Seven Apply for Vacant Centralia City Council Seat

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Seven people applied to fill the Centralia District No. 3 City Council seat left vacant by former Councilor Pat Gallagher. Gallagher resigned earlier this month to take a job in North Carolina. The filing deadline for the position was Monday. Each person filled out an application and gave a brief description of why they would be the best person to serve on the council.

Steve Koreis-MacLeod, Cecelia Barragar, Max A. Vogt, Jim Goode, Russell Barr, Kyle Tomes and Kurtis Engle have all applied for the seat.

The remaining City Council members will choose Gallagher’s replacement. That person will then serve the remainder of the term, which ends Dec. 31, 2017.

Koreis-MacLeod is the board president of the Centralia Downtown Association, serves on the Historic Preservation Commission and is the city’s representative on the Sub-Zone Committee of the Lewis County Chehalis River Basin Flood Authority. He graduated from W.F. West in 1978 then worked in the entertainment industry in the Southeast for a number of years before returning to Lewis County. He’s lives in the Edison District. Between 1999 and 2005, he worked for a division of the cosmetics company L'Oreal. Since then, he’s owned several businesses.

Barragar is a local business owner who was born and raised in Centralia. She earned an associate’s degree in business from Centralia College and graduated from the Centralia Beauty School. She has lived in the Edison District since 2000. As a single mother of two, she said her personal budget feels the actions of the city, county and state governments directly, and that her perspective is missing from the city council. She argues having the perspective of a young mother on the council would represent people in the city in similar positions.



Vogt ran against Gallagher in 2013. He is also the candidate Gallagher has openly endorsed since stepping down. Vogt is a local real estate agent and business owner. He currently serves on the Financial Advisory Board and the Board of Directors for the Fox Theatre. He also serves on the Hotel/Motel Tax Advisory Committee. He served as president of the Lewis County Association of Realtors in 2001 and was voted Realtor of the Year for 2002. His company, Windermere Centralia, sponsored Music in The Park for five years before sponsoring the Summerfest 4th of July parade for the last two years.

Barr is a 25-year resident of Centralia. He’s pleased with the direction the city has taken in recent years and said he wants to “shoulder some of the burden of governance.” He said he has a good relationship with members of the community. His strong ties, he says, will make him a good representative of the people.

Goode is a former businessman who is now retired. He said he served Lewis County in multiple capacities over the years, including working in government and in his own businesses. He wants to continue to “develop wisely” and maintain the quality and character of the city’s culture.

Tomes describes himself as a constant leader in the military and civilian life. He was a non-commissioned officer in the Marines wherein he oversaw 38 junior Marines. He was on the company board for a combat assault company on a Marine Corps base in Hawaii. Tomes is a lifelong resident of Centralia. He has served as a Little Leauge baseball coach for five years, a wrestling coach for three and a youth and high school soccer coach for one.

Engle no longer works and collects Social Security for a disability. He argues that the council should do more to protect the city’s trees, alter traffic to reduce the number of whistles used by trains and improve infrastructure for bicyclists. He argues the city should buy the Tacoma Rail line that runs through the city and build a bike trail. He would like to see the city improve its trail systems for pedestrians and put electrical lines underground.