Tacoma City Council will elect its newest deputy mayor at its next meeting

The Tacoma City Council will elect Kristina Walker as the deputy mayor at its Tuesday meeting.

Walker is an at-large position 8 council member. She will be replacing Catherine Ushka, who represents District 4, as deputy mayor.

The deputy mayor serves a one-year term that will expire Dec. 31, 2023. The deputy mayor acts as the presiding officer when Mayor Victoria Woodards is absent.

Walker was elected to the city council in 2019.

According to the city council action memorandum, Walker’s interest in serving and seniority status qualifies her as a candidate for deputy mayor. Woodards is the sponsor of the resolution to nominate and elect Walker.

She previously served as the executive director of Downtown On the Go, a transportation advocate for Downtown Tacoma, from 2011 to 2020. Walker, a graduate of Pacific Lutheran University, serves on the UW Tacoma Urban Studies Board and the Transportation Choices Coalition Board. She lives in District 3 with her husband and two kids.