The Tacoma City Council is the major governing body in the city of

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, Washington, Olympia, and northwest of Mount ...

. The City Council has one mayor and eight council members, who are elected to serve four-year terms. The City Council has the power to write the laws of the city, budget the city's finances, and make other decisions for the city. The City Council holds meetings on the first floor of the Tacoma Municipal Building."Meet the Tacoma City Council"
City of Tacoma. Retrieved 16 February 2010.

History

The current system for the Tacoma City Council was established in 1952. Prior to this date, Tacoma's government consisted of elected commissioners, who frequently plagued the city with corruption. Voters chose to replace the old system with a city council (including the mayor) to pass laws and a city manager to enforce them, also known as the Council–manager system. The

council–manager government The council–manager government is a form of local government used for municipalities, counties, or other equivalent regions. It is one of the two most common forms of local government in the United States along with the mayor–council govern ...

remains Tacoma's governmental structure today.

Public meeting controversy

Under the Open Public Meetings Act of 1971, Washington state law requires Tacoma City Council meetings to be open to the public. In 1999, Cheryl Miller sued the Council for voting down her application to serve on the Tacoma City Planning Commission during executive session, during which doors were closed to the public. The

Washington Supreme Court The Washington Supreme Court is the highest court in the judiciary of the U.S. state of Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the ...

agreed with Miller. In ''Miller vs. City of Tacoma'', the court ruled that in executive session, the Council could deliberate and "evaluate" nominees, but a vote choosing between nominees overstepped the boundaries of an evaluation. Even though the vote was not a formal one, it still violated the public's right to transparency. Miller was compensated only for her attorney fees and court costs as the Supreme Court ruled that the council members did not break the law intentionally. This issue of public transparency has not been fully resolved. Similar situations have occurred where the Tacoma City Council allegedly held informal votes on candidates in secret, such as a 2010 executive session to fill two vacancies on the Council. The city settled a lawsuit challenging the 2010 discussion.

Current members

The current members of the Tacoma City Council as of November 2021 are listed below."Meet the Tacoma City Council"
City of Tacoma. Retrieved 6 January 2020. *

Victoria Woodards Victoria R. Woodards is an American politician serving as the 39th mayor of Tacoma, Washington. She formerly served for seven years as an at-large member of the Tacoma City Council. Career During Woodards' tenure on the Tacoma City Council, she ...

, Mayor * John Hines, Position 1 * Sarah Rumbaugh, Position 2 * Keith Blocker, Position 3 * Catherine Ushka, Position 4 * Joe Bushnell, Position 5 * Kiara Daniels, Position 6 * Olgy Diaz, Position 7 * Kristina Walker, Position 8

Notable former members

Marilyn Strickland Marilyn Strickland (born September 25, 1962) is an American politician who is the U.S. representative from Washington's 10th congressional district. The district is based in the state capital of Olympia, and also includes much of eastern Tacoma ...

Bill Baarsma Bill Baarsma is an American politician and academic who served as the 37th mayor of Tacoma, Washington from 2001 to 2009. Early life and education Baarsma was born and raised in Tacoma, Washington, and earned a bachelor's degree in political sc ...

* Doug Sutherland *

Harold Moss Harold Gene Moss (October 1, 1929 – September 21, 2020) was an American politician and businessman who was the 34th mayor of Tacoma, Washington.Cory Campbell"Moss, Harold (1929-2020 )" Black Past. Accessed online February 6, 2009. He was the f ...

References

{{Reflist Government of Tacoma, Washington Washington city councils