Local business owner and Randall Street Community Garden founder and manager Liz Ellis has been appointed to the Aberdeen City Council.

She will assume the Ward 3, Position 5 seat vacated by longtime Councilman Tim Alstrom, beginning with the Sept. 23 council meeting.

“As an Aberdeen businessperson, I know what it is like to run a business and adapt to the current COVID challenges,” said Ellis in her letter of interest to the council.

Ellis moved to her home just east of Sam Benn Park from the Seattle area in 2015 after her wife accepted what Ellis referred to as a dream job as a family practice doctor. The following year Ellis organized a neighbor night-out potluck that has continued.

In Seattle, she managed the Sidewalk Repair Program for the Seattle Department of Transportation.

“As an arborist in the department’s Urban Forestry division, I supported numerous community projects,” she said.

In 1996, Ellis was appointed by the State Lands Commission to the statewide Urban Forestry Advisory Council which she chaired In 1997.

She described Ward 3, a diverse range of housing types, small businesses, parks, schools, churches, and the east campus of Grays Harbor Community Hospital. The ward includes Sam Benn Park and goes east down the hill to Stewart Field and the Wishkah River. It also goes north along the river and includes the Bench Drive area and on the southern end includes the B Street neighborhood east to the river.

”Though some still refer to parts of Ward 3 as Felony Flats, I prefer to recognize this area of Ward 3 as one of our city’s most diverse neighborhoods,” said Ellis. “We are home to people of many cultures, with a wealth of history, spoken languages, and stories – including being the former home of Kurt Cobain.”

In 2015 she started the Randall Street Community Garden at 1015 Randall Street, just east of B Street. “The garden has nurtured many neighbors who grew and harvested their own crops or enjoyed walking by and observing seasonal changes. This year, the garden has grown produce for sale to Coastal Harvest for distribution to food banks and kitchens through the USDA Farm to Food Program.”

The Randall Street Garden property includes the old home to the Daneker family, and another house nearby. The Garden House is rented out for short term stays. The other house is rented for longer term use.

“The focus of these rentals is to be affordable and comfortable and to connect guests and tenants with all that the garden has to offer,” said Ellis.

For four years Ellis’ company, Twine & Swift LLC, operated Riverside Home Repair to help people with small repair and remodel projects, working with both residential homeowners and local not-for-profit housing organizations.

Ellis is an advocate for solar power. In 2017 she organized the Aberdeen Solar Home Tour and Energy Fair that featured 14 homes, electric vehicles and equipment, and representatives from solar installers and lenders at the Tesla charging lot.

“The lot is designed to include chargers for other vehicles. I would like to help realize this build out so Aberdeen will be a welcoming recharging destination for all (electric vehicle) drivers,” she said.

As a member of Amazing Grace Lutheran Church, Ellis was on the host team to support two tent cities in the church’s parking lot.

“I know that having a safe place to call home can be a pivotal lifeline for many and, for some, provides necessary stability while they work to save up for a more comfortable home,” Ellis wrote in her letter of interest for the council position. “Operating the tent camp is expensive and not a viable long-term solution. I would like to continue to explore and develop other options that help individuals claim their dignity through safe housing, short-term storage, and access to bathing and laundry facilities. Though these services may not eventually be provided by the city, the city can be supportive and partner with other entities to increase our affordable housing options.”

There were four applicants for the open council position: Ellis, William Clark, April Obi-Boling, and Sheri Schmoe. Ellis and Obi-Boling tied at four votes each in the first round of council votes, with three votes going to Schmoe. In the second round, Ellis won the seat over Obi-Boling by a vote of 7-4.