As authorized by Snoqualmie Mayor Matt Larson at the last June City Council meeting, June 26 is now officially “Jodi Warren Day” in the city of Snoqualmie.
“That was pretty cool,” said Warren about her honorary day. “Mayor Larson took me totally by surprise … It is sometimes pretty nice when someone tells you you are appreciated and you get an acknowledgment that your hard work is making a difference.”
As Snoqualmie’s city clerk for the past 10 years, Warren works as the direct line between citizens of the community and their government. She is responsible for facilitating communication between residents and government, while also providing a link between the legislative and administrative functions of the city.
“She’s just been a real blessing for the city,” Larson said.
Born on a farm outside Covington as Elois JoAnn, Warren acquired the name “Jodi” because, born at the height of the Elvis phenomena in the mid-1950s, people took to calling her (then ging by Elois) “Elvis” after the rock ‘n’ roll singer.
Then, after a year of going by JoAnn, her uncle married a woman also named JoAnn.
Her mother, not wanting to share Warren’s name with another family member, began to call her Jodi. The name stuck.
“If I hear the name Elois or JoAnn, I probably won’t respond,” Warren said.
After graduating from Kent Ridge High School as a member of the school’s first graduating class, Warren moved to Maple Valley, got married and raised three children, Bradley, now 31, Christina, 30, and Danny, 28.
In 1989, having always had an interest in – and a knack for – law, she earned her paralegal certificate from Seattle University.
“When I look back now, during that time I was a single mother of three. I worked full time, I studied on the weekends; I don’t know how I did it,” Warren said. “The only way I was able to do it was with my family’s support.”
In 1990, Warren remarried and was hired by the Covington Water District as a project coordinator.
“I became familiar with the laws,” Warren said.
That familiarity and interest led her to the city clerk position in Snoqualmie in 1996.
“When I first came here, the city was very different,” Warren said. “The issues we saw back then were different.”
For example, she said, one of the hottest issues at the time was the formation of the Snoqualmie Fire Department. Before the official department formed in 1999, the fire department was made up of volunteers, Warren said.
“I am proud to be a part of the healthy progress I have seen in the community,” she said.
She said she recalls Snoqualmie Parkway when it was a dirt road and when the city had a population of about 1,610 (Snoqualmie now has about 7,800 people and is the fastest growing city in Washington since the 2000 U.S. Census, according to Washington’s office of financial management).
In 1996, the city had an antiquated computer system, Warren said.
“No Internet, no e-mail; we did not have a Web page,” Warren said. “Now we’ve come full term. We’re almost a paperless city now. That’s huge.”
Every single day, Warren said, she is doing something different that offers her a new challenge.
“She’s been a real benefit to the city over the years,” Larson said. “In the tremendous transition we’ve gone through, Jodi’s handled all that with grace and style and material care.”
Warren recently completed the second of four levels needed to earn a master municipal clerk designation.
In her spare moments, Warren said she loves to spend time with her three grandchildren.
“I was once asked by a job applicant who do I answer to, how many bosses do you have?” Warren said. “I said, I answer to all the citizens in Snoqualmie … I have the privilege of helping in the community to make a difference.”
