Changes on the Lakewood City Council means a new mayor and deputy mayor in 2026
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Six candidates compete for two open Lakewood City Council seats in 2025.
- Position 1 race includes urban planners, veterans and community advocates.
- The race for Position 3 features an attorney and business leader.
Two open seats on the Lakewood City Council means the city will be getting a new mayor and deputy mayor in 2026.
Mayor Jason Whalen and Deputy Mayor Mary Moss, who have both served on the council since 2010, will not be running for re-election this year. That means their seats will be vacant, and the City Council will choose its new leaders in its first meeting of January.
Lakewood’s City Council is made up of non-partisan members elected to four-year terms. Four people are vying for Position 1 (currently held by Moss): Ellen Talbo, Chas Ames, Alice Fong and Mark Herr. Two running for Position 3 (currently held by Whalen) are Jennifer Lamari and Philip Lindholm, according to Pierce County’s Local Voter’s Pamphlet.
Taylor Whitt is listed in the Pierce County Local Voter’s Pamphlet as running for Position 3, but Whitt told The News Tribune on Wednesday over the phone that he had withdrawn from the race because he did not have the network or the finances to run.
Whalen and Moss told The News Tribune on Wednesday that after nearly 16 years on the City Council, they are ready to pass the baton.
“These positions are not lifetime appointments, and I very much respect that, and believe that I’ve provided a fair amount of good effort and work, and wanted to give another person an opportunity to do the same,” Whalen said. “We are there to be good stewards of the public’s trust and the public’s money. And I think fresh ideas enhance that.”
The city of Lakewood has a council-mayor form of government where the City Council appoints from within its ranks the mayor and deputy mayor every two years, following the election cycle.
Whalen said he never looked at his time on the Lakewood City Council as a political stepping stone and said he recently was recruited to take a position as the city attorney for Auburn, where he has worked full-time for about a year. Whalen said he will continue to stay involved and engaged in Lakewood and hopes that the community has seen “the significant improvements” made to the city over the last 16 years, including “million and millions” of investments in new streets, sidewalks, lighting, parks, facilities and infrastructure improvements.
“I really focused on the opportunity to serve the community in which I lived, and that has been my focus. I really enjoyed non-partisan work in a very partisan world, and so local government gives you that opportunity,” he said. “Certainly, the public will make their own determination on whether they feel good about it over the course of history. But I think, you know, I feel pretty good that we’ve done good work over time. Certainly, there’s much work to be done.”
Moss told The News Tribune on Wednesday she planned to stay involved in the community, including as founder and president of the Lakewood Multicultural Coalition. Moss said she was most proud about her work to focus on youth and under-served communities as well was ways to enhance Lakewood’s diversity.
“I have enjoyed my journey on the council, but after 16 years, I think it’s time for me to go,” she said. “I’ve passed retirement age, so, like I said, I failed retirement a long time ago. I’m still full of energy, energetic and excited about continuing on.”
As a girl, Moss said, she always wanted to be a leader.
“Coming from a tobacco field to where I am today is really a dream come true,” she said. “I followed my dream, even when I didn’t realize it.”
Learn more about how to register to vote, who your candidates will be and where your nearest ballot box is online at the Pierce County Elections website.
Who are the Position 1 candidates?
Ellen Talbo currