoration of the outdoor Pearl Street Pool a centerpiece of her political platform during her current stint on the council. Cameron said she would support efforts to reopen the pool as part of her larger goal of bolstering the small-town feel of Centralia while accounting for needed growth.
“Centralia reminds me a lot of my home in Scotland,” Cameron said. “Very much the community sense of making a difference, with the good of the community at heart. My pledge would be to be of service to the community in whichever way I can.
Cameron said she spent much of Monday walking through downtown Centralia to meet local business owners and listen to their concerns. A common topic was the recent spate of burglaries and break-ins downtown. Cameron said she would like to see increased financial support for law enforcement so they can add new personnel and equipment. Increasing services for children and young families in Centralia is another component of her platform.
In a letter to the editor published in the April 20 edition of The Chronicle, Cameron wrote, “The city’s buildings appear to have taken a battering over the years, but within, and behind the cracks and crevices, there are remarkable people. I questioned how the shops maintain opening their doors due to the lack of direct road access, one-way streets and minimal parking. … Centralia offers a working class environment where tradespeople can be proud to be a Centralian.”
To see a current list of candidates who have filed to run for public office in Lewis County, visit weiapplets.sos.wa.gov/elections/Candidates/.WhoFiled?countyCode=le
