Chehalis’s new city manager has spent his first month in office hard at work meeting with city staff and citizens to determine where best to focus his attention going forward.
“I’ve been able to answer a lot of questions for a lot of people and, I think, for the most part, I’ve been able to kickstart some of the things that people have been complaining about, that they were saying the city was dragging their feet on,” said Stacy Denham, referring to citizens’ concerns about building and construction permit delays.
Denham officially started his new role as Chehalis city manager on June 1.
He has lived in the Chehalis area for over 30 years and was employed as a Chehalis police officer for over 12 years before being hired by the Centralia Police Department in 2006. He started in Centralia as a police officer and progressed through the ranks, serving as a sergeant, commander, and deputy chief, then as police chief from 2020 to 2024.
“I really do feel back at home in Chehalis,” Denham said. “I do feel that the city here has accepted me like I’m coming back home … It just feels like this is a very natural fit for me, and it’s kind of (like) this is the place I’m supposed to be.”
The city manager serves as the chief administrative officer for the city, providing executive leadership and representation on all matters concerning city government, the City of Chehalis states on its website.
In addition to meeting with Chehalis citizens, Denham has spent his first month on the job meeting with city employees, with the goal of having 30-minute one-on-one conversations with each staff member.
“They’re the ones doing the work,” Denham said of city staff. “So that’s kind of the first step for me.”
The second step, he said, is to apply everything he learned from staff to the city’s procedures and policies to make sure they’re serving staff and citizens the way that they should.
Once that’s taken care of, Denham said, “I’m going to have a little bit more time to start leaning into other issues that the city may be having, challenges the city’s faced with, and get the city more or less moving again.”
The Chehalis City Manager’s Office is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday at 350 N. Market Blvd., Room 101, in Chehalis. The office can be reached at 360-345-1042.
