New leaders step up: mayors, council members take oaths of office

With results of the Nov. 2 general and special election now certified, newly elected officials in Camas and Washougal are being sworn in to their new positions and hitting the ground running this week.

In Camas, newly elected Mayor Steve Hogan took his oath of office on Tuesday, Nov. 23, during an in-person ceremony at Camas City Hall. Camas City Attorney Shawn MacPherson conducted the ceremony in front of Hogan’s family, other city officials and the city’s interim mayor, Ellen Burton, the former Camas City Council member who was named acting mayor in May 2021, following the unexpected resignation of then-mayor Barry McDonnell, and then appointed interim mayor by the remainder of the council on July 26.

Hogan, who had been on the Camas City Council for 16 years before running for McDonnell’s open mayoral seat, beat his opponent, Camas-Washougal Chamber of Commerce Director Jennifer Senescu 57-43 in the Nov. 2 general election.

Hogan will serve the remainder of what would have been McDonnell’s first term, through Dec. 31, 2023.

Hogan and his wife, Mary Beth, have lived in Camas for 27 years. The couple has two adult daughters, Lisa and Shannon, and six grandchildren — all of whom also live in Camas.

Washougal’s new mayor also took her oath of office last week. Rochelle Ramos was sworn in as mayor at Washougal City Hall on Tuesday, Nov. 23, in a ceremony the city livestreamed on the city website.

“I am very honored to serve the citizens of Washougal,” Ramos said. “I look forward to engaging with the community and continuing to contribute to our bright future.”

Ramos’ first mayoral duty was to administer the oath of office to former Washougal Mayor Molly Coston, who won the Council Position 5 seat in the Nov. 2 general election.

“It has been my great honor to serve as Washougal’s mayor for the last four years,” Coston said. “It was my pleasure to administer the oath to Rochelle as my last official act as mayor. I am excited for our future and look forward to working with Mayor Ramos and the rest of the Council in my new role as a member of Council in Position 5.”

A Washougal resident for 15 years and frequent community volunteer who has served on the Washougal Park Board of Commissioners, West Columbia Gorge Humane Society and Camas-Washougal Community Chest, Ramos garnered 83 percent of the vote in the Nov. 2 election. Ramos’ opponent, Derik Ford, a local business owner plagued by scandals, had suspended his campaign less than two months before the Nov. 2 election following his arrest on suspicion of domestic violence. One month later, on Oct. 16, Ford was found dead in an Ohio motel room. A medical examiner later ruled Ford’s death a suicide.

Council members take oaths of office, begin terms

Two newly elected city council members in Camas also took their oaths of office last week, following the certification of the Nov. 2 election results.

In Camas, Leslie Lewallen, a fifth-generation Washingtonian who practiced as a judicial clerk for Washington State Supreme Court Chief Justice Gerry Alexander and worked as a prosecuting attorney before joining a private law practice, will fill the Ward 3, Position 2 council seat formerly held by Burton. Lewallen won her election on Nov. 2, with 53 percent of the vote. Her term expires Dec. 31, 2025.

Lewallen also took her oath of office on Nov. 23, at Camas City Hall, in a ceremony that included her family — Lewallen lives in Camas with her husband, Brian, and their four young children — friends and city staff members. MacPherson, the city attorney, conducted Lewallen’s swearing-in ceremony.

Tim Hein, who has served on the Camas Planning Commission for 17 years, easily won his bid for city council on Nov. 2, garnering 60 percent of the vote. Because Hein was running for the Ward 2, Position 2 council seat left vacant after Hogan became the city’s mayor, the Camas City Council had to appoint Hein to fill the seat through the end of the year. Otherwise, Hein would not have been able to begin his council role until January 2022.

A Camas resident since 1999, Hein has served on the Camas Planning Commission as well as the Camas School District Superintendent’s budget committee and the Camas Education Foundation. He and his wife, Cyndee, have twin sons who graduated from Camas High School in 2014.