The Transportation Benefit District sales and use tax for Centralia has so far won overwhelming support from locals, according to preliminary results from the Lewis County Auditor’s Office Elections Department released Tuesday night.
The unofficial results show 1,700 out of 2,386 voters in favor of continuing the local tax for the next 10 years. In simpler terms, 71.25% of voters have voted in support of the tax to raise funds for transportation infrastructure with 28.75% opposed.
The local ballot measure asked voters to approve or reject an existing sales and use tax of 0.2%. Approval of the measure will keep local sales tax the same while rejection would have reduced local sales tax. With the support of the community, the tax will no longer expire later this year on Dec. 31 and instead will continue to be collected through Dec. 31, 2035.
The Centralia City Council voted in June to place the renewal of the local sales and use tax on the ballot. Former Centralia Public Works Director Kim Ashmore, who has since retired, pitched the tax and the money it collected as essential for the city to be able to provide matching funds for grant opportunities and bring in state and federal dollars for local transportation infrastructure projects.
Ashmore has been a staunch advocate of the district and its Transportation Benefit District even after his recent retirement from his role with the city and relocation to Idaho. In a recent letter to the editor published in The Chronicle, the former city employee reminded voters that the ballot measure was asking locals to continue the current levy and not increase taxes.
The city of Centralia established the Transportation Benefit District in 2014 to fund transportation infrastructure in Centralia. According to a description of the tax in the Nov. 4 general election voter’s guide, the proceeds from the tax help fund every aspect of the city’s transportation ecosystem, from maintenance and repairs on roads and bridges to traffic engineering and new projects like widening streets.
In a recent letter to the editor, Centralia Deputy Mayor Chris Brewer said the Transportation Benefit District sales and use tax has raised approximately $7.9 million since first being passed and has contributed to the completion of 40 city transportation projects.
According to previous reporting by The Chronicle, money collected by the tax after its approval could go to a number of pressing local transportation projects including a portion of the Westside Connector project that will ultimately widen North Scheuber Road between Galvin Road and Mt. Vista Road.
See full election results at https://results.vote.wa.gov/results/20251104/lewis/.
