Evan Holmes, a Moscow resident of 35 years, is running for the Moscow City Council to create affordable housing options, equitable taxes and reliable city services for the community.
Holmes has been an active member of the Moscow community for decades.
“I have gone to at least 250 city council meetings and public hearings…You can see I’ve been kind of fascinated with local sociology for a long time,” Holmes said in an interview with The Argonaut.
He has served on the Moscow Food Co-op board and has been a member of the Palouse Clearwater Environmental Institute for 35 years.
Holmes also participated in two revision cycles of the Moscow City Comprehensive Plan working group, contributed to the Paradise Path Task Force for Berman Creekside Park and served on the Moscow Downtown Revitalization Committee.
He is also a proponent, contributor and volunteer for the Heart of the Arts 1912 Center, where he has supported local arts and community events. In addition, Holmes has volunteered with the Renaissance Fair and Friends of Phillips Farm.
Holmes said that civic engagement and maintaining a sense of community where people want to donate money, volunteer time and keep service organizations is an important responsibility of Moscow City Council.
“We want to support them — emergency, medical, fire — no matter what background you come from or what philosophy guides your life, you still need streets and water, fire protection and snow plowed. That’s 80% of making sure that we tax fairly and spend wisely right now,” Holmes said.
Holmes discussed an affordable housing proposal he would propose to city council. It would be a catalog of five to seven home designs that are 900 to 1,500 square feet with preapproved plans, elevations and structural engineering already finished. He said the idea aims to make affordable housing a cheaper and faster process.
“We have to incentivize either private individuals or small groups of people to make our housing cooperative,” Holmes said.
Holmes is one of eight candidates running for three open seats on the Moscow City Council in the November 2025 election. City council terms are four years.
To read more about Holmes’s campaign, visit evanholmes4moscow.com
Scarlet Herway can be reached at [email protected].