Two vie for Washington council seat

WASHINGTON - Haleigh Brockman and Illa Earnest are running for the Ward 3 Washington City Council seat.

Haleigh Brockman is the KCII office manager and has two sons, ages 5 and 2.

She has lived in Washington most of her life, leaving for college at Ellsworth Community College and Iowa State University.

She said she has always been politically outspoken but had overlooked the local level. After comments made by City Council members regarding the Kesho Scott event, she started regularly attending the council meetings.

'If I wanted more voices to be heard than the easiest way to do that would to be more involved,” she said.

At a recent City Council meeting, the council discussed the goals for the year. Brockman said it was interesting to hear about the diversity training. She said she likes how proactive the council is.

'They address issues before they become glaring issues,” she said.

If elected, she hopes to ensure the entire community of Washington can reach out to their representatives. She said it can be hard for people to get involved if they don't feel heard. Brockman said she is an approachable individual and loves speaking with people.

Another trait she hopes to bring to the City Council is her various experience in the community. She grew up here, moved back as a single adult, she has kids in the district, was a stay-at-home mom and a working mom.

'There's just a lot of different areas of the community I have experience in,” she said.

Illa Earnest recently retired as the Washington city clerk.

Earnest was born and raised in Washington and attended Coe College for political science.

After working for the city for 36 years, Earnest felt this position was a good way to use her experience and pay forward the knowledge she has.

'It seemed a shame to not continue,” Earnest said.

A few projects she is interested to see completed include the street projects, the NLW subdivision and use of the Bell Land.

Having been at council meetings for various projects, Earnest said she have the background knowledge of the planning and history.

'There are projects that citizens will really like,” she said.

Earnest said she is happy to listen and respond to questions and comments from the community.