5 questions for Cynthia Pratt, who is leaving Lacey City Council after 12 years
Lacey City Council member and Deputy Mayor Cynthia Pratt says farewell to the council this month after serving on it for 12 years.
Although her final council meeting was Thursday, she still has a few city events to attend, including a farewell celebration at 5:30 p.m. Monday in council chambers. Next month, her position No. 4 seat on the council will be filled by Robin Vazquez, who defeated Emma McSharry in the general election.
The Olympian had an exit interview with Pratt, asking five questions about her time on council.
Question: Why did you decide not to run again?
Answer: For a couple of reasons: One is I’m not getting any younger (Pratt is 78) and my husband is older than I am, and with COVID-19 the last two years, we just realized we needed to spend more time together. Also, it takes a lot of energy to run for office and I’m kind of zapped from the pandemic, so I said, no, let’s give it to someone younger with more energy and who is able to do new things.
Q: What was your proudest moment as a council member?
A: There are three things: the purchase of the Greg Cuoio Park area, which protected Woodland Creek and shellfish beds, and I’m hoping we can keep it as a passive-use park, but I think it was a really big deal to protect water quality and not allow it to be developed. The other one I’m really excited about going forward is the new museum, and the Lacey Youth Council. People forget that the youth of today are the future leaders of tomorrow. And what they think now, and how we’re helping to support them, is extremely important, so we need to hear from them and we need to let them know what local government does and how important it is.
Q: What was your biggest disappointment as a council member?
A: I wish we were a little faster on the uptake on taking care of our homeless problem. It’s an immediate, ever-changing kind of situation, but maybe if we were a little bit more proactive we wouldn’t be having to work so hard at it. It’s not like we’re doing nothing now, but I would have liked to have seen us get ahead of the curve earlier. The other thing is making sure we have more walkable areas, particularly around Midtown. I’ve always wanted to see it more vibrant, where people can come and enjoy it. We’re making progress, but it’s very slow. Walkability wasn’t a big thing in Lacey until recently. I feel that could have been done more proactively.
Q: What advice would you share with Robin Vazquez?
A: You do have to learn how to compromise, but the things you really care about, stick to your guns. You also have to learn how to come up with a win-win situation for everyone, so that you make sure it’s the very best for the most people. And you need a sense of humor. You can’t take yourself so seriously all the time.
Q: What advice do you have for the city and council?
A: We need to make sure we think regionally as best we can. That doesn’t mean Lacey is the same as Tumwater or Olympia, but I think when it comes to funding and policy it makes it easier. Things just don’t stop at the border, they crossover, like the home fund or climate change. We can get more done regionally, and we need to push the issue of transportation. I’m concerned about the bridge over the Nisqually River. We need to keep that on our state and federal agenda.
This story was originally published December 18, 2021 at 5:45 AM.
