“If you’re asking yourself when’s the right time to run for office, the answer is there’s never going to be a right answer,” said Hailey Lewis, the recently elected mayor of Moscow, in an interview with The Argonaut.
Lewis, who will serve for the next four years, recounts that her path to the position was paved by years of experience and engagement within the community.
A Moscow native since birth, Lewis’s leadership roles started in junior high when she ran for a position as class representative at Moscow Junior High School. Lewis graduated from the University of Idaho in 2016 and began serving a total of ten years as secretary for Moscow’s music and arts festival, Rendezvous in the Park and previously served on the Palouse Basin Aquifer Committee. She went on to join the Moscow City Council in 2021.
On top of those experiences, she also served as a lobbyist in Boise for eight years.
The skills she developed durring that time equipped her with a strong foundation for governance. One reason in particular that drove her to run for mayor was based on her understanding of Moscow’s inner workings as well as the state’s legislative processes.
“I know how to meet the [legislature] where they’re at and what messages resonate to change the minds of people who are writing the rule book in Boise,” Lewis said.
She also noted that city council was looking for the mayor to be “someone who understands how the limited number of tools that not only cities in Idaho have, but cities the size of Moscow have, to provide all the services we dream of and we hope for and to do it with good quality.”
Since being elected in November and having been sworn in Jan. 5, Lewis said the transition period has been smooth for her. Having known all of the city council members for years, Lewis said she already trusted her entire staff, and they in turn supported her.
Despite the immediate comfortability she found in the new position, Lewis mentioned that there are still lessons to be learned. Going forward, however, she doesn’t expect to be surprised by much.
“I think always knowing that I’m never going to know everything has made it easy to not feel like surprise is a factor,” Lewis said.
Lewis said she is aware of what Moscow needs in order to grow stronger as a city and community.
A few of the stances she ran on while campaigning for mayor included increasing inter-agency communication and collaboration, fiscal responsibility and continuing the momentum of sustainable growth.
As someone passionate about government work, legislature and checks and balances, the mayor said she recognizes that the time and effort it takes to make greater changes occur in small communities may not always be understood by those living there.
For that reason and others, communication with people of all backgrounds is of the utmost importance to her.
“I also think it’s important that the mayor uses the platform to teach people how things work,” Lewis said.
In an effort to promote community communications further, Lewis plans on tabling at the Moscow Farmer’s Market as a way to connect with people in a less formal setting than city council meetings. Lewis said she hopes to foster a space where Moscow residents can freely discuss and meet with the people who run the daily operations of the city.
While her mayorship has just gotten underway, Lewis said she’s eager to continue doing good for her hometown in the future.
“Moscow is for everyone,” Lewis said fondly. “It’s different from anywhere else you can live.”
Paige Wilton can be reached at [email protected].