Election 2017--Bernadette Goodroe, Cathlamet council 4

Bernadette Goodroe is one of two candidates vying for the council member #4 position for the Town of Cathlamet. She has been on the town council since February of 2016, when she was appointed to replace her late husband, David Goodroe.

"The mayor asked me if I would be willing to take over David's seat," Goodroe said. "The other council members endorsed that. I was really reluctant initially because my husband was really good at this thing, but it sucks you in a little bit at a time, as you learn about things in your community that you didn't have any idea about."

Goodroe earned a degree in music at Cal State University at Hayward. She was a buyer for I. Magnin in San Francisco and then went to work at Mervyn's in their corporate headquarters near her home, so she could pick her son up after school. She ended up writing documentation for all the departments and learned how to write operation manuals. Finally, she worked 10 years for a small private company, as their technical publications manager.

"I learned a lot," Goodroe said.

"I'd like to do at least one more term and see if we can get ourselves out of the hole that was dug by some previous selections," Goodroe continued. "They really crippled our town financially. It's taken a year to finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. I would like to see better communication between the town, the county, and the port because it seems very uncooperative. We're all here to serve the community. There is nothing wrong with working positively with each other."

"Everybody is worried about money, everybody is worried about having to raise rates," she said. "We live in a community where there are a lot of poor people, a lot of older people who live on fixed incomes, so it's hard for them. It is a constant battle to sit there and think about how we make sure that the things that we do for the community are the best that we can do. It's a beautiful place where we live, but lawns need mowing, and streets need repaving. I'm interested in being a part of that."

She would like to see the park get some funding.

"I think it's important for the people that live here to have a place where they can walk and see the water. Not everybody has a boat. I'd like people have a good quality of life," Goodroe said.