Jacob Farmer / jfarmer@yelmonline.com
A job in local government wasn’t on Amy Baker’s radar. That is, until she moved to Rainier — and fell in love with the small town.
Now, after serving on the board of directors as vice president for the nonprofit We Love Rainier WA, the 44-year-old state worker is looking to add the title of elected official to her local duties.
The outcome is all but decided; Baker is running unopposed for Rainier City Councilmember Position 1, a seat currently held by Maureen Baker (no relation).
Baker spoke with the Nisqually Valley News last month about her background and candidacy for the position.
Baker is no stranger to small-town living. She grew up in Aiken County, South Carolina, which borders the Savannah River and sits across from Augusta, Georgia. After moving to Washington as a young adult and living in the Hawks Prairie neighborhood of Lacey for about 15 years, Baker moved to Rainier with her spouse and young child in 2021.
Though her time in town has been relatively brief, Baker says Rainier feels like home. Her first exposure to community involvement came via We Love Rainier WA, specifically during a Halloween Trunk or Treat event where her daughter happened to win first place for her costume.
Intrigued, Baker decided to go to the nonprofit’s next meeting. There she talked with members about the group’s mission and vision. According to Baker, someone mentioned a major goal of theirs was to “make sure the children and the families in our community have positive memories that they can look back on.” Memories created through affordable and accessible activities.
“And that just really stuck with me, because I think that is really important,” Baker said, adding that such things can build the foundation for future families.
“And so, I started volunteering and before I knew it, I was on the board and I was running events, and through that I got to know a lot of people here in Rainier, and really just came to feel like maybe I had a spot here, and I could make a big difference,” Baker said.
In addition to her work with We Love Rainier, Baker began taking leadership classes, most recently a nonprofit management course. The course, Baker said, helped further her understanding about how nonprofits work — and why they exist.
“I learned that the existence essentially came from the necessity of filling in the gaps where our local governments … don’t have the capacity to provide certain services, and that’s where the nonprofits come in,” Baker said. “And I just thought, okay, well, I can help with the nonprofit, but maybe I can also help on the other side to bridge that gap and kind of bring the two together, so that we can service people on both ends.”
Baker, who has previously worked as a paralegal, believes smaller communities like Rainier allow the opportunity to make a large, visible impact. To that end, Baker is already planning for her future role.
“Rainier has so much potential, and whether we like it or not, we’re growing, and if Yelm and our surrounding communities are any indicator, we’ll continue to grow,” Baker said. “I think Rainier is probably one of the last areas of Thurston County to really start to develop our infrastructure and to think about supporting larger groups of people, and I think we’ve made some great improvements, and additions, even, with our pickleball courts, and the way the trail looks through the middle of town.”
Affordable housing is another important issue for Baker, especially considering the available land in the Rainier area. But without a city sewer system, any dwelling is required to “figure out a septic solution.”
The ultimate goal, for Baker, is to make things better and more affordable for the families of Rainier.
“I have a big place in my heart for small local businesses, and one day, maybe not just in this capacity, but one day in future endeavors, I would love to see our downtown area kind of given new life,” Baker added. “I would love to see us invest in that main strip, not just with money, but with a little bit of vision, a little bit of creativity. I want to create a space that invites people to come to Rainier and to spend money and to experience what makes us unique.”
Though she doesn’t know what responsibilities she might inherit from her outgoing councilmember, Baker said she’s willing to take over all of it. She also wants to focus on the city’s local arts.
“We have an opportunity to revitalize our arts commission, which, after COVID, has just kind of not been active, and I really want to take that over,” Baker said. “I love the arts, I love art, I love what it can do for people, and that’s another thing that I would love to see happen.”
While Baker fully intends to come in with new ideas and perspectives, she emphasized that she has a lot of respect for the experience of the other members of the council, “because if we don’t have that, we’re just bound to repeat mistakes and repeat things that didn’t work.”
One of the first things Baker hopes to do as a councilmember is find out where her “bumpers” are and what is expected of her.
“I really enjoy feedback,” Baker said, “positive or constructive… And I try to do things with empathy and curiosity and I try to listen and learn and then move forward. And I hope that going into this role I create a place where people feel comfortable doing that. Because that’s really my goal is to help people feel heard and do what’s best for our community.”
The general election for Thurston County, which includes the City of Rainier, will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 4.
