Camas City Councilwoman Shannon Roberts steps down

Camas City Councilwoman Shannon Roberts has unexpectedly stepped down from her Ward 1, Position 1 city council seat.
The city’s communications director, Bryan Rachal, issued a news release about Roberts’ decision on Wednesday, July 27.
“We’re very sad to see Shannon leave, but we certainly appreciate her dedication to the City during her time on the council,” Camas Mayor Steve Hogan stated in the news release. “We wish her the best on her future endeavors and thank her for her service.”
Roberts, a U.S. Navy veteran and real estate professional with a background in data analysis and project management who moved to Camas in 2015, was a newcomer to local politics when she ran against incumbent Council member Deanna Rusch in the November 2019 general election.
The councilwoman was one of several 2019 general election Camas City Council candidates who opposed the city’s efforts to build a $78 million aquatics-community center complex, and said she believed local officials should have presented voters with a less expensive, “phased-in” bond measure. Voters in the 2019 election agreed: knocking the city’s pool bond down with a vote of 90-10; ousting the mayor in favor of a write-in candidate, Barry McDonnell, who also opposed the pool bond measure; and replacing an interim councilmember with Roberts, a political newcomer.
During her time on the city council, Roberts served as a Council liaison to several committees, including: the Georgia-Pacific Mill Advisory Committee, the Homelessness Strategy Committee, the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee, the North Shore Subarea Plan Steering Committee and the Public Safety Committee. She also served as a liaison to the city’s planning, parks and recreation, and salary commissions.
Roberts was elected to serve on the Council through Dec. 31, 2023.
According to the news release, city officials “are determining the timeline for the application process and will be providing that information in the coming weeks.”