LynnO Watson strives for inclusivity

    A local man that has called Leavenworth home for 47 years has thrown his hat in the race for the upcoming election. LynnO Watson is running against Jason Lundgren for a seat on council and is coming with solid goals - particularly getting communication to flow from all angles of the community.
    "I've grown up here so I've seen how the parks are important, the pool is important. I learned to swim at the pool, my kids learned to swim at the pool. My family has the oldest business downtown, Alpen Haus Gifts," said Watson.
    His attachment and familiarity with the town make recognizing the needs and wants of residents easy - and now he wants to actively be able to contribute to fulfill those needs and wants.
    "I see the business side of it, I've seen the city grow. I think it's just gotten better with the growth. There's a lot more here than there was," said Watson, clearly proud of his hometown and its achievements.
    After being a long time Leavenworth resident paired with being a member of the family who owns the oldest business downtown, he's decided its time for him to wedge a more active position in his local government.
    "I'm concerned and want to be apart of what happens in Leavenworth at this point in my life," said Watson.
    His number one issue he wants to zero in on would be the communication gap between the city government and residents. Watson emphasized while the city delegates goals and makes strides to achieve them, the public is often out of the loop on what could be unfolding.
    "I think the number one thing that needs to happen is better communication within the city, businesses and community," said Watson. "Every January, which the city I'm sure has their long term goals for the year, but nobody really hears about the long time goal enough. So people can actually read and understand what's going on. Because the city is working on long term goals but the community doesn't really hear about those things - until it happens."  
    While big on communication, Watson says other hot button topics fall into his realm of concern. He mentioned noise, parking, property rights, traffic and growing in Leavenworth.     His inclusiveness applies to opening communication avenues, but also literally stretching the city limits. Watson wants to envelope in the subunits of the community that are members of the Leavenworth community, but left out on the map due to not being within city limits.
    "I think we can still annex in some more parts of the community that feel like they're not part of the city and it's tried to happen in the past," said Watson. "A lot of people feel like they're not being heard and they don't feel like they're apart of the city because they're not in the city limits so maybe we grow the city."
    Watson's council narrative seems to fit around making sure everyone's included and everyone's voice is heard in order to accomplish productive actions for the city.
    "I might not always agree with it, but they should be heard. If it's best for the city, even if its not what I want to do, I want to do what's best for the city and the people that live here," said Watson.
    Watson is approaching the election hopeful and armed with ideas that he thinks will improve and progress the community while maintaining its celebrated attributes. He summarized in a brief, but clear statement what he wants to bring to the council chambers.
    "I hope I can make a difference, it's as easy as that," said Watson.