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Forest Grove Mayor Malynda Wenzl answers our candidate questionnaire
Forest Grove candidate questionnaires
Malynda WenzlMayorMallory HiefieldCity CouncilMatthew S. KnightCity CouncilKaren MartinezCity CouncilChris MejiaCity CouncilSandra PereydaCity CouncilMariana ValenzuelaCity Council
_This is part of a series of News in the Grove candidate questionnaires ahead of the Nov. 3, 2026, election. We sent the same seven questions to all eight candidates for Forest Grove mayor and City Council._
Mayor Malynda Wenzl is running unopposed for reelection on the Nov. 3 ballot. She answered the questions in a phone interview Oct. 6. Her answers are transcribed from the recording, with filler words, false starts and side remarks removed. At her request, a point about transportation that she added at the end of the call appears with her first answer.
**What are your top three priorities for Forest Grove, in order?**
I'd say the economy. I want to get some economic development, especially utilizing our industrial lands, because that will be the biggest return of our investment. We're a full-service city, and services that our community wants continue to grow, and I get that. I want more services, I want more recreation, and right now those services rest upon our five-year operational levy. So it's really important to me that we finish our economic strategic plan and utilize those strategies to incentivize economic development. So that would be number one.
And I think number two would be transportation, infrastructure and safety. You know, one of the things I like about Forest Grove is that it's really walkable, it's pretty chill, it has a good vibe. And I just think that our community should be much safer to walk and bike around town than it is, and I think there are some key areas that need to be addressed for safety. You know, we have been working on TV Highway, you know, in east Forest Grove, going to Quince, and then there's some big intersections. But in addition to Fern Hill and 47 and Maple and TV Highway, I think there's an overall, like, opportunity to increase multimodal transportation and make it safer.
The goal is, like, I want everybody to be able to — you know, like when you travel to a place — I want Forest Grove, like, the economy, the transportation, the recreation, like, I want what everyone needs to be here and to be, like, within reach. Like, I want people to be able to walk to a store if they need to, or walk to get food. I just think accessibility, I guess. I feel like Forest Grove is, like, a really small area, and that transportation, safety, infrastructure improvement is so that things are, like, safe and accessible. That's how I want it to be. So that would be number two.
And then number three, I have not forgotten the first reason I ran for council back in 2014, and that's recreational opportunities for kids. And actually, now that I'm old, I want recreational activities for everybody. So really just hoping that the school district, the college, the city can work together, you know. And maybe if we succeed with economic development and we get our partnerships really strong, maybe we can at some point have a rec center. You know, even if we don't have a rec center, we can use the facilities already in town. I really want just more recreation programs for people of all ages and all abilities. So that would be my three.
**Name one decision the City Council made in the past two years that you would have handled differently, and what you would have done instead. If you were on the council or were mayor at the time, tell us how you voted on that decision.**
That's a really good question, Chas. And honestly, I can't really think of a decision in the last two years that I would have voted differently or handled differently. That being said, there's, like, lots of things to work on locally and regionally, and things I've advocated for at a federal level.
I think that most people — I think not most, I think some people might question approving the Crane data center. And honestly, I don't regret my vote on that, because at that time, with the information that we had, I do feel it was the right decision. It followed land use laws. You know, it lessened the liability that the city would have if we would have voted no and, you know, been sued over that.
And I think that when you have situations like that, we did a lot of learning from that decision, and we did a lot of listening to community members. And because of that decision — or because of that, and I don't know if it was because of that — but we did change our fee structure for Light and Power. So we heard people's concerns about energy usage with data centers, so we made two rate tiers. When large loads come on, they will pay a higher fee, which then, in turn, will help lessen the pressure on residents with their fee.
Let's see, what else did we do? We let our enterprise zone expire, which will now not give tax abatements to data centers for right now. So we really looked at policies we had to see what we could do differently with the comprehensive plan update.
So I would say that at that time, I'm confident with the vote I had on that. And I also am proud of the work that our council has been doing the last few years, along with staff, to really look to be more self-aware and really reflect on what tools we have and how we can address concerns the community has, to carry out that 2040 vision, right? To carry out the vision of our community.
**Over the past year, the Forest Grove City Council declared a state of emergency over federal immigration enforcement and set aside up to $50,000 for community groups (Nov. 10, 2025); declared Forest Grove a sanctuary city by resolution (Nov. 24, 2025); asked Washington County to suspend its contract with Flock Safety, a license-plate camera company (Nov. 24, 2025); and wrote sanctuary status into city code on a 6-1 vote (Jan. 12, 2026). A renewed emergency declaration expires Dec. 31, 2026. What, if anything, would you want the city to do on this issue in 2027, and why?**
So one of the things I've had as mayor is really just to constantly, you know, work with partners, be self-reflective, be self-aware and explore any tools we have. And in response to the change in federal immigration enforcement, it's been really difficult. Like, that is a really difficult situation that our community members have been dealing with.
And so what I hope we continue to do is stay very much aware of what's going on, continue to look at what we can do. We cannot always protect all of our community members, but we can, you know, try to continue to do what our oath is, which is follow the Constitution. We can try to slow down overreach and abuse of power.
