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Hometown Business Owner Derik Ford Running For Mayor Of Washougal

Washougal, WA — Washougal restaurant owner Derik Ford has formally filed to run for Mayor of Washougal. For has been living in the Pacific Northwest his entire life and has made Washougal his home for the past four years. 

“I’m running for Mayor of Washougal to lead with a greater emphasis on fiscal responsibility and provide a brighter vision for our city,” said Ford. “Washougal is experiencing growing pains, causing a greater financial burden on residents. Water and sewer rates continue to skyrocket. Our public works department is challenged to keep up. Revitalization of downtown Washougal has stalled.”

“As the gateway to the beautiful Columbia River Gorge, Washougal has untapped potential as a destination.” Ford said. “Tourism should be a central part of our economic development plan along with a renewed emphasis on attracting the next generation of clean manufacturing to provide more living wage jobs for our residents. Washougal is poised for new commercial development on the Washougal waterfront, and we must embrace this new addition to our community while working to preserve our historic downtown district and family-owned businesses. I’ll lead the charge to invigorate our downtown core area so that Washougal becomes a gathering place for residents and visitors alike.”

Ford graduated from North Bend High School and has attended South Western Oregon College, College of the Redwoods, Portland Sate University and Eastern Washington University. Together with his wife Michelle, they own and operate 2 Rivers Bar & Grill in downtown Washougal for the past three years. Ford is also a franchisee with Massage Envy for the past 14 years, a national leader in providing massage and facial services. Derik and Michelle have been married since 2018. She is a teacher and varsity volleyball coach at Camas High School. 

“As Mayor of Washougal, I’ll focus on implementing a fiscally responsible budget that also protects the safety of our citizens,” Ford added. “As a former law enforcement officer, I will ensure the Washougal Police Department is fully funded and has the resources it needs to properly train staff. I love this tight knit community which is why my wife and I chose Washougal as our home and the site for our restaurant. I bring energy and vitality to everything I do. I’ll always put the citizens first to move Washougal in the right direction.” 

“There are people living in their cars on Main Street in Washougal. My opponent’s answer to the homeless crisis is to use your hard-earned tax dollars to build tiny houses. This will only attract more addicted homeless people to our community. As Mayor, I’ll provide strong leadership to get folks off the street permanently.” 

Ford loves the great outdoors. His leisure time activities include traveling, hunting and snow skiing. He can be reached at 503-709-6546 or info@ElectDerikFord.com. To learn more about Derik’s campaign platforms, visit ElectDerikFord.com. 

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City Administrator Jamal Fox to Resign From Position — Effective July 9

CAMAS, WA – Camas City Administrator Jamal Fox announced today that he will be resigning from the City, effective 5 pm, Friday, July 9.

“The City of Camas has been a great opportunity for me as your City Administrator.  Former Mayor Barry McDonnell, staff and the community have been welcoming, and I think we have accomplished a lot in my time here,” Fox said. “It is my belief that the organization is stronger with the enhanced processes and the right leaders in the right places to continue the great work we began together. I am encouraged by the team and excited about the future opportunities that exist for this City.” 

During his tenure with Camas, Fox led many projects and process improvements, and guided the City through various issues that impacted operations in 2020, including the COVID-19 pandemic.

Among other accomplishments, Fox added to staff, restructured various processes, and worked to implement former Mayor Barry’s McDonnell’s vision of Land, People and Honesty.

“I want to thank Jamal for his leadership during some unprecedented times,” said Mayor Pro Tem Ellen Burton. “His work with staff and his leadership during his time in Camas has helped guide the City into the future.  We wish him nothing but the best,” Burton said.

Burton is currently working to name an interim replacement to serve in the role in Fox’s absence. The City will eventually conduct a national search to find Fox’s replacement.

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Protesters Challenge Washougal School District; Hold Rally at Admin Building

Washougal, WA — About 300 protesters gathered outside the Washougal School District (WSD) Administration Office Tuesday night to support two parents —Patricia Bellamy and Melissa Mcilwain — who were cited for trespassing two weeks ago at the last WSD School Board meeting.

Bellamy and Mcilwain attended the meeting to speak out against mask wearing and curriculum issues, and supported a third attendee who wasn’t wearing a mask.

