The Woodland City Council will have a full contingent beginning July 1, when Woodland resident Jason Friend will be sworn in as the City Council’s newest member.
Friend will fill the vacant position left by Monte Smith, who resigned in May to move East with his family.
Friend was chosen among five other candidates in a 3-1 council vote during a June 17 meeting. Friend moved from Vancouver to Woodland, where he has lived with his family for the last two years. He works for a nonprofit hospital and oversees financial assistance for low-income patients. He served as a precinct committee officer for Clark County for one term prior to his appointment to City Council.
“I don’t come with an agenda, or with anything that I’m looking to accomplish particularly myself,” Friend said. “I view this as an opportunity to hear the voices of the people of Woodland and from there decide what the key issues are and contribute.”
Friend plans to run for the council position again once his term ends in November. He said he will attend each meeting and listen to members of the Woodland community. He is a current member of the city’s Moose Lodge and expressed interest in joining the local Rotary Club.
“I look forward to him joining our council and partnering with him and the other six members of our City Council as we represent the interests of our community and citizens,” Mayor Todd Dinehart said in an email following the meeting.
During his interview with the City Council, Friend said his work in financial assistance has provided him with experience in listening to people’s needs as well as financial knowledge. His educational experience includes an MBA from Concordia University and a bachelor of business administration. He aims to be an upstanding citizen during his appointed term.
Friend said moving from Vancouver to Woodland has been like “night and day.”
“I do see a lot of opportunities in the city for growth. I don’t come to this with any agenda… nothing that I’m trying to push for anyone, other than my two daughters that are going to school in Woodland … [I’m] just trying to be a role model for them and put myself out there to show them that it’s okay to try new things, and this is me doing that to model for them,” Friend told the Council.
Friend will be sworn in at 7 p.m. July 1 at Woodland City Hall, 200 E. Scott Ave.
