In Our View: Reelect Boerke, Lewallen to Camas City Council

In two contested races for Camas City Council, voters will find worthy incumbents and strong challengers. The Columbian’s Editorial Board recommends that Marilyn Boerke and Leslie Lewallen be retained on the nonpartisan council.

As always, this is merely a recommendation, designed to provide information and generate discussion. The Editorial Board interviewed the four candidates (videos are available at Columbian.com) and suggests that voters examine the candidates and the issues facing Camas. Two other city council positions feature incumbents running unopposed.

• In the Ward 1, Pos. 2 race, Marilyn Boerke is completing her first term on the council and says she can “make a bigger difference” in a second term. She is president of the Downtown Camas Association and is recently retired from a career in public education. She boasts a long list of leadership positions that reveal her ability to engage with the community.

Boerke demonstrates a strong ability to consider varying positions on an issue and expresses a vision for the future of the city. She supports the Regional Fire Authority measure on the November ballot and opposes suggestions that the city should withdraw from C-Tran unless “we had a viable alternative.”

Boerke is being challenged by Geoerl W. Niles, who has served on the Camas Planning Commission since 2019 and also has served on the city’s parking committee and design review committee.

Niles is well-informed and stresses clarity and transparency in local government. “The biggest thing to me is for everybody to have a voice,” he told the Editorial Board. He said he will vote in favor of the Regional Fire Authority, although he expressed some misgivings, and he is more open to the idea of Camas withdrawing from C-Tran.

That, perhaps, reflects the biggest difference between the candidates — Boerke is more inclined to focus on the future and weigh how council decisions will impact the city over time. While Niles says, “I believe in keeping Camas, Camas,” Boerke notes, “I’m just here to say that my Camas is not your Camas. How do we make Camas welcoming?”

• In the Ward 3, Pos. 2 race, Leslie Lewallen, a retired attorney, has earned a second term. She has focused on fiscal responsibility and says: “I am always asking questions; I come prepared. This is a part-time position, and I’m full-time devoted to it.”

On her campaign website, Lewallen writes that she, “Opposed utility tax increases, transportation benefit district taxes, small business taxes, and higher transportation and park impact fees, ensuring Camas remains affordable.” She also introduced a resolution in which the city council opposed the inclusion of light rail on a new Interstate 5 Bridge.

Mahsa Eshghi, who works as an engineer and has served on the Camas Planning Commission, is an unusually strong challenger. She emphasizes a need to diversify Camas’ tax base and told the Editorial Board, “I want to make sure we do not put too much pressure on our taxpayers. We need more funding, more support to maintain the beautiful facilities we have.”

More than most nonpartisan races, this one has some partisan influence. Lewallen ran for Congress last year as a Republican and was recently chosen to lead the local chapter of Project 42, a conservative statewide nonprofit.

Given the quality of the candidates in both races, we encourage Camas voters to take a close look. The Columbian’s Editorial Board recommends Marilyn Boerke and Leslie Lewallen.