“We supported her right to not wear a mask,” said Bellamy. “And, for that they adjourned the meeting.”

Bellamy said when the meeting re-started they wanted in, and their friend chalked cars and building walls to express her frustration. Police were called to the scene and all three were cited for trespassing and disorderly conduct, and told they could not enter any Washougal school property for a year. Bellamy said that order was reduced to the WSD Administration building now.

“Mel and I didn’t do anything wrong, and we feel they just wanted us to leave because of our support of our friend not wearing a mask,” said Bellamy.

The protestors brought in a fire truck onto the building parking lot and hoisted a flag atop the vehicle’s ladder, and occupied the front part of property. They sang songs, held flags and held signs, and ate barbecue hamburgers and hot dogs. Several lined the street both sides protesting masks in schools, equity programs and Critical Race Theory. Several addressed the audience.

VIDEO INTERVIEW

This is a video interview with Bellamy and Mcilwain: https://youtu.be/6PkXrv7_ViA

Washougal
Washougal moms Patricia Bellamy and Melissa Mcilwain are at the center of a controversy stemming from a Washougal School Board meeting two weeks ago.

The Washougal School Board issued this statement:

The Washougal School Board of Directors welcomes public comment at school board meetings, and values the input from community members.  The board likes to hear from and listen to our community.  The board appreciates those who come forward to share feedback, and recognizes that there are many perspectives that can help inform our civic process.

However, members of the public who come to board meetings must adhere to safety protocols that are in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Those who refuse to comply with safety rules will be asked to leave. When community members refuse lawful requests to vacate the board room and district property, and seek to disrupt the orderly business of the board, the board will seek support from local law enforcement, who will force non-compliant community members to leave.

The board will not tolerate the acts of vandalism, disorderly conduct, or intimidation that took place at last night’s meeting, including vandalism of the personal vehicles of board members and district staff, and the district office itself. These are not an effective means of informing our civic process.  The board will continue to seek support from local law enforcement in fully prosecuting any acts of vandalism or disorderly conduct related to official board business.  Community members engaging in these acts undermine the ability of the board to do the work of the public, and endanger themselves and others.  This activity also impedes other community members from safely participating in the board’s meeting.

As part of Governor Inslee’s Proclamation 20-28.14, which amended Proclamations 20-05 and 20-28, the school board was allowed to begin in-person meetings, provided that the hosting  complied with the Miscellaneous Venues guidance, which requires that the hosting venue require masking and social distancing for all attendees.  The board has been meeting in-person since March 9, 2021. Members of the public who do not wish to participate in-person, which requires wearing a mask, are able to participate via Zoom.

At the May 11, 2021 meeting, the board responded to an interruption in the meeting by voting to recess again, and ordered the meeting room to be cleared, per RCW 42.30.050.  Later in the evening, the board adjourned the meeting in response to a continued interruption that had escalated to vandalism of the District Office building and the personal vehicles of board members and school district staff, also per RCW 42.30.050.  The board will move any pending agenda items to a future meeting.

Over the past several years, the board has worked to increase opportunities for public input during board meetings.  The board has communicated the ways the public can provide input, established parameters to allow more voices to be heard, and added an additional public comment period to the agenda. They have also worked with district staff to provide opportunities for patrons to observe the board meeting via Zoom, increasing transparency. The regular school board business meeting format does not include the board responding to public testimony, but when appropriate, the board directs the superintendent to respond on behalf of the board.  In order to ensure smooth functioning of our schools, the board strongly encourages patrons who wish to share feedback or engage in dialog about proposed changes to meet with school and district staff, who are most prepared to listen and provide additional information about changes that may come before the board.

Community members who wish to participate in board meetings are encouraged to participate via Zoom. Please refer to the board section of the Washougal School District website for protocols and the process to sign up for public comments.

Washougal
Nearly 300 protestors gathered for a rally outside the Washougal School District Administration building.
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Camas School Board Approves $79,000 For Automated, Cordless Vacuum Fleet

Camas, WA — Amid a backdrop of outside protests Monday evening, including one man who screamed outside the board meeting window for more than 30 seconds (https://youtu.be/V1Ey7SwsejI), the Camas School Board heard from several parents who lashed out about equity programs, critical race theory proposals and mandatory mask wearing in classes while voting to approve $79,000 in robotic and cordless vacuum cleaners for Dorothy Fox, Grass Valley and Prune Hill Elementary schools.

