He has been a lightning rod, to put it mildly, during his six years on the Washougal City Council. But as Jon Russell, one of Clark County’s most divisive governmental figures, prepares to step down, it remains unclear what his departure will mean for the city’s government.
Russell, the council’s mayor pro-tem, clashed frequently with Washougal Mayor Sean Guard, brought national causes to the city government and backed conservative challengers against veteran council members in the 2011 elections. He did each unapologetically, often to the derision of other city leaders.
Russell, 36, announced last week his plans to resign from the council at the beginning of July to accept a national coordinator position with Students for Life of America, an anti-abortion nonprofit based in Manassas, Va. Russell currently serves as the organization’s regional coordinator.
Russell’s last council meeting will be Monday, June 25. The council will later appoint a city resident to fill Russell’s spot and select a council member as the new mayor pro-tem.
Whether Russell’s departure could be the “turning point” that Guard had hoped last year’s elections would be remains unclear. Prior to the elections, Guard said he had hoped voters would elect candidates who would bring the city’s council back to the political center rather than farther right.
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