Auburn Deputy Mayor Largo Wales on Tuesday announced her candidacy for Auburn mayor on the Nov. 7 ballot.
Nancy Backus, who was elected to her first term as mayor in 2014 and is the first woman to hold the office in Auburn’s 125-year history, has not yet disclosed whether she intends to seek re-election.
Since 2012 Wales has been reelected to the Auburn City Council. She served on four of the five former council subcommittees – the chair of Finance; vice chair of Les Gove Park Development; vice-chair of Community Development; and as a member on Municipal Services.
Wales said she has established a reputation for council leadership, having been elected by her council peers for the second consecutive year as deputy mayor. Leadership within the council, coupled with direct work on council committees, she said, has stoked a passion to further expand her service to the community.
Communication with residents and businesses, Wales said, led her to ask, “What are your priorities for our city?”
Their responses, she said, led to her campaign focus for the 2017 election – neighborhood safety, homelessness and economic growth.
Wales’ reframe is, “With the size and quality of the Auburn City staff, there is no reason that a capable leader cannot work on all these priorities while maintaining the quality of services that our residents have come to expect. Looking ahead, we must multi-task, work smarter, and move forward to address the needs of all of our residents.”
Having represented the City in a number of venues, Wales said, her emphasis has been on local service in such organizations as: Seattle/King County Public Health; Tacoma/Pierce County Public Health; King County Healthy Housing; Seattle/King County Environment Services,; Public Health and Homelessness; Pierce County Cities and Towns Association, King County Solid Waste Advisory Council; and the Puyallup River Watershed.
Wales said her local service commitment is further shown by a wide range of community leadership experiences and awards. She served as president of Auburn Youth Resources; president of the Kiwanis Club of Auburn; president of the Auburn Food Bank; executive director of the Auburn School Lunch Fund (now referred to as Communities in Schools); Auburn School District United Way chair; and executive director of ACAP, a regional HeadStart federal program. The Rotary Club of Auburn acknowledged her work for the community in 1999, and in 2009 the Auburn Reporter selected her as its “Person of the Year.”
Wales, who has lived in Auburn since 1982, is retired from the Auburn School District and worked post-retirement with the South King County Regional Leadership Institute; consulted at the Puyallup and Orting School districts; and served as executive director of ACAP.
Wales’ educational background includes: bachelor of arts, Washington State University; master of arts, University of Puget Sound; doctoral degree, Seattle University; and post-doctoral work, Columbia University. All programs emphasized education, leadership, business and law. Publications are available for her doctoral thesis and she is recognized as a “Fulbright Scholar.”
She is married and has one daughter, who graduated from the Auburn School District and is attending the Seattle University School of Law.
The Wales campaign hosts a gathering on Saturday, Feb. 25, from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Rottle’s building on Main Street.
To learn more about the candidate, visit ElectLargo.com or email lawales@comcast.net.
