Winlock Mayor Don Bradshaw swears in Trig Pedersen to city councilor position 1, Monday evening in Winlock.
As of Monday, every seat on the Winlock City Council is filled.
The Winlock City Council appointed Trig Pedersen to Winlock City Council position 1 at its regular meeting on Monday evening. The seat had been vacant since former city councilor Andrew Maloney resigned from the position in early February.
“We bought an old house here in town in the city limits,” said Trig Pedersen, when asked why he applied for the city councilor position. “It’s the old Vanesse house. We’ve had it about 13 years now, and it just makes sense to restore an old home like that. It’s one of the more historical homes here in Winlock. It’s just a continuation of that, to work with the city, help develop the city, help build it up. It looks like one of these cities that is coming together.”
Trig Pedersen is married to councilor Barbara Pedersen, who abstained from voting. This is his first time holding public office. Councilors Connie Sneed and Jodie Curtis voted in favor of appointing Trig Pedersen. Councilor Anne Randt voted against.
Four people — Trig Pedersen, Paul McMilan, Jeramy Allman and Lonnie Dowell — interviewed in front of the council and public. Each councilor asked applicants one question, and asked the same question of each applicant.
Barbara Pedersen asked candidates if they would be influenced by negative social media comments.
“I’m a team leader process manager for Weyerhaeuser,” said Trig Pedersen during the interview. “I’ve been doing that for about 30 years now. I always like to say I have always respected my boss, but being in any kind of a leadership position, you’re out there. That’s going to happen.”
Randt asked each applicant to name three positive things they have accomplished in Winlock within the last three years.
Dowell served as the mayor of Winlock from 2014 until Bradshaw took office in 2018. During his interview, Dowell noted that the city applied for the $1.5 million grant it received from the state capital budget for infrastructure improvements while he was mayor. That grant funded a water line extension from the city to Knowles Road. He also noted that the city received about $40,000 in grants from the Miller Trust Fund for upgrades to the community building in 2017.
Curtis asked how Dowell would “react to being misrepresented by either the press or social media.”
“Confront them with it and put the truth out there,” Dowell said.
Until March 19, there were allegedly two vacancies on the Winlock City Council. The Lewis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office believed city council position 3, which Jodie Curtis assumed in February 2018, was appointed incorrectly. The Lewis County Commission affirmed Curtis’ position on March 19.
