Mayor, councilmember governed with integrity, unselfishness in recent vote

The idea of bringing the Mount Rainier Scenic Railroad to Eatonville was first presented to the Town of Eatonville a few years ago when the railroad gave a presentation to the Eatonville Town Council regarding its project, including the multiple phases that would be required to make the move possible. Over the course of years following that presentation, however, the railroad experienced setbacks that prevented the project from moving forward.

In 2021, David Baublits campaigned for Eatonville mayor on platforms that included the restimulation of the railroad’s move to Eatonville. Over the course of David’s campaign, he would begin the process of making this happen after becoming the president of the Western Forest Industries Museum (WFIM), the nonprofit organization responsible for governing the railroad. As president of WFIM, David recruited a body

By Bill Dunn Guest columnist

of individuals, including Eatonville Town Councilmember Kyle Litzenberger, with specialized skills and passions that, over the course of a year, could steer the project toward its intended goal of building the train depot and museum in Eatonville.

After eventually locating a grant application opportunity that could help WFIM’s project, WFIM turned to the Town Council for assistance in applying for and administering the grant. At roughly the same time the subject came before council for discussion, both Councilmember Litzenberger and Mayor Baublits resigned from the WFIM board of directors.

For those interested, the Town Council meetings are recorded and are available for public consumption via the town’s website. The bulk of the council discussions regarding whether the town should take the lead in the grant application were held during the Sept. 26 and Oct. 5 council meetings. A vote on the matter came during the Oct. 10 council meeting when a resolution was moved and seconded by councilmembers Bob Thomas and Emily McFadden that authorized the Town of Eatonville to administer the grant.

As the vote was being considered, Councilmember Litzenberger recused himself from voting on the matter because of (what I understood to be) a potential perception of a conflict of interest given the history of his participation on the WFIM board of directors. With Councilmember Litzenberger disqualifying himself from participating in a vote on the resolution, four councilmembers remained eligible to cast their vote on the matter. The result was a 2-2 tie, with councilmembers Thomas and McFadden voting in favor of the resolution and Councilmember Peter Paul and myself voting in opposition of the resolution.

The Town of Eatonville operates a “strong mayor” government which, among other things, empowers the mayor to act as a tiebreaking vote in the very rare instances when a council vote results in a tie. With a 2-2 tie of the council on the resolution, Mayor Baublits only had to vote “yay” to advance WFIM’s project one step closer to realization.