Thursday, October 1, 2026
The first official meeting of the Tumwater Equity Commission led to the appointment of its first chair and the establishment of early goals, which include the development of its bylaws and work plan.
According to Assistant City Administrator Kelly Adams, who facilitated the meeting on April 27, the commission is tasked with identifying and promoting activities that foster a more welcoming community, enhancing participation in city services and policy making, and addressing barriers that prevent people from engaging.
To preside over their meetings, the commission elected Michael Snow as its inaugural chair.
During his introduction to the group, Snow said he works for Child Care Aware of Washington, which is the state’s child care resource and referral network. He said the nonprofit organization helps families of impoverished and vulnerable populations secure high quality child care.
He said being on the commission is his way of directly giving back to his community, in contrast with his job, which serves people statewide. As the basketball coach at Black Hills High School, he added that stepping into this role is also a way to teach his students the importance of serving the community.
He also acknowledged negative comments the city has received since launching the commission.
“(There’s a) lot of ignorance, a lot of hate, a lot of misinformation,” Snow said. “I'm hoping that we can instill and reach some of those folks that maybe aren't too far gone to understand what equity means.”
The commission also voted in Ellen Matheny as vice chair.
Matheny said she was drawn to the commission after volunteering at a food bank, which opened her eyes to the community's needs. Having previously served on the Tumwater Planning Commission, she also highlighted the meaningful impact the new group can make.
The commission's first task will be to draft its bylaws and a work plan. Adams provided draft bylaws based on ones used by the planning commission, as well as copies from the City of Renton’s Equity Commission
The assistant administrator asked the group to review the documents and share their feedback. She said the documents should not dictate what the commission decides to adopt, and she merely provided them to help the group get started.
As for the work plan, Adams said it is a document meant to describe goals and planned actions over the years.
When one commissioner expressed feeling overwhelmed about drafting the document so early on, Adams said the plan would be continually updated and could start with a simple goal of figuring out what they want to achieve.
The meeting also included brief overviews of Robert’s Rules of Order and the Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA). Adams noted staffers plan to schedule a full OPMA training session for the commission before July 20.
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Snevets
Bravo Tumwater✊✊✊
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wolfmanner
Just more BS.
Thursday, May 7 Report this
Southsoundguy
Total waste of time and resources.
Thursday, May 7 Report this
SziggyG
Look at those good people Cos playing bureaucrats.
Thursday, May 7 Report this
ViaLocal
Great job Tumwater! So happy to have members showing the many faces of equity :D :D
Thursday, May 7 Report this