Members of the Winlock City Council convened on Monday, Oct. 26, for a regular meeting where, after some discussion on the issue, councilors did not take action on a proposal to incorporate an official invocation to start future meetings.
The proposal was made by Councilor Chuck Camps, who first brought it up earlier this year as a proposal to invite fellow councilors and community members to start meetings with a prayer.
But after a similar policy was implemented in Battle Ground — resulting in a member of the Satanic Temple of Washington reading an invocation to start a Battle Ground City Council meeting earlier this month — Camps adjusted his proposal and brought it back on Monday.
Instead of allowing anyone from any religious organization to start the meeting with their own prayer, Camps brought forward a draft of a non-denominational, voluntary invocation to be read at the start of each meeting by the mayor, a designated councilor or a volunteer according to the city’s agenda report.
The invocation is as follows: “Creator and source of all strength, as we gather tonight to conduct the business of the City of Winlock, we ask for your wisdom, patience and understanding as we deliberate on the matters before us. Grant the members of this council clear minds, listening ears and compassionate hearts. May our discussions be guided by respect, integrity and a commitment to justice. Let us work together to promote the health, safety, and well-being of all neighbors, businesses and visitors who call Winlock home. May our decisions tonight build a stronger, more united and prosperous community for generations to come. Amen."
Interim Winlock City Attorney Hillary Evans commented on the proposal, saying that the City of Othello has a similar standardized, non-denominational invocation. Winlock Mayor Victoria Marincin stated she timed reading the invocation at a normal pace, and it took around 45 seconds.
“If it’s something that the council wants to do and agrees upon, it is relatively low risk, if you standardize it that way … It seems low risk because you’re not using the words ‘God’ or ‘Jesus,’ or anything very specific,” Evans said. “This looks pretty innocuous, and that’s as good as my legal advice can get. You may still be challenged on it, there’s no guarantee.”
While he supported Camps and thanked him for wanting to publicly express his faith, as he himself is actively involved with the Lewis County Gospel Mission, Winlock City Councilor David Anderson questioned whether the invocation was too ambiguous.
“I don’t think God needs our help to do his will, and it’s almost so innocuous that I’m not sure it’s really what you’re wanting to do inside your heart,” Anderson said. “It’s not what I would want to do inside my heart, I would love to be able to say the things that are my convictions, but now I’m on this council.”
He favored a “grassroots” voluntary moment of silence policy still, which had also been proposed earlier this year.
“In my humble opinion, the Lord doesn’t want to hear something that’s repeated over and over again, he would rather hear it from the heart,” Anderson said.
Camps disagreed, and clarified the invocation was simply a “blessing over the meeting.”
“I wouldn’t say I’m helping God, I’m just asking for blessings from the creator,” Camps said.
Marincin added she wanted to hear Winlock residents' opinions on the matter, which could come to a vote at a future meeting.
Aside from the invocation policy, Camps addressed some issues with recent reporting in the Lewis County News, a weekly publication based in Winlock. In a story in the Oct. 21 edition of the Lewis County News, it was reported that Camps voted against an ordinance that dissolved the city administrator position during the council’s Oct. 12 meeting — which was still vacant after being approved at the end of 2025 by the former council.
In the article, it was claimed that Camps was the lone opposition to the ordinance, and that “it is well known that Chuck, (Councilor) Jodie (Curtis), another council member along with former Mayor Brandon Svenson met at Chuck’s house in January. We do not know if they are in communication.”
In response, Camps stated on Monday, “the information that was posted in the Lewis County News is inaccurate. There has never been and will never be a party at Chuck’s house, with any of the council members.”
He added he was not the sole opposition to the ordinance, as he was not present for the meeting and did not vote on any items that night. Following Camps’ comments on Monday, Councilor Lonnie Dowell clarified that he was the lone opposition to the ordinance. The story in the Lewis County News has no byline.
During the meeting, councilors also tabled an addendum to an interlocal agreement (ILA) with the City of Toledo. The ILA addendum was approved by the Toledo City Council earlier this month as previously reported by The Chronicle, and added stipulations for overtime pay and mileage reimbursement for Toledo City Clerk/Treasurer Rachel Campbell, who has been assisting Winlock city staff with treasurer work following the resignation of Winlock’s treasurer at the end of September.
Winlock councilors voted to approve it, but asked to have another addendum drafted to get more clarification on limits to the amount of hours, along with adding the official mileage rate reimbursement, to be approved at a future meeting.
Councilors also approved another ILA with the City of Napavine to assist Napavine Public Works staff with engineering assistance for a water main line repair project on Fourth Avenue Northeast in Napavine, not to exceed $5,000 in labor costs.
Mirrored the City of Toledo’s public comment policy, where two separate public comment sections are held — one for non-agenda items and one for those wishing to speak on agenda items. The time-limit for public comment was shortened as well, from five minutes to three minutes per speaker.
