Personal: A Richland, Benton County, native, Mike Lonergan has had careers in journalism, nonprofit management and public service.

He worked in broadcasting in Indiana before returning to Washington, where he was a manager for radio stations and newspapers. Later, he led the local Salvation Army chapter and the Tacoma Rescue Mission. He said both were in financial trouble before he turned them around. Lonergan said he cut costs and consolidated services and ultimately led both nonprofits to financial health and expansion.

In 2001 he was elected to the Tacoma City Council and was re-elected in 2005.

Lonergan, 59, earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington. His wife, Paula, works at the state Department of Employment Security. They have two grown sons.

Experience: Lonergan has made his executive experience the centerpiece of his campaign, calling public service his third career.

“My experience as a chief executive far exceeds the combined total of the other three candidates,” he said. “I really question whether any of the other candidates has had a career outside government.”

Counting a radio station and the two nonprofits, Lonergan said he’s revived three organizations in financial distress. He said that’s an important qualification in a time of tight budgets.

When he was elected to the City Council, Lonergan was subjected to questions about conflicts of interest because of his job at the mission, which received most of its money from the city. A court cleared his council role, and Lonergan recused himself from votes affecting mission business. He later stepped down from his mission job.

As a City Council candidate, Lonergan campaigned against what he said was a dysfunctional city government where powerful insiders had access while the needs of the public were neglected. Once elected, he initially found himself an outsider on the council.

He criticized then-City Manager Ray Corpuz and led the effort to oust him in the wake of the David Brame police scandal. Lonergan said he was instrumental in the hiring of City Manager Eric Anderson, who he believes has moved Tacoma in the right direction.

More recently, Lonergan has championed money for road repairs.

Lonergan also has served on numerous local and regional boards, including the Pierce County Regional Council that produced a “Vision 2040” plan for development.

Priorities: Lonergan said implementing that Vision 2040 report is his top priority. The 100-page report includes scores of guidelines – but not detailed plans – for transportation, housing, public services and economic development. Lonergan said it charts a course away from the policies that made Pierce County a poster child for growth management problems.

“I can’t and won’t detail exactly what actions I would support in the future,” Lonergan said. “But I can say we have a framework in the Vision 2040” plan.

Lonergan said public safety would be a top budget priority, though he believes there are “tremendous inefficiencies in the criminal justice system.”

He said county government has the resources it needs to serve its residents “if we coordinate and prioritize our operations properly.”

Fun fact: Lonergan attended the University of Chicago for two years, but withdrew to start a career in broadcast journalism.

“Covering the news seemed more exciting than staying in college,” he said. He later finished his degree at UW.

Mike Lonergan

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