Auburn deputy mayor Cheryl Raikes and council member Clinton Taylor reflect on public service and local challenges

Mayor Nancy Backus hosted a podcast interview on Jan. 6, 2025, with Auburn Deputy Mayor Cheryl Raikes and Council Member Clinton Taylor about what drew each to local office and the challenges of serving a growing city.

The conversation centered on roots in Auburn, motivations for public service and the learning curve of council work. "More gets done at the local level than gets done at the county, state, or federal level," Backus said, explaining why she values local engagement. Both Raikes and Taylor said service and community ties brought them into politics: Raikes as executive director of the Downtown Auburn Cooperative and Taylor as founder of a financial-education nonprofit serving low-income BIPOC youth across Puget Sound.

The profile-style interview placed both officials’ service in context. Deputy Mayor Cheryl Raikes, who has lived in Auburn since childhood, was appointed to the City Council in 2023 and elected by fellow council members to a one-year term as deputy mayor at the Dec. 16 council meeting. Raikes described moving into local nonprofit work after retiring from the medical field and said she accepted the council appointment because friends and community members encouraged her to apply: "I totally failed in retirement," she said with a laugh, recounting how working in downtown small-business support led to public office. She identified being elected deputy mayor as a recent career highlight: "I'm excited to bring my leadership to it."

Council Member Clinton Taylor, an Army Desert Storm veteran and founder of a nonprofit focused on financial education, said a lifetime of volunteering and encouragement from family persuaded him to run. "I just love people," Taylor said, describing constituent outreach and the responsibility he felt after winning election: "When I won, I told my mom, I was like, mom, I won. You know how you have that surreal moment...it took a while to set in."

Both council members described an intense onboarding process. The podcast referenced a recent council packet totaling about 5,000 pages compiled from multiple meetings; neither speaker claimed to have read every page. Taylor said the volume and pace forced him to be intentional about asking questions: "If I don't know, ask questions and don't be afraid to ask questions." Backus and both council members praised city staff for technical expertise and encouraged new members to seek clarification rather than assume understanding.

The interview also included personal reflections. Raikes recalled an early, painful episode as an elected official: working to prevent the King County Public Health Clinic in Auburn from closing after county budget cuts and the stress of community calls during that period. Backus said community reaction could be emotional: "At the end of the conversation, I could not... this person screamed in my ear, 'you just don't care,' and hung up the phone." Taylor and Raikes both described efforts to maintain perspective and balance public duties with family life.

The guests traded local memories — Raikes favoring the long-standing Rainbow Cafe for its history and Taylor naming the Outlet Collection mall — and noted Auburn's population growth, referencing an Office of Financial Management estimate near 89,000 that the mayor said she believes has exceeded 90,000.

The interview closed on a forward-looking note about public collaboration. "If you want to go far, go together," Raikes said, quoting a proverb both officials cited as emblematic of their approach to civic work.

The podcast is part of the city’s outreach to familiarize residents with elected officials and local priorities for 2025.