FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE— Peter J. Abbarno, Centralia Mayor Pro Tem, local Centralia business owner, and attorney, announced he will seek election to the State House of Representatives in the 20th Legislative District.
“Richard DeBolt has served this community very well over the past 24 years and I am proud and honored to call him a friend,” said Abbarno, who was has been endorsed by both 20th Legislative District Representatives Richard DeBolt and Ed Orcutt. “I will continue to work on solutions for homelessness, lack of housing inventory, catastrophic flooding; and improving economic opportunities for working families and small businesses.”
In 2019, Peter received the “Economic Development Leadership Award” from the Lewis County Economic Development Council, received the Human Rights Award from the Church Women United organization, and was voted by the Daily Chronicle newspaper readers as the “Best Elected Official” in Lewis County. In January 2020, Peter was named “Person of the Year” by the Daily Chronicle newspaper.
“I believe in building strong families and strong communities so that our children and future generation will have the same and more opportunities to be successful,” said Abbarno. “I am running, as a business owner, to hold government accountable to the people and businesses they represent; I am running, as a father and husband, to make our communities more affordable for working families; and I am running, as a community member, to protect our streets so everyone feels safe.”
In addition to his role on the Centralia City Council, Peter Abbarno is the current president of the Centralia College Foundation, member of the Lewis County Economic Development Council board, host of the AM1470 KELA “Let’s Talk About It” show, and volunteers with WATCH D.O.G.S. (Dads of Great Students), the Hub City Mission, Lewis County Special Olympics, Centralia Little League, Centralia Youth Soccer, and mentors at several local schools in Centralia, Chehalis, and Morton.
“Instead of solving ‘kitchen table issues’ that families and small businesses care about, the Legislature is focusing on extreme fringe issues without regard to the citizens living past the shadow of the space needle,” said Abbarno.
Peter lives in Centralia with his wife Holly (Hawes) Abbarno, a math teacher at Centralia Middle School, and their two children Sophia and Antonio, students at Edison Elementary School. The first campaign kickoff is scheduled for Wednesday, February 26, at 7:30am in the Lewis County Veterans’ Museum, Chehalis.