The robotic vacuum expenditure was approved near the close of the meeting, which started by a motion from School Board Director, Doug Quinn, who felt the expense will pay for itself over time and reduce district labor expenses. Quinn was named Camas-Washougal Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year, and will be recognized next week at a formal dinner.

The board voted on the proposal, which came from Custodial Supervisor, Ben Starbuck, who said the robotic fleet of vacuums is working nicely throughout the school district (including an expansion to Jack Will & Rob Center, The Heights Learning Center, Woodburn, Lacamas Lake Elementary, and Woodburn Elementary.

The board voted to approve $59,000 for 125 S4 Max vacuums and $20,00 for nine cordless Proteam backpack vacuums to support the new cleaning teams being created at Camas School (CSD). The custodial team has been piloting the robotic fleet of vacuums at Liberty Middle School, Helen Baller and the ZAC Administration building.

The results, said Starbuck, free upwards of two hours of labor time each night allowing custodians to focus on other tasks. The battery powered vacuum cleaners allow custodians to clean areas the robots cannot reach.

Early in the meeting, during the public comments time, school board members heard from concerned parents who are for and against equity programs, as well as Critical Race Theory.

VIDEO OF SEVERAL PARENT COMMENTS: https://youtu.be/jabhjJ60odw

Camas Education President, Shelley Houle, spoke about supporting teachers. 

“To say that the last 14 months have been tough is an understatement,” Houle said. “We learned to adapt amidst this growing pandemic … We learned to plan quickly for changes, we navigated four to five different schedules just this year … Too often, we are defined by association and not seen for the individuals we are and it’s disheartening to hear public attacks on the Camas teacher union especially in our small town.”

“Our fabric is made up of individuals with diverse backgrounds so who are we? We are White, we are Black, we are Asian, we are Indian, we are deaf, we are parents …” she continued. “Some of us wanted school to open more quickly and some of us wanted to wait until rates dropped significantly.”

Camas
Protestors outside CSD Administration building.

Kenric Thompson lambasted the school board. 

Citing district documents, he said: “Implmentation of the following core practices. Current forms of oppression: I will identify and disrupt my biases and own my privilege. I will dismantle practices and policies that perpetuate oppression. It goes on to say: ‘Draft curriculum for adoption, selection, creation for emphasis on correcting historical myths and disinformation and including multiple cultural perspectives.’ This sounds like a hidden agenda.”

He said that CSD would continue hiring for affinity groups when hiring for the district and will “discriminate against those who not within these groups.”

“What does this teach our children when CSD is going to openly discriminate or oppress those who may be more qualified but don’t fit the CSD’s equity and liberal agendas, and this is exactly one of the tenets of the Critical Race Theory.”

He said “you as a school board answer to the people who put you there. You answer to us the citizens of Camas.” And, he encouraged parents to pull their kids from the district.

“You have placed politics and woke agendas ahead of children’s education and knowledge. We the citizens of Camas and Washougal are going to take back our communities and our schools. We are strong, united, we are growing and boy do we mean business.”

One parent said “it’s apparent to me we’re living in a very narrow-minded community, a community that is not thinking about those who are not highly represented.”

He added: “I can get on board with this anti-racism curriculum not working because it won’t and the reason why it won’t is because the individuals who are steering these young children aren’t going to be steered by the teachers delivering the curriculum it’s the parents who they go home to every single day, and if those parents do not have a view of the world around them that is not narrow-minded the curriculum won’t work, so the challenge to me is to the community to think outside of the box, think outside yourselves, and think about those around you. I’m scared for my three beautiful brown children …”

The School Board meets every two weeks.

Camas
Protestors gather outside the CSD administration building. Most of these protestors are not from Camas.
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Community: IMPACT CW Food Box Program Helps Local Families

Washougal WA – The IMPACT CW (Camas-Washougal) food box distribution program, organized by St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Washougal, helps hundreds of Camas and Washougal families with summer food supplies.  Now in its seventh year, the event continues to evolve to respond to COVID challenges and growing needs.

