Sean Smith was disappointed when he was passed over for a council seat in 2008. He felt ready. Looking back, he realizes that might not have been true.
“To be totally honest, it was probably the best thing for me because I thought I was qualified and ready and realized over the last half dozen years, being on the planning commission, I learned a lot,” he said. “I have a much better grasp of what the community wants.”
The Covington City Council finalized the fluctuating faces of its city government Jan. 13 by appointing Smith to the council.
Smith, an environmentalist and Covington resident since 2006, takes over for Wayne Snoey who resigned for health reasons at the end of 2014. He joins Regan Bolli, who started as the new City Manager on Jan. 12.
Smith, 49, spent five years as chairman of the Covington Planning Commission and is an environmental specialist in the Hazardous Waste, Toxics Reduction Program for the Washington state Department of Ecology. He and his wife, MaryAnn, have two children — Luke, 11, and Sophia, 9.
After an unsuccessful run for Bud Sizemore’s council post in 2008, Smith said the mayor and sitting council challenged him to stay engaged in local politics. He accepted the challenge by working on the Covington Planning Commission and its Budget and Priorities Advisory Commission. He received the Panning Commission’s 2010 Commissioner of the Year award. He has also served as an art docent and a volunteer science coordinator at Covington Elementary.
“I slowly learned the ins and outs of city government,” he said. “When Wayne stepped down I threw my hat in the ring again feeling I have skills and a background that would be beneficial to the community.”
Councilwoman Marlla Mhoon, who was appointed to the council in 2006, said Smith brings a “wealth of experience” in volunteerism at a local and national level.
“He’s ready to get in there and go to work,” she said. “He was easily the most qualified person.”
Smith named affordable housing and safe neighborhoods as priorities, but said he is primarily focused on four E’s: Economy, environment, education and efficient running of city government.
Smith said Covington needs to better diversify its economy to attract more “living wage jobs,” while also expanding its retail sector. He hopes the city can replicate the Kent Station, even hoping for the same “anchor” as the neighboring mixed urban village — a movie theater.
“I think the movie theater would be the anchor, I think that would be a great thing to have in Covington,” he said.
When discussing environment, Smith said he’s in favor of protecting parks and open spaces while also building infrastructure that can lead to a safer community. As for governmental efficiencies, Smith said he’s pretty happy with how Covington currently operates.
“There wasn’t a lot of frivolous spending,” he said. “I want to continue that. Make sure what we are spending is getting highest return on investment possible.”
Beyond building excitement for the city’s Town Center project, which officials hope will be a more traditional downtown location on seven acres of land located south of Rite Aid and north of Covington Elementary, Smith said he believes Covington should begin to market itself as a “gateway to the Cascades.”
