Auburn Mayor Nancy Backus interviews Councilmembers Kate Baldwin and Yolanda Trout Manuel about motivations and community priorities

Mayor Nancy Backus hosted a conversation with Auburn City Councilmembers Kate Baldwin and Yolanda Trout Manuel on the "That's So Auburn" podcast, focusing on their backgrounds, reasons for running and what they view as priorities for the city.

The interview opened with each councilmember describing how they entered public life. Councilmember Kate Baldwin said her earliest public-office experience came as a high-school class president and that, after moving to Auburn in 2016, involvement in local organizations led her to run for council. “If you have an idea or something that you want to see happen, the best way to make that change is to jump in and get involved,” Baldwin said.

Councilmember Yolanda Trout Manuel traced her civic engagement to a personal tragedy: after a brother was killed in a 1993 head-on crash caused by a drunk driver, she lobbied for safety improvements on Highway 12 and for public-safety signage. Trout Manuel described that work as the start of her public service and said she later accepted an invitation to join a planning commission and then to run for council.

Both councilmembers described what motivates them now. Baldwin emphasized systems-level changes that make everyday life more stable for residents, citing scheduling predictability for hourly workers as an example of a small policy change with outsized effects. “If you can give someone for two months or three months or ideally six months a schedule that is dependable, that they can count on…that means they can plan for childcare more easily,” Baldwin said.

Trout Manuel pointed to community relationships and neighborhood engagement: “The people of Auburn…when they call, they got sometimes they don't even have issues. They just want to stop and talk,” she said, adding that neighborhood ties and school involvement keep her engaged.

Both councilmembers also shared personal details about their lives in Auburn—Baldwin noted the city’s location between Tacoma and Seattle as a draw and praised Auburn’s parks and trails; Trout Manuel described moving to Auburn after meeting her husband and praised the city’s community feel.

The episode closed with reflections on memorable moments in office—Trout Manuel said she was proud to be the first person of color she mentioned being on the dais when first elected, while Baldwin recounted a pandemic-era drive-through swearing-in and the community atmosphere at Auburn’s holiday events.

The conversation aimed to give constituents a view of councilmembers beyond council chambers and highlighted both the policy instincts and local commitments that shape their council work.