Two months in office and Mayor Troy McCoy is tackling the challenges of Battle Ground’s growth.
McCoy was appointed mayor on Jan. 2, 2024, and has been a City Council member since November 2021. McCoy said he moved to Battle Ground two decades ago for his children’s education and for the safety Battle Ground provided.
McCoy was a member of Battle Ground Public School’s Board of Directors for four years prior to his City Councilor appointment in 2021. McCoy said that he joined the board to help middle school level sports restart. McCoy was happy to see the district’s capital levy pass during the February special election, which will fund additional buildings for trade programs in the district.
“Trade education is so important and wanted here. This community is begging for it,” McCoy said. “The fact that the community responded and is going to fund that, I think it’s pretty exciting. I’m a little bit jealous. Now would be a fun time to be on the school board — to be able to facilitate that and see that come into fruition. So good for them. I’m excited for them.”
McCoy said that he left for City Council to help move along infrastructure projects on Southwest 20th, an important road for the district.
“I lived off of Southwest 20th, and if you’ve ever driven or tried to walk down Southwest 20th, you would realize there’s not a pathway or a sidewalk there,” McCoy said. “... When we moved in and were there for over two decades, it was always ‘there’s going to be a sidewalk. There’s going to be a pathway.’ They were just waiting for development. I got tired of waiting.”
The new mayor said that his new role doesn’t differentiate too much from his time as a city councilor.
“Your vote doesn’t count more than anybody else’s,” McCoy said about his new role. “Yes, you do help set the agenda and you run [meetings], and maybe do some community events. Other than that, it’s just a city councilor. It’s the same [thing].”
McCoy said his favorite aspects of Battle Ground are its accessible features within the city, and the community he has known for the past 20 years.
“The Harvest Days the community puts on for that are incredible. You see the community come together quite a bit. When something adverse happens to someone, you see the community rise up and take care of themselves,” McCoy said. “It’s big enough to have most of everything you need and small enough that you know you may just have trouble going to a grocery store without running into somebody you know.”
