Even though both of its candidates are first-timers, the race for Tacoma’s District 5 City Council seat provides a heavy dose of local name recognition: Kirby and Lonergan.

In this contest, it’s Beckie Summers Kirby, wife of longtime state Rep. Steve Kirby, against Joe Lonergan, son of two-term City Councilman Mike Lonergan.

Both candidates say they bring their own merits to the race, and both cite some of the same basic issues as their district’s top priorities: Public safety and potholes.

The seat representing neighborhoods on the city’s southern edge was opened by term limits on incumbent Councilwoman Connie Ladenburg. It comes with a $37,024 per-year salary.

BECKIE SUMMERS KIRBY

Kirby, 52, who was recently laid off from Harkness Furniture Co., grew up in a large working class Tacoma family. After having a child at 19, Kirby said she learned how to “work herself out of poverty.”

“I’ve got the kind of life experience that’s needed on the City Council,” she said.

Kirby holds a bachelor’s degree in government and politics from the University of Puget Sound and an associate’s degree from Tacoma Community College.

She lives in Fern Hill, and, with her husband, has a combined family of five children.

Kirby has been involved in local politics for years, including running several campaigns. She also has served on local boards and commissions, including the Tacoma Public Library Board of Trustees and the Tacoma Human Rights Commission. Her past work includes helping find jobs for the disabled and working with domestic violence victims.

Kirby had thought about running for elected office before, but it wasn’t until after hearing a gunshot ring out in her neighborhood recently that she finally decided to do so.

Her family already had its home broken into three times, Kirby said, and she’d had enough.

“I thought I’ve got to do better – and our community deserves better,” she said.

Kirby counts public safety among her top issues, saying that prostitution and gang activity are rapidly rising in South Tacoma. If elected, Kirby said she’ll seek to hire more law enforcement officers.

“We don’t have enough police or detectives who investigate crimes,” she said. “They’re still at the same level they were in the ’70s.”

Other issues for Kirby include developing a comprehensive plan to improve city streets and sidewalks and making Tacoma “a more livable community” to help draw new businesses and create jobs, she said.

Kirby draws strong support from local labor groups, including the Tacoma Police Union, and is endorsed by state Sen. Rosa Franklin, Tacoma Mayor Bill Baarsma and former Mayor Brian Ebersole, among others.

JOE LONERGAN

Lonergan, 32, a News Tribune ad salesman, grew up in Tacoma. While his father worked for The Salvation Army and the Tacoma Rescue Mission, Lonergan said he learned about service.

“I grew up in a household where serving people – people who aren’t typically served – was very important,” he said.

A graduate of Tacoma Baptist High School, Lonergan holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Eastern Washington University. He and his wife own a home in the Blueberry Park area of South Tacoma, where they’re raising two sons.

Lonergan, who ran his father’s first council campaign, said he believes he caught the bug for politics when his dad first ran for Congress against Norm Dicks in 1984.

He now serves as a board member on the South End Neighborhood Council and volunteers for several other local committees, including the Wapato Park Citizens Steering Committee.

While out door-belling in his district, Lonergan has distributed a survey to South End residents to learn their top concerns – an activity he said he’ll continue, if elected.

“The South End typically has been an after-thought in city government,” he said. “I want to change that.”

Lonergan cites public safety as his district’s top issue. Among other things, he said he’ll seek to combat rising prostitution by supporting police to begin impounding cars of sex-for-money customers – an enforcement tactic allowed under law but not used in Tacoma.

“That’s a great deterrent,” Lonergan said. “Let’s start using it and give officers that tool.”

Improved street maintenance and bringing a new grocery store to South Tacoma also are top issues, Lonergan said. Lonergan won’t support raising taxes for street upgrades in this economy, saying he’ll seek to push the city to improve streets with funds already allocated.

Some of Lonergan’s notable campaign contributors and endorsements include the Master Builders’ Association, the Rental Housing Association and former Tacoma City Manager Jim Walton.

Lewis Kamb: 253-597-8542

lewis.kamb@thenewstribune.com