Cowlitz County proclamation marks April as Fair Housing Month; Lower Columbia Association of Realtors outlines public events

Cowlitz County commissioners on Tuesday received a proclamation declaring April 2025 as Fair Housing Month and approved it during the meeting’s motions. The proclamation was read at the meeting by a representative of the Lower Columbia Association of Realtors.

Mike Wallen, government affairs director and fair housing chair for the Lower Columbia Association of Realtors, told the board the group represents property owners, realtors and affiliates in Cowlitz, Wahkiakum and Pacific counties and outlined activities the association is running this month. Wallen said the association is hosting a weekly book club at Magpie Books in Longview that is reading The Color of Law, which documents how government policies shaped residential segregation, and that the group will hold a free, public fair-housing forum on April 15, 2025.

Wallen said investigative reporter Bill Dedmon, author of the Long Island Divided series on redlining and steering practices, will speak at the April 15 forum. Wallen invited the public to attend the forum and thanked the board for proclaiming April Fair Housing Month in Cowlitz County.

Context: Fair Housing Month is observed nationally each April; local proclamations typically accompany community events and outreach. The association noted similar proclamations in neighboring counties and some cities.

Next steps: Wallen encouraged residents to attend the April 15 forum and weekly book-club sessions that the association has scheduled. The board’s approval of the proclamation formalizes the county’s recognition of the month.

Ending: County staff advised the board that no additional county funding was specified for the month’s events during the presentation.