Municipal Leaders: Develop Faster, Lead Stronger, Build Better
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Episode 209 of The HaltingWinter Podcast – Featuring Laura Philpot, City Manager of Maple Valley, WA
Brought to you by Zencity
When Laura Philpot started her career, she wanted to build big things—bridges, stadiums, and infrastructure that would last for generations. But somewhere between a concrete canoe competition in college and a salmon stream restoration project in Maple Valley, Washington, her vision shifted.
In Episode 209 of The HaltingWinter Podcast, Laura, now the City Manager of Maple Valley, shares how that shift happened and why it changed everything.
Her journey began in construction, pouring concrete and managing traffic flow. Like many in the private sector, she assumed local government would be the easier path. What she found was something deeper: a place where the mission wasn’t just technical, it was personal.
“I used to want to be able to drive by and say, ‘I built that.’ Now I don’t care who built it. I care that it got built. That it made someone’s life better.”
From sidewalks and salmon runs to trail systems and T-ball fields, Laura walks us through how real impact is often found in the projects no one celebrates but everyone relies on. She shares the emotional weight of leading in your own community, the power of cross-department collaboration, and why creating space for future growth means making bold, unpopular decisions in the present.
Maple Valley has made those bold choices. Rather than selling off a 122-acre parcel for housing, they’re preserving it for future job centers and economic resilience. Rather than defaulting to more single-family homes, they’re holding out for a vision of downtown that doesn’t yet exist—but someday could.
It’s a philosophy echoed in long-term planning efforts like the Somerset 2050 Plan, where cities are learning to think generationally instead of transactionally. As Laura puts it, leadership means making decisions that may not benefit you—but will benefit the people who come after you.
In This Episode:
This episode is a must-listen for anyone who’s ever felt the tug between doing what’s easy and doing what’s right. It’s also a powerful reminder that in local government, legacy isn’t about credit—it’s about contribution.
Listen now → 209: Laura Philpot: Vision Over Ego: A Shift from Big Projects to Real Impact
This episode is brought to you by Zencity
This episode is proudly presented by Zencity—helping local governments turn everyday feedback into real-time insights so leaders can make confident, community-informed decisions. To learn more about how Zencity is helping turn data into action and insight into impact, visit zencity.io.
The HaltingWinter Podcast celebrates and elevates the people who power local government. Through in-depth conversations with leaders from cities, counties, and communities of all sizes, host Seth Winterhalter explores the journeys, challenges, and innovations happening in municipal leadership across America.