“In previous years, we have collected food donations and packed food boxes all at our community event,” said Beth Raetz, St. Matthew Lutheran Church Office Secretary. “However, due to Covid restrictions, last year we went completely digital and only collected monetary donations to purchase and deliver local grocery gifts cards to those school families in need.”

This year the event is a hybrid. The group will be collecting money only and pre-purchasing selected foods in addition to grocery gift cards for each family.  They will hold a food box packing event on June 6th from noon to 2pm at the Parker’s Landing Historic Park with the pre-purchased items.  “We really missed the hands-on community participation last year; so, there is great excitement to be able to get together again to pack boxes even though we will not be receiving food donations at that time. And while we won’t be having the community barbeque, we hope to bring it back next year.” 

Volunteers will be asked to stay socially safe and follow current guidelines for mask wearing.

IMPACT CW plans to assist approximately 150 families from both the Camas and Washougal School Districts.  They work directly with the school staff and counselors to help provide these gifts from the community.  

“We want to give a shout out to them for all of their support and assistance because it does add extra work for them at the end of the school year,” Raetz said.

Camas
www.gevurtzmenashe.com

So how can you help?
– Help sort and package food boxes at the packing event on Sunday, June 6
– Help deliver food boxes to Camas-Washougal Schools on Monday, June 7
– Give a financial gift (to pre-purchase all the food and gift cards).  The goal is to raise $12,000.  

Donors can give at a “Go Fund Me” account at https://www.gofundme.com/f/impact-camaswashougal-2021.  Checks can be made out to St. Matthew Lutheran Church and mailed to 716 Washougal River Road, Washougal, WA 98671 or dropped off Tuesdays-Fridays 9:30 am – 12:30 pm.

“We are so grateful for how generous our community is in helping us to provide these meals to families who are struggling,” Raetz said.  For more information, contact Raetz at the church office at 360-835-5533.

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Permit Activity Continues to Surge as Home Buying Demand Continues

Vancouver, WA –The Building Industry Association of Clark County (BIA) reports another month of surging permit activity in Clark County. Single-family residential (SFR) and town home permits are seeing large gains when looking at year-over-year and annual total data tables published by Clark County’s Community Development Department.

This year, 98 SFR permits were issued in April, compared to the 51 SFR permits in April 2020. The BIA is anticipating 2021’s permit issuance totals to meet or exceed the 2020 total of 1,121 SFR permits issued.

Avaly Scarpelli, BIA’s Executive Director said “the increase in permit activity for April is likely due to the work stoppage during the same time last year. Because the governor neglected to classify housing construction as ‘essential’ under the first Stay-at-Home order, our members were more concerned with finding ways to keep their employees on payroll last April. It’s hard to submit and receive processed permits when so there’s so much uncertainty, and the county’s staff had to adapt processes to the new virtual environment; there was a significant learning curve and a backlog as a result of the governor’s judgement error.”

Home
www.clarkcountyrelocations.com

A more interesting finding, however, is the number of town home permits processed this year compared to April 2020. Last year, zero permits were issued, whereas April 2021 saw an issuance of 37 town home permits.

In a recently released Housing Trends Report from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), 16 percent of adults are planning to buy a home in the next twelve months – up from 10 percent year-over-year. Among that group of prospective buyers, 42 percent are looking to buy a newly built home and 30 percent an existing home. This growth is driven primarily by millennials, whose interest doubled from 16 percent in the first quarter of 2020 to 32 percent in the first quarter of 2021.

“Many of our builder members are focusing on meeting the demand for more affordable housing options, especially for millennials entering the housing market for the first-time,” Scarpelli adds. Members report newly built town homes are especially popular among this younger demographic because these homes are generally more affordable, more energy efficient, and lower-maintenance than an a newly-built SFR or existing home.”

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Local Business Leader Jennifer Senescu Announces Run for Camas Mayor

Camas, WA — Lifelong Camas resident and business owner Jennifer Senescu announced her intention to run for Camas Mayor. Senescu grew up in Camas, graduated from Camas High School and holds a Bachelors Degree in Political Science from Washington State University – Pullman. 

“I am running for Camas Mayor to help restore the public’s faith in our city’s leadership, bring more living wage jobs to our community, maintain our treasured parks and protect our cherished Camas quality of life,” said Senescu. “I’m ready to provide strong leadership and honest, two-way communication as your Mayor.” 

