LONGVIEW — Melissa Doughty was selected as the newest member of the Woodland City Council.
Doughty was appointed to a vacant council seat during Monday night’s council meeting. Selected from five candidates who interviewed with current city councilors for the position, she received an unanimous vote from the councilors.
Doughty’s husband is a retired Navy officer. Their family moved across the country repeatedly before arriving in Woodland in 2017. Doughty is a longtime substitute teacher for Woodland Public Schools.
“I look forward to giving back and making a positive impact as our town grows, in order to maintain the small town feel and values that make this town great,” Doughty told The Daily News on Wednesday.
The council also interviewed Janice Graham, Keith Bellisle, Karen Shattuck and Robert Richardson during Monday night’s meeting. Graham is a former city council member and Bellisle ran for the council in 2019 and 2021. A sixth person, Edward Linnett, applied for the position, but did not appear at the interview Monday.
Doughty, who listed current city council member Monte Smith as one of her references, said during her interview that helping manage the growth and traffic in Woodland is one of her priorities for the city. She told the council she wants to help Woodland grow “in the right way” when it comes to housing developments and new businesses considering the city.
Another of her interests is building excitement and engagement in Woodland from families and younger generations.
“We need them to start taking a part, feeling like Woodland is theirs and having the buy-in,” Doughty said.
She also said during her interview it is important for council members to listen to multiple sides of an issue and gather facts “instead of instantly jumping to one bandwagon or another.”
Dave Plaza stepped down from the council at the beginning of February, saying his new job kept him from dedicating enough time to the elected office.
Doughty will hold the seat until the next time the seat is up for election. She told the council during her interview that she is interested in running for re-election down the line.
