The race for Washougal City Council position 4 pits an incumbent endorsed by liberal-leaning groups, including labor unions, environmentalists and local district Democrats, against a self-described conservative who’s on the city’s planning commission. But both candidates agree that civility and cooperation on the council are crucial.
“We really do have to work together,” said incumbent Joyce Lindsay. “We can all have our say about how we feel, but it’s very important that we work as a team.”
“Over the last couple of years there’s been a divide in belief systems that seems to make it tough for the council to work together,” said challenger Jason Dodge. “Sometimes it’s liberal versus conservative, but sometimes it’s just personalities.”
Dodge called Lindsay a “very nice person” and not the source of that conflict — but he added that he believes Lindsay has a “big-government philosophy” overall, compared to his own view of a mostly hands-off government. That’s why he’s challenging her, he said.
Washougal City Council candidates, Position 4Joyce Lindsay
Age: 76.
Occupation: Retired.
Endorsements: International Association of Firefighters Local 2444 (East County Professional Firefighters), National Women's Political Caucus of Washington, Sierra Club state chapter, 18th District Democrats, H-RoC (advancing women leaders).
Funds raised and spent: As of Oct. 1, raised approximately $4,000 and spent about $1,000.
Jason Dodge
Age: 39.
Occupation: Analyst for Camas debt-collection consultant Intelitech Group.
Endorsements, funds: none.
Lindsay was on her way to a briefing by the Columbia River Gorge Commission when The Columbian called. She was delighted, she said, to learn more about progress toward eventually breaching the dike at Steigerwald National Wildlife Refuge and letting more water — and fish — back into the disappeared lake there.
“This is a wonderful, beautiful area, and the Gorge is very important to us,” Lindsay said.
Drinking water — and equitable billing for it — is also important to Lindsay.
“Several years ago, Washougal became a big enough city to need a different process for water. We had to build water infrastructure, and it was very expensive. Our water bills are high to pay that off” and the city continues to work toward distributing the burden fairly, she said.
Lindsay has supported a car tab increase of $20 per car — something the city council could enact without a popular vote — to raise about a quarter-million dollars for transportation repairs and upgrades, but that proposal didn’t pass.
Since then, Lindsay said, the council has not figured out another revenue source.
Economic development is Washougal’s top priority, she said, and progress is underway now at the Port of Camas-Washougal, where redeveloped commercial land should eventually provide a big revenue boost.
“We need more jobs for our people. Right now we’re a bedroom community of Portland and Vancouver. I’d like to see more small retail establishments downtown,” she said.
Lindsay objected strongly when a proposal was recently made to cut city support for the East County Family Resource Center, a downtown nonprofit agency that assists the needy.
She also voted against starting meetings with a public prayer, saying that religious matters should stay private.
Challenger Jason Dodge says he tilts conservative and, in general, wants to figure out ways to pay for Washougal’s pressing needs — especially transportation, he said — without raising fees and taxes. But Dodge also said he has not studied the town budget to find ways to pay for those pressing needs.
“I need to study the budget closer,” he said. “I don’t agree with just raising taxes and fees every time a community needs money. We need to make hard choices about the budget. I don’t know exactly what those choices are, just yet.” Stop raising taxes and fees, he said, and the community will be better able to grow.
Another pressing need for Washougal is better parks, playing fields and recreation programs, Dodge said, and he does have in mind one specific source of stepped-up support: business sponsorship. The city should emulate the way baseball and soccer leagues build great relationships with their sponsors, he said.
Meanwhile, he said, the city’s existing sports fields could be repurposed to stay in use all year long.
“We need a lot more cool things for our youth to do,” he said.
Dodge said he’d never heard of the East County Family Resource Center before The Columbian asked him about it. Upon learning what it is, he said: “We need to find a way to fund things like that. I hate to keep saying local businesses can help, but if we build good partnerships with some of those businesses, I’m sure we could find some funding.”
