August 2025 City Manager's Newsletter Message

Leadership and Learning Across Washington

I was recently asked by the Association of Washington Cities (AWC) to attend a conference and co-lead a session with my colleague from Maple Valley. I always find it rewarding to connect with, share, and learn from elected and appointed leaders from across the state. The vast majority of representatives from Washington’s other 280 cities show up for similar reasons.

I enjoyed the session and the conference and want to share two main takeaways.  First, we’re not alone.  Cities, city leaders, and communities across the state – and beyond – face similar challenges, from housing affordability to climate change, from the cost of infrastructure to sustainable economic development.  While that’s not necessarily comforting, the AWC conference provides an excellent forum for all 281 of Washington’s diverse cities to freely and openly discuss, share, and learn, regardless of the political stripes of their elected leaders.

Second, the conference was a real showcase of some of our own home-grown talent, with our City Council participants in the first-ever “Washington Collaborative Elected Leaders Institute” being recognized for their intensive training in collaborative municipal leadership. This program is top-notch – a partnership with the AWC Center for Quality Communities, the William D. Ruckelshaus Center, and the University of Washington’s Evans School of Public Policy & Governance.  Councilmembers Monica MickHager, Owen Rowe, and Deputy Mayor Amy Howard were participants in this ground-breaking program, and Councilmember Neil Nelson also attended the conference.

Moreover, Councilmember Owen Rowe was recognized by AWC for achieving his Certificate of Municipal Leadership, which required demonstration of competency in five categories including budget, legal, land use, community and leadership.  Deputy Mayor Amy Howard has previously achieved this, also earning an Advanced Certificate of Municipal Leadership.

I’m proud of our elected leaders for their dedication to their work representing our community, making future-focused and often-difficult decisions, and their extra efforts to grow their skillsets and knowledge base to make them even more effective.