Jobs, quality of life are top issues in Washougal
Paul Greenlee and Arnold Hight will vie for the Position 3 sea

By Heather Acheson, Post-Record staff

On the Nov. 6 General Election ballot, voters will have the opportunity to decide between two candidates for the Washougal City Council Position 3 seat.

Current councilman Paul Greenlee is running against seven-year Washougal resident Arnold Hight.

Paul Greenlee

Although Greenlee has only served on the Washougal city council for a little more than six months, the self-described “penny-pincher” said he is fully enjoying the challenges this new role offers.

“I love this job,” he said. “I really do.”

Not surprisingly, Greenlee counts growth and maintaining quality of life as the top issues Washougal faces in the coming years.

“The real question is, what does the future look like?” he said. “I love where I live. I love Washougal. How can we keep that m oving to the future? How can you keep from impoverishing the future with what you are doing today? To me, that is the definition of sustainability.”

Greenlee, 61, said a key to maintaining a high quality of life without burdening taxpayers is to continue to build on the downtown development that is in the works today in the form of the Washougal Town Square project being built by Lone Wolf Development.
“The downtown development will allow us to transition from being a bedroom community to being a hometown,” he said.

The addition of new businesses to the city will increase its retail tax base.

“The more retail business we can get, the more we can take the burden off of homeowners’ property taxes,” he said. “This is especially important for seniors and other people on fixed incomes and low to moderate incomes.”

Greenlee served on the Washougal Civic Campus Steering Committee, which helped put together a $7.5 million bond package that would have funded the construction of a new city hall, library, senior center and community room in the downtown area. The proposition failed in February 2007, and Greenlee said it is unlikely the voters will be asked to consider the same bond request.

“The people spoke pretty clearly that that is not what they wanted,” he said. “It doesn’t seem likely that will happen anytime soon. I would be very surprised to see the civic center issue come up again in the next few years.”

Although, Greenlee added, the citizens are still in need of a new library, a community meeting room, and a better space for senior citizens to congregate.

Of the proposal to partner with Camas to build a facility that would provide some of those opportunities, Greenlee said he is not convinced that a joint community center venture is where Washougal should be spending its monies.

“I think there is a general feeling on the city council that at this point we have enough on our plate — that we would like to see those resources used in Washougal,” he said.

Greenlee said current Mayor Stacee Sellers has had a positive impact on the city, and believes the current council works well together.
“Not only do we get along,” he said, “We actually like each other.”

According to Greenlee, the city council has a challenging job that involves working within the constraints of state law and tax limitations while trying to provide citizens with the services and opportunities they need and want.

“We have to scramble within the law,” he said. “It takes a lot of hard work, a lot of skull sweat, to figure out how to not only just make the city work, but make it work better.”

In his spare time, Greenlee is involved in local organizations including the Washougal Schools Foundation, Camas-Washougal Historical Society, West Columbia Gorge Humane Society, and Columbia Gorge Refuge Stewards, among others.

Greenlee grew up in New York and attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has worked in a variety of capacities over the years from factory machinist and computer programmer to radio advertising salesperson, small business owner and mortgage broker. He moved to Washougal in June 2000 after living in Washington County, Ore., for a decade.

During his lifetime, Greenlee has lived in 13 different states as well as Puerto Rico. When he moved to the “Gateway to the Gorge” and into a home that sits on the bank of the Washougal River, he found home.

“Washougal is my home,” he said. “I’m dedicated to having the Washougal of today become better tomorrow.

“I try very hard to think through all of the issues,” he continued. “I try to figure out what the people of Washougal want, sometimes it’s difficult, and then try to figure out how to get there.”

Arnold Hight

Position 3 challenger Hight did not return phone calls and e-mails sent by the Post-Record requesting comment on the upcoming election and city issues.

In his Washington State Voter’s Pamphlet statement, however, Hight stated he believes the current council is not responding to the needs of the community — although he does not state specific examples of the council’s failure in this regard.

“I’m running for city council because I have seen the city continue to make decisions that are not in line with the will of the people of this community,” said the seven-year Washougal resident. “In my position, I will be the voice of the people on the city council and use that voice to accomplish the will of the residents of this community.”