October 2025 Message from Deputy Mayor Amy Howard

Pictured: 

Top row: Hanan Amer (Auburn City Council), Amy Howard (Port Townsend Deputy Mayor), Matthew Lundh (Cle Elum Mayor), Leslie Schneider (Bainbridge Island City Council) Bottom row: Deanna Dawson (AWC CEO), Cassidy Buechle-Curtis (Cle Elum City Council), Denny Heck (Washington State Lt. Gov), Ashley Matthews (Bainbridge Island Mayor), and Julia Carboni (Executive Director of the William D . Ruckelshaus Center, Professor at Washington State University, and a Distinguished Scholar at the University of Washington).

October 2, 2025
 

WA-CELI Cohort One honored with the Robert J. Drewel Award for Local Collaboration

I am thrilled to share that the Washington Collaborative Elected Leaders Institute (WA-CELI) Cohort One has been selected by the William D. Ruckelshaus Center to receive the inaugural Robert J. Drewel Award for Local Collaboration and was honored at a ceremony at Town Hall in Seattle in late September.

This recognition is especially meaningful to me because I had the privilege of being involved with WA-CELI from the very beginning. The idea for the program first took root during the Project for Civic Health’s Civic Health Summit in 2023, where I joined leaders of community organizations, elected officials, and others from across the state to explore how we might strengthen collaboration and trust in local government. From there, I was honored to serve on the design review committee that shaped the program.

In 2024, I had the further honor of participating in WA-CELI’s first cohort alongside my fellow Port Townsend City Councilmembers Owen Rowe and Monica MickHager. Together with colleagues from across Washington, we engaged in a hands-on, immersive experience that gave us practical tools for building trust, finding common ground, and leading across divides.

Developed in partnership by the UW Evans School of Public Policy & Governance, WSU’s William D. Ruckelshaus Center, and the Association of Washington Cities, WA-CELI is not just another leadership program. It is rooted in the belief that when elected leaders recognize shared goals and foster respectful dialogue, our communities benefit.

WA-CELI lead facilitator Dr. Julia L. Carboni often reminded us of three principles that anyone can live by to strengthen civic life:

• Engage with respect – Commit to fostering respectful conversations.
• Seek common ground – Work toward principled compromises whenever possible.
• Disagree constructively – When agreement isn’t possible, remain respectful in differences.

I am proud that Port Townsend has been part of WA-CELI from the start, and even prouder that this groundbreaking program has been recognized with such a prestigious award. Investing in collaborative leadership is an investment in healthier communities—and I believe the lessons from WA-CELI will serve Washington well for years to come.

Read more about WA-CELI and Dr. Carboni’s vision for civic health: Spokesman Review article.