And, you know, I'm always pushing. You know, I ask this question of Washington County and, you know, with our police department: I want them to be able to follow the law, but I also — you know, I think it's important that we figure out how to preserve evidence and keep a running record of what's been going on.
So moving into the future, I want to continue to be responsive. I'm really proud of our council. You know, we were, I think, the second city other than Portland to codify sanctuary city. We also — it's not listed in this — we also did a public records request of Homeland Security for any detainments that have been made in Forest Grove. That's just an update that we still have not received. They wrote us back saying that they're backlogged and behind and they haven't gotten to it yet.
So we're going to continue to try to slow down overreach, protect the Constitution. And, you know, we cannot always protect every member of our community, but we're going to try to do what we can with the tools we have.
**Under state rules, Forest Grove must analyze how much housing it will need and whether it has enough buildable land inside its urban growth boundary to meet that need. What kinds of housing should Forest Grove add over the next decade, and what should the city do to get them built?**
Oh, I mean, I have a vision. You know, what I would like to see in Forest Grove is housing, and I'm really nostalgic. I loved growing up in Forest Grove, and I love the '80s and '90s and the free-range child play. Anyways, it doesn't matter, I'm kind of getting off topic.
But so what I think would be beneficial, especially for Forest Grove, would be to extend middle housing. I would love to see some cottage clusters, like 1,200-square-foot, like, smaller homes, 1,200-square-foot homes, you know, two bathrooms, three bedrooms, that are like full community neighborhoods. I mean, the thing is, you want diverse housing, right? So, like, wouldn't it be super cool to have some cottage clusters for empty nesters who might not have kids but then want to have a community, and they can have a garden in the middle?
I think, you know, our housing size in the world has just gotten — not in the world, in the country, and Forest Grove for sure — has gotten much larger. You know, even for me, my ranch-style house that was built in 1979 that I grew up in on Indigo Way was like 1,400 square feet. And then currently the house I live in now is 2,800 square feet. So we've doubled our house size. And, you know, I think that tends to put us in a situation where houses are very large, they're expensive, and we can't build as many, right? So I would love to see us roll back to, you know, maybe a little smaller homes.
Yeah, middle housing, that's what I would like to see. And I also think that there is need for — you need diverse housing, right? So townhomes, apartments, those are really valuable, too. We have a university, right? I think that would be helpful as well. So yeah, diverse middle housing would be my focus.
**The city's urban renewal agency owns three downtown properties and plans to seek development proposals for them, expected by Dec. 31:**
* **Theater Building: a study the city commissioned found it a viable site for a boutique hotel, likely with public help.**
* **Site B and the Woodfold lot: two attempts to land a grocery store on Site B fell through, and an August study found a new grocery store is unlikely to succeed in Forest Grove for now. A public plaza and housing have been discussed, and the two lots could be offered together.**
**What would you want built on these properties, and how much of the agency's roughly $1.5 million in incentive money should the city spend to get it?**
Oh, I'm really excited about number five. So what would I like to see? You know, I think there's been some growth with me with urban renewal and properties and, like, RFPs and requests for proposals. And, you know, we all have dreams, like that Jesse Quinn — that Site B, that gravel lot next to the garage at Jesse Quinn. We tried to get a grocery store there, right? We were actually exclusively dating. That's what I call it, you know, when you stay with a business owner, like, "Hey, we're only going to talk to you about this." And that, unfortunately, interest rates went up, it just didn't pencil out, and the grocery store did not materialize.
But, you know, again, I think all of us are just more self-reflective. So me being self-reflective on that urban renewal situation, we pretty much went all in on the grocery store. We wanted a grocery store with affordable housing on top. And so when we solicited for our request for proposals, that's what we said we wanted. We got one developer who was like, "OK, we can do that." And then when that didn't pencil out for that one developer, then we had nothing. So that's no tax revenue on it, right? Like, we don't have any development, and here we are. I mean, what was that? I want to say that was six years ago. So maybe not quite, but right around there.
So anyway, what do I want with these properties? So I think the lesson I have learned is that when you're doing a request for proposal, it's almost like policy work, right? So you want to have some bookends. You want to have, like, your charter, your constitution. You have these bookends that keep people on the scope. But the scope — you're going to throw a large net, right? Because when you throw a large net, you catch more fish. And so the scope should be large enough that you get more than one proposal. You know, hopefully you get a few proposals, and then after you get those proposals, you're like, "What is going to match the best with our 2040 plan?" And our 2040 plan — you know, when you look at urban renewal, and I think the 2040 plan outcomes really want, like, economy, community connections — that's when those things intersect.
And so, I mean, I'm pretty much open, but I will say this: I do think housing — and I know people might not be super stoked with my answer — but I do think some sort of housing, and even, like, apartments, would be really, really good in one of those properties. Because another outcome we want, another action item, is to revitalize downtown. And the best way to support small business and downtown business is to increase foot traffic, right? And so that's the deal. You have to bring people downtown, and people living downtown will help downtown businesses.