Senescu currently serves as Executive Director of the Camas-Washougal Chamber of Commerce. She has been a partner in the ownership of Camas Gallery for the past eight years. She is married for twenty years to her husband Jim Senescu, a local attorney, and they have one child who attends Discovery High School in Camas.

“As Mayor of Camas, I’m committed to the ideal of reducing burdensome hurdles on local businesses. Citizens are rightfully demanding tax relief. We must prioritize spending while adequately funding public safety to keep our community safe,” said Jennifer. “As Mayor, I will never forget that I work for the citizens. I will never support something so unsustainable as a $78 million pool bond that would not only add a horrendous tax burden on our citizens but also have an adverse effect on our City’s financial stability,” added Jennifer. 

In 2019, Camas residents voted overwhelmingly to reject the City Council’s extravagant pool bond proposal by a margin of 90 percent to 10 percent. 

“People want to live where they work. Yes, we need residential housing, but we also need more family wage jobs in our community. When people are allowed to work where they live, we reduce traffic and wear and tear on our highways; we enjoy cleaner air and our citizens get to spend more time with their family instead of sitting in traffic in a painful commute. I’ll provide strong leadership at City Hall to improve our city’s economic vitality while maintaining the charm that has made Camas famous,” she pledged. 

Jennifer can be reached at 360.609.7216. 

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Camas City Council Member Steve Hogan Announces Mayoral Run

Camas, WA — Camas City Council member Steve Hogan announced Thursday he’s running for Camas Mayor following this week’s abrupt resignation of the city’s former chief executive, Barry McDonnell.

Hogan, who’s served on council for 16 years, and has 30 years of managerial experience, said he’s well qualified for the position.

“I am running to help stabilize our city government,” said Hogan. “I believe in preserving and improving our Camas heritage of being a city that prides itself on a strong city government, outstanding school system and a high quality of life. I support the vision of Camas as a place where people who live in Camas, work in Camas. We need to do what we can to assure that we grow at a rate that is sustainable. As a city, we have prided ourselves on good financial management. We need to have balanced financial strength in the future while sustaining our high quality of life. I have pride in knowing that Camas is, has been and will be a great place to live, work and play.”

Hogan acknowledges the challenges of the last 14 months given the pandemic, and expresses gratitude to McDonnell.

“I want to thank Barry for stepping up and leading the city in a troubled time during COVID,” he said. “He changed staff and dealt with other pressing issues. He took care of them. Thank you very much.”

Hogan stands on his record of “hundreds of votes” and support of many initiatives, which currently include working to clean up of local lakes.

“Let’s figure out what needs to be fixed at City Hall so people can feel good about their jobs as soon as possible,” said Hogan. “I’m here to serve, I’ve been in government and worked in the private sector for 30 years in industrial management — in steel, wood, and recycled paper.”

He said the city has a “great history and huge potential and we just have to improve the communication of what is taking place, and make sure that the whole organization is working together effectively.” 

“The local organizations, such as the Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Camas Association, and others, all need to know we’re here to help them be successful and have our city be successful. It’s worked well in the past. Now that COVID is turning the corner we can get back to more normal circumstances and work with community. It’ll be better to have open meetings.” 

Hogan officially applied for the mayor position by mail, and hasn’t decided whether to apply for a council appointment or just run for citywide election in November.

He stands on his vote to have citizens vote on Proposition 2, the pool bond. “I felt the process was rushed and my advice was to wait and do more research. Then Mayor Turk wanted council to vote on whether to build the community center and I felt it should be decided by the voters. Personally, I was against building the community center.”

The Lacamas Watershed Ad Hoc Committee is working with Senator Ann Rivers, Rep. Larry Hoff, and Rep. Brandon Vick to obtain grant money to start the process to improve water quality at Lacamas, Round, and Fallen Leaf Lakes. 

“We are in the process of presenting staff the consulting group,” he said. “When approved, this will get to where we have a defined program on how we work on water quality. We are also working with the Clark County Health Department and the city storm water department.”

