Biography

Kelly was elected by the voters to City Council in 2020. In her first term, she has focused on housing, economic growth, supporting families and students and keeping our community safe. She was elected to serve as Mayor by her fellow councilors in January 2022. 

Mayor Kelly is a proud American and supporter of democracy and civic engagement. She started the Learn, Run. Serve program which offers free, non-partisan training in how to run for office. She visits the high school civics class each trimester to speak with students about their role in the community and actively promotes public involvement in city council activities. 

Like most city councilors, Kelly also works full-time. She has a management consulting practice that serves the public sector, helping local and state governments thrive through leadership development, strategic alignment and transformation design. 

Kelly has strong roots in Centralia. Her parents, sister, nephew all live in town. Kelly is a founding member of the Lewis County Boys and Girls Club and helped to establish the first Club in Lewis County and then expand to Centralia. She also has raised two daughters here as a working single mother. Her youngest daughter graduated from Centralia High School this June, and her oldest daughter is attending college.  

Mayor Kelly is deeply committed to the people of Centralia. She has demonstrated her willingness to dedicate hours of effort into supporting the City and people, and brings honesty, caring, thoughtful approaches to the tough issues we face. You can count on Kelly to do her research, communicate with people about what they want, make the tough call when needed but always, always, always with an emphasis on what is best for the people of Centralia. 

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