One of the best parts of local government is how connected we can be to those we serve. As mayor, people contact me frequently to share their concerns and ideas.
I often drive around town on weekends to the various places that have come up in conversation to see for myself what is happening and how I might help. Last week, I was on one of those drives and felt a strong sense of gratitude for how many positive things are happening in Centralia right now.
In this season of thankfulness, I am grateful for our community and for all of those striving to shape Centralia’s future. I am thankful for our visionaries and our doers.
When they partner up, we get exciting new projects like the United Learning Center being built on Pearl Street, Winco coming to life at Centralia Station, and Lewis County Business Week brought to our high school juniors by Kiddin’ Around.
I’m thankful for our steadfast and faithful volunteers who are in it for the long haul and hold visions through years and decades.
I think about those 30 years ago who envisioned a thriving downtown that is today a bustling hub for local businesses and community members.
I think about the folks at Centralia College who stewarded a master plan over 20 years to create the gem of a campus right in the middle of town. I met recently with board members for the Fox Theatre who remain committed to bringing economic life to downtown Centralia through a restored historic theatre. These things aren’t easy, yet we get them done.
I’m also thankful for my fellow city councilors and the city staff who work hard on behalf of Centralia. Working through the budget this year was not easy, but we stuck to our promises of building a vibrant, thriving and welcoming city while being careful stewards of your tax dollars. Many cities are struggling right now and considering significant cuts.
We have a balanced budget that does not draw on reserves and allows us to continue and improve our services. The fact that we can do that is the result of years of good financial policy and practice.
Centralia is growing into our future.
Not long ago, I felt that things could go either way — we could be a community weighted down by poverty and discouragement, or we could be a community of hope builders who aim high for our future generations.
Today, I have more confidence than ever that we’re on that bright path for our future. We have a strong vision and great economic partners.
We have committed leaders and volunteers working together.
That’s not to say there won’t be growing pains — achieving this progress can be exciting, challenging and frustrating all at once.
But if we draw on our sources of strength as a community we can get through the tough times, no matter the situation.
Here’s what that can look like:
We remain committed to the investments we’ve already made and the vision that will enable our vibrant future. Hub City Greenways continues to move forward with grant funding from Blue Zones and USDOT’s Thriving Communities Program. Next year, we will focus on advancing the Hayes Lake Trail under Interstate 5 and engaging the community around a plan to create a more vibrant Main Street.
We build a city that is welcoming to all. Centralia’s mission is to continuously respond to citizens; provide a clean, safe community in which to live, work and play in a historically rich environment; and support and promote cultural diversity. I am committed to this mission.
Centralians represent a multitude of rich and varied backgrounds and we were founded on principles of inclusion. This is one of our greatest assets.
We lead in ways that allow us to learn from each other despite differing points of view.
This is some of the hardest work we need to do. In an increasingly politically divided world and with social media driving wedges between us, it is almost counterculture to listen with open hearts and open minds.
We can listen and learn without abandoning our principles. I am working on this in my own life.
Commissioner Sean Swope and I hold very different viewpoints on many topics. Yet we have built an honest, respectful working relationship that allows us to partner in areas where we agree. People have questioned my integrity for that. But it is like iron sharpening iron — we learn from each other and our challenges to each other’s thinking help to clarify and strengthen our perspectives. While it is very difficult, it is also enriching.
This Thanksgiving week and holiday season, let us come together and give thanks for each other and this community. I never expected to live here or raise my daughters here. Twenty-four years later, I give thanks every day that Centralia is our home. I am the proud child of a military officer and grew up moving all around. It was a wonderful childhood, but I didn’t grow roots. I have been welcomed here in ways I didn’t think possible.
As your mayor, I want to extend that same welcome to all of you — those of you who have generations of roots here and those of you who just discovered the greatest little city in Washington. We’re building a great thing here.
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Kelly Smith Johnston is the mayor of Centralia.
