The Lewis County Board of Commissioners announced its legislative priorities last week during a monthly mayors meeting. The county is looking for input on the county’s needs ahead of the state's upcoming legislative session.
During the Friday meeting, Commissioners Scott Brummer, Lindsey Pollock and Sean Swope took turns presenting the county’s legislative priorities, which ranged from specific infrastructure projects to support for statewide issues facing rural counties.
The commissioners invited local mayors and other local stakeholders to attend an upcoming legislative roundtable scheduled for Monday, Oct 21. The event will gather state legislators from the state’s 20th and 19th legislative districts as well as representatives from the county and local governments in the area to discuss legislative priorities ahead of the 2026 Washington state Legislative session.
The session is set to convene on Jan. 12.
Winlock Mayor Brandon Svenson, Chehalis Mayor Tony Ketchum, Deputy Mayor of Centralia Chris Brewer, and Centralia City Manager Michael Thomas were among those at the meeting representing local cities and towns.
The yearly legislative roundtable has attracted many local city representatives in previous years and provides an opportunity for the local governments to advocate for issues that are closest to their hearts.
As of now, legislative priorities laid out by Lewis County consist of two groups: county specific and statewide. Some of the priorities are perennial issues on the county’s agenda.
Among those that were discussed last year and will make a return this year are the North Lewis County Industrial Access Project and the Packwood sewer.
The industrial access project is years in the making and has received funding in the past to study the industrial traffic trucks face when trying to access the Port of Centralia from Interstate 5. The effort has even looked into the possibility of an additional interstate exit between Centralia and Grand Mound.
Lewis County has received some funding for Packwood sewer planning in the past; however, it still needs more to push it over the finish line. Last year, the estimated cost of the project sat at approximately $16 million.
The county’s legislative priorities also include local infrastructure funding, primarily for local bridges. Possibly the most well known among them is the Ceres Hill Road Bridge, which has suffered significant damage due to erosion in recent years. It’s currently weight limited, forcing large trucks to take a long detour.
The county will also be looking for funding to support continued work at the Southwest Washington Fairgrounds and money to support efforts to secure more funding for public defense, expanded social services and other statewide mandates.
