Hailey Lewis is one of two candidates running for Moscow Mayor in the 2025 election. Lewis is a born-and-raised Moscow local and was elected to the Moscow City Council in November of 2021. She was elected in 2023 to serve as a District Two representative on the Association of Idaho Cities board.
“The role of mayor is to advocate for the city and make sure the city works well, and partner with other decision makers,” Lewis said in an interview with The Argonaut.
Her experience with the effects of state legislation on small towns during her time on the Association of Idaho Cities board has directed focus somewhat outward, but Lewis says that does not mean she is uninterested in solving problems at the local level.
Lewis graduated from the University of Idaho in 2016 with degrees in international studies and Spanish and has worked for Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories since 2012, first as an intern. Lewis’s roles have include human resources, international operations, sales and customer service, government affairs and marketing.
Lewis also served ten years as secretary for Moscow’s music and arts festival, Rendezvous in the Park, is the liaison for the Parks and Recreation Commission and previously served on the Palouse Basin Aquifer Committee.
One issue Lewis hopes to pursue as mayor that the city has yet to address is improving interagency coordination between taxing districts.
“There’s a lot of cooks in the kitchen and I think it’s really important that we all know order of operations,” Lewis said.
Through her time on city council, Lewis has become aware of Moscow’s current issues such as the depleting aquifer and lack of officers for the Moscow Police Department and priority initiatives, such as lights for the Moscow School District community playfields. With commission and city planners already working on these initiatives, as mayor, Lewis would make sure the goals are feasible and in line with longer range plans.
The city is currently paying off a police bond that constructed a new police services facility, but when that is over in three years, Lewis does not want to see a frenzy of competing agencies.
“We are all working with shoestring budgets, especially in Latah County, but I think it’s really important that we are not in a situation where someone is racing to put a bond on a ballot just to beat another entity,” Lewis said.
For many of the issues Lewis wishes to tackle, city council member was not the right role, leading to her decision to run for mayor.
“I also believe in Moscow, and I love Moscow a lot, like, a lot, a lot and I view it as an opportunity for public service.” Lewis said.
To read more about Lewis’s campaign, visit haileylewis.com.
Joshua Reisenfeld can be reached at [email protected].