On Jan. 3, 2022, Jason Whalen was appointed by the Lakewood City Council to the position of Mayor. Mary Moss was appointed to the position of Deputy Mayor. Whalen is Lakewood’s fifth Mayor since the City’s incorporation in 1996.
Mayor Whalen was elected as a member of the Lakewood City Council in 2009. He is an Army veteran and a longtime participant in local government and service clubs. He is the President-elect of the Lakewood Rotary Club and is a former President of the Tacoma-Pierce County Economic Development Board. He has also served on the Pierce County Charter Review Commission and Lakewood Planning Advisory Board. Professionally, he is a partner and co-founder of a local law firm. His wife and three daughters were present to observe his appointment.
Deputy Mayor Moss was elected to the Lakewood City Council in 2009. She is a prolific community organizer, President of the Lakewood Multicultural Coalition and Secretary of the State Air Force Association. She also serves on the Lakewood’s Promise Advisory Board, Lakewood Rotary Club, Lakewood Chamber of Commerce, Sound Transit Board, and numerous other commissions. She is also an Honorary Commander of the 62nd Airlift Wing Operations Group at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. Professionally, she retired after 36 years as a community development consultant for a local credit union. She is a mother to three and a grandmother to eleven.
The Lakewood City Council consists of seven part-time, nonpartisan members elected every two years to staggered, four-year terms. The council elects one of its members as Mayor and another as Deputy Mayor every two years. Mayor Whalen and Deputy Mayor Moss will serve two-year terms in their new roles.
Jason Whalen, Mary Moss, Mike Brandstetter, and Patti Belle were each reelected to the Lakewood City Council during general election in November. To commence their new terms, Mary Moss and Mike Brandstetter were sworn in by Municipal Court Judge Lisa Mansfield and Jason Whalen was sworn in by Court Commissioner Clint Johnson. Patti Belle was sworn in earlier on Dec. 13, 2021.
After the swearing-in ceremony, former Mayor Don Anderson nominated Jason Whalen to the position of mayor. The council unanimously voted in support of the nomination, and the gavel was passed to the new mayor. Former Mayor Anderson nominated Mary Moss to the position of deputy mayor, and the council unanimously voted in support of the nomination. Their roles took immediate effect.
Former Mayor Don Anderson had announced in December that he would not seek another appointment as mayor, but would continue to serve as a council member through the remainder of his term.
“I want to thank Don Anderson, our Mayor emeritus, the longest-serving Mayor of the City of Lakewood. To coin a Navy phrase, Don has steered the ship magnificently for many years. He’s kept us on course and together, we’ve accomplished great things over his term.”
– Jason Whalen, Mayor of Lakewood
Mayor Whalen delivered his opening remarks beginning at 7 minutes, 17 seconds in the recording of the meeting.
At the time that we were sworn in 12 years ago, it was one of the darkest hours that this city has experienced. In November, just after our election, we suffered the loss of our four police officers. For those of us that were here and experienced that, it was an indelible memory and a lightning rod for how we were going to work together as a team and work with this community to do great things.
I think this council rose to that and many other challenges over the years. The proof of all of it to me is that this job and this work is worth the effort. It’s an opportunity for us as ordinary people to work together to do extraordinary things. It doesn’t happen alone, and it doesn’t happen without consensus building and teamwork.
– Jason Whalen, Mayor of Lakewood
Congratulations are in order for Mayor Jason Whalen and Deputy Mayor Mary Moss.
These two accomplished individuals are obviously highly intelligent, hard working, and get things done kind of people. I look forward to the continued success and improvement for the City of Lakewood.
Thank you Don Anderson, Mayor Emeritus, for your years of service and for having nominated two excellent candidates to follow in your footsteps.
Joseph Boyle – Former Lakewood Pioneer – 51 years.
I am so proud of “Mayor” Jason. I couldn’t be happier for you AND our city. I think Joe Boyle summed it up quite nicely.
How did we get so lucky with Mary Moss? It’s wonderful to know you don’t have to worry about a designated “chore” given to Mary; it’s GREAT fit!
A COMMENT TO LAKEWOOD: Jason is the best person for the job. Congrats.
2022 begins well. Congratulations Mayor Whale, Deputy mayor Moss and our splendid City Council, Manager and Staff. Thank you Mayor Don Anderson for your dedication, leadership and service to City of Lakewood. Good health and best wishes to all from a grateful flourishing community.
Congratulations Mayor Whalen and Deputy Mayor Moss. Big thanks to former mayor Don Anderson for his service to Lakewood.
Plz explain why the citizens of Lakewood dont ELECT our Mayor? Thx!
Because the mayor has no additional authority than to run the council meetings and be a figure head. The City Manager, appointed by the Council runs the day to day operations. In other cities, the mayor is an executive, directs department heads and can veto Council actions. Here, the mayor is one of seven voices on the Council. Though, it typically has the most sway in terms of how the other six listen and vote.
Indeed, Scott–thanks for the explanation.
Lakewood, like many other code cities in Washington, has a “council-manager” form of government, where the 7-member elected (nonpartisan) council serves much like the board of directors for a corporation (a municipal corporation in this case). The board elects its chair (here, the Mayor) and vice-chair (the Deputy Mayor). All council members have the same vote.
The council-manager form of government combines the political leadership of elected officials with the strong managerial experience of an appointed city manager. The council hires ONE employee–the nonpartisan city manager who runs the organization.
In Lakewood, we have been blessed with (in my humble opinion) strong elected leadership and a very skilled, very capable city manager and staff. Additionally, Lakewood has been incredibly well served by countless community organizations and volunteers who step up to help make Lakewood better each and every year.
I look forward to being of service as Lakewood’s Mayor this cycle.
Thx!!
Thx!