The Centralia City Council appointed Councilor Kelly Smith Johnston into the role of mayor at Tuesday night’s regular Centralia City Council meeting, ending Max Vogt’s six-month tenure as the council executive.
Smith Johnston, who previously sought the title earlier this year, was voted in on a 4-3 decision after a motion to retain Vogt as mayor failed to garner a majority of council votes. The role of mayor is mostly ceremonial, though the appointed councilor does oversee council business.
Councilor Cameron McGee was also retained as mayor pro-tem after no other nominations aside from his were made.
Smith Johnston said she hopes she and the council will continue to move the city forward.
“My vision, my wish, my hope for all of us as we serve together is that we have the kindness, generosity and resilience of our founder, George Washington,” Smith Johnston said, addressing the council from her new pulpit.
“Those of you who know the story of our founder know that he was outcasted from many communities. He had to wander for a number of years before he found a home, which he did here, and then he generously donated the land that started our city. And there are a multitude of stories about the kindness that he showed everyone that was a part of this city,” she continued.
She urged the council to think ahead to the impacts its actions may have a century from now, while also lauding the leadership and resilience shown from community members during last week’s flooding.
Smith Johnston is the founder of Clarity Consulting firm, which has conducted work with state and local governments, as well as for-profit and nonprofit companies. According to her 2019 candidate statement, she’s also formerly worked for Thurston County, Pierce Transit and Cispus Learning Center.
In a joint effort with county leadership, Smith Johnston helped co-organize this year’s Housing Policy Summit and has advocated for local solutions to address current housing disparities plaguing Lewis County.
She’s currently serving her first term on the Centralia City Council after being elected in 2019. Smith Johnston said she has two primary goals with her mayoral appointment: support the council’s individual agendas and goals and work to have the City of Centralia lead the conversation of Lewis County’s future as its largest city.
At Tuesday night’s meeting, Vogt — who was sworn in alongside two returning councilors, McGee and Mark Westley, as well as two new legislators, Sarah Althauser and Leah Daarud — confirmed he would not seek another term after this new one.