I would love to have a boutique hotel at the movie theater. Again, being nostalgic: Friday night, I got dropped off at that movie theater in middle school and high school. I worked at a movie theater. My only other job — like, I have three jobs: movie theater, school district and mayor. But anyway, I love that movie theater. I would hate to lose the marquee. I think it has a really cool vibe. So having a boutique hotel would help. I mean, it brings added value to downtown. I think it helps with lodging for Pacific. And it keeps that — yeah, I'm like, I want to buy it. I like the historic stuff.
So I'm pretty much open to a lot of development in the urban renewal, because I know that any development will help downtown. And what I'm really hoping for with the request for proposal is that we have multiple submissions, applications, so we can then use our long-term strategic plan document to overlay on that and then try to see which one is the most effective.
And your follow-up question said, like, how much of the $1.5 million would I want to use? And I would want to use it all. I would want to use it all to develop all three, because it's an investment, and the return on the dollar for the community, for taxes, for all of it — like, that's how urban renewal is supposed to work. Like, that's the whole deal. So I'm not going to say, like, "Oh, we're showing you this much," because I want development. So I'm fine using all of it, to be completely honest.
**Centro Cultural's contract to run the Forest Grove Senior and Community Center ends Dec. 31, and the city's Parks & Recreation Department takes over Jan. 1. The city plans to keep the senior programs and add recreation for all ages. Staff estimate a net first-year cost of about $30,200 beyond what's already budgeted. What should the center's priorities be under city management?**
Well, I mean, I think it's part of, like, that recreation programming development that we've been lacking, right? So in 2014, when I got elected on the City Council, I used to joke around, and maybe annoy city staff, because during the budget process, the department directors come up and speak. So Paul Downey would say, "OK, Tom Gamble's going to come up and talk about our Parks and Recreation budget." And I would literally — multiple times every year, I think — I would say, "What recreation? What recreation are we talking about?"
And it really wasn't until this last operation levy — and thank you to the Forest Grove voters — that we did a replacement levy, we increased the rate, and we hired a recreation program coordinator, right? I think now he's going to be a supervisor.
So what I want for the senior center, what I want for recreation — I think the goal is literally growth, and how do we sustain it, right? And I think that I want to continue seeing — you know, right now, the first year, because we did not plan to take over the senior center with our budget, it's really sustainability, to make sure we sustain what we already had, or what Centro had, for senior programming. So that's where we are now: sustainability. But then it's going to be growth, right?
And I really think there's value — you know, I think there's value in using the buildings for all types of recreation. And I think that bringing people of different ages and abilities into recreational programming — you know, that more unified, inclusive approach — is what I would like to see. I mean, I will be a very happy mayor and a very happy community member if every year we're able to add more recreational leagues or programs or classes. I mean, in an ideal world, we'd have, like, drop-in things for little kids, like drop-in basketball, drop-in badminton at some of our school gyms, you know. And that would just take us getting involved with the school district.
And so, anyways, as we start to do more recreation programming, people are going to want more recreation programming, and we have to figure out how we can fund it, which circles back to the economic development piece of why I really want to focus on that. And then … maintaining really strong partnerships. With everything that we do in Forest Grove, I believe, is done with partnerships, right? Like, that's just part of our vibe: working with each other, showing up for one another, you know. And that's how we get stuff done.
**Is there anything else you'd like voters to know?**
I'm going to go out on a limb here — and it's not really a limb, this is what I truly believe. I have lived in Forest Grove my whole life, and I often hear this concern. I hear people say, like, "We don't want any more houses. It's too crowded. We don't want this," right? "We're losing our small-town feel." Like, "We're losing our small-town feel."
And I guess I want to push people — this is what I believe — I think what makes Forest Grove an amazing place to live is that we do have this really cool vibe. It's really small town. And I explain to people, like, I love living in Forest Grove because my day-to-day life is real chill. It's easy. It's easy to get around. I feel private, safe. I feel good. And then when I want to adventure, when I want to go to the beach or fly out on a plane, I can get to those other big-city amenities within an hour, usually, right?
So I believe that what makes Forest Grove — one of the things, or the common denominator, the foundation of Forest Grove vibe — is us. It's the people. And as we develop and grow — like, growth is not always a bad thing. Balanced growth and smart growth allows us to maintain the services that we want. It is beyond amazing that we are a full-service city. It is super cool that we have our own Light and Power that can't make a profit. That's why our rates are lower than other people that are a private organization, right? We have our community policing. The city did the 26th Avenue street improvement, added sidewalks, made that much more safe in a neighborhood three years ago. You know, like, all those things that we can do for our community — like, we get that done, right? And we get that done because we are a full-service city.
But we need to be able to afford to pay for it. And in order to do that, and not have property taxes go up, and not have to rely on increasing operating levies, is through growth, is through economic development. So I guess I just want people to say, like, don't be — you know, there's a balanced approach, and we can still maintain, like, what makes Forest Grove amazing and cool while growing to be able to pay for it. We still are, like, the best place to live, hands down.
