Electra Janis

Growing up in a tight-knit Greek-American family, where hard work and candor were mixed with compassion and loyalty, Electra Janis is a young woman in a hurry.

She graduated from high school a year early, finished college at Chatham in 3-1/2 years, and picked up her Master’s in psychology in two. She hasn’t looked back since the days she helped her family’s restaurant business, helping to keep the books straight, the food on order, and personnel services fully operational and from the time she helped her grandfather James Agras with the trade schools that produced so much of the region’s outstanding workforce.

She has spent the past three years as district manager for her local state representative, handling day-to-day crises for constituents in search of a guide through the maze of government.

“With a small business background, along with a degree in counseling and experience in working in government, I think I have the combination of skills needed to give Washington County the kind of effective, hard-working and thrifty government we need,” she said.

A resident of Peters, Electra chose Washington County for its family atmosphere, great schools and neighbors who connect on a human scale when it comes to helping out. 

Her family life, she says, taught her values, while working in the family’s restaurant taught her to stay humble.

“Both of these have taught me how to treat people,” she says. “Family and community are important to me,” she says.

Her combined life experience and youthful drive have helped to shape her agenda for Washington County.

“Washington County needs to focus on economic and workforce development, " she says. At the same time, her counseling education has helped inform a strong stand about advocating for effective mental health and drug treatments.

She has pledged total transparency and openness when it comes to the county’s financial books and says she’ll work to rein in spending.