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Kevin Carns was sworn in as a Chehalis City Council member on Monday evening.
Carns is from Chehalis and is an Army veteran. He currently serves as the senior political adviser to state House Republican Leader J.T. Wilcox, R-Yelm.
As a child, Carns drove a combine for a cannery during his summers and played football at W.F. West. After graduating high school, Carns joined the Army where he served in the airborne infantry regiment and worked for multiple senior generals and a U.S. ambassador.
After being injured in a parachute jump, Carns joined the National Guard while he used the GI Bill to attend Centralia College and Washington State University (WSU). After earning a degree in public affairs from WSU, he worked as a legislative aide with the state Senate and a research analyst with the state House of Representatives. Carns has also earned graduate certificates in global business and politics from Yale University and in executive leadership from the University of Oxford.
Carns said he was encouraged by others who he respected to seek the position, which he saw as a chance to serve the community he loves. He said the application process was smooth and involved submitting a packet with answers to questions and an interview with the other members of the city council.
Carns described his policy interests as public safety, affordable housing, economic development and smart growth management. He told The Chronicle public safety and affordable housing are the biggest challenges facing Chehalis.
“As an I-5 corridor city, we are going to grow. Doing it smartly is going to be the key to our success,” Carns said. “(I want) to learn the mechanics of how the city runs, keep our citizens safe from growing crime problems and implement long-term plans to keep Chehalis an affordable place to live, work and play. I have already met with city staff and we are having big challenges hiring police officers. Our current police force is stretched thin. Given the anti-police legislation coming out of Olympia, it is not a surprise we are having a hard time finding good people.”
Carns says he is “100% committed” to serving out the remainder of his term, though he isn’t sure if he’ll run for a full term.
“I will make a decision on running likely by the end of this year,” Carns said, adding: “I look forward to serving my hometown.”
Carns takes over for former councilor Kelly Wilson, who resigned from the council earlier this year shortly after being appointed.