Hogan’s other work includes:

  • Member of the Board of Directors of the Columbia River Economic Development Council 
  • Member of the Camas Washougal Rotary Club
  • Downtown Camas Economic Vitality committee member
  • Mayor Pro Tem position (2014 and 2017)
  • Past President of the Camas Educational Foundation

Hogan and his family have lived in Camas for 27 years. 

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Inslee Lifts Mask Mandate Statewide For Fully Vaccinated Washingtonians

Olympia, WA — Washingtonians who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 will no longer be subject to the face mask mandate in most indoor and outdoor settings, effective immediately. 

Gov. Jay Inslee said the state is adopting the latest guidance from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which states that fully vaccinated citizens no longer need to wear masks except in crowded indoor settings like schools, buses, planes, hospitals, and homeless shelters, among others. He also plans to have the state completely open by June 30.

The CDC said people are fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving the second dose of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or two weeks after the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which requires one dose.

Inslee hopes easing the state’s mask restriction will encourage people to get vaccinated.

“This is a heck of a benefit for people who have been annoyed by this mask,” said Inslee. “This is a ticket to freedom, that shot is a ticket to freedom from masks, and we hope people will avail themselves to it.” 

Inslee said businesses can still legally require customers to wear masks if they choose, and they can also inquire about a customer’s vaccination status, which may legal challenges given privacy health laws.

“Our hope is that it will increase people’s interests in fighting COVID,” said Inslee, “because it will give people an additional incentive to getting vaccinated.

Inslee
www.cloverpodiatry.com

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Camas Mayor Barry McDonnell Resigns From Office — Effective Immediately

Camas, WA — Late this afternoon, Camas Mayor Barry McDonnell resigned from his position effective immediately. He notified staff via email.

“While we’re surprised and saddened to see Mayor McDonnell step down from the role, we understand this is a personal decision between him and his family,” said Bryan Rachal, City of Camas Communications Director. “We appreciate the leadership Mayor McDonnell has provided the City and wish him the best in his future endeavors.  In terms of next steps, the City does have a process to fill vacancies of this nature and we will provide additional information related to this in the coming days.  In the meantime, Mayor Pro Tem Ellen Burton will assume the duties of Mayor of the City of Camas.”

This is the email the former mayor sent out this afternoon:

My fellow Camasonians:

Over the last few months, it has become clear to me that the needs of this Council, City and community are such that balancing a full-time job and family, while running the day-to-day operations as Mayor in our form of government is not sustainable for me. 

This job has taken up so much of my physical and emotional presence with my rapidly growing children, and I find myself missing out on more of their young lives than I am comfortable with.

After discussing with my wife and family, it is with a heavy heart that, effective today, I am resigning as your Mayor. This is solely a personal decision and I have full confidence in the City’s leadership team. I am leaving you in the capable hands of Mayor Pro Tem Ellen Burton.

It has been a privilege to work with the City’s staff – they are the secret of Camas’ success.

I want to thank our department heads for the faith they placed in me, their loyalty and most importantly, their friendship.

I want to thank Jamal Fox for being my right-hand man the last 9 months. It has been a pleasure getting to know him and I have a great appreciation for the amount of work he has done in tightening up our operations.

I also want to thank the citizens of Camas for giving me the opportunity to take the lead in our community. My greatest hope is that this run has inspired some of you to stand up and make a difference for what you believe in too.

In October 2019, I rolled the dice as a write in Mayor and took winning as an extraordinary honor. It was a historical opportunity and a huge challenge, and I am proud of what we accomplished together and that I was able to help lead this City through 2020.

I evolved my personal mantra of “love, peace and harmony” to a platform of Land, People, and Honesty and infused it into our bi-annual budget and how we approached our work. 

I have been able to serve 50 percent longer than the previous mayor’s turn, but 50 percent less than Oliver T. Clark, Camas’ forgotten mayor.

I have done my best and followed where the universe led. I am proud of my time in office, and I thank you for the chance to serve.

With gratitude,

Barry McDonnell

Mayor Pro Tem Burton is in meetings and she will provide an update at a later time.

McDonnell’s short political career began in 2019 as a write-in on the wave of the anti-Prop. 2 pool campaign. He told Lacamas Magazine he didn’t think he’d win, but rather wanted to make a statement. He took office in late November 2019 and he oversaw the struggles of the pandemic and the impacts it had on the city.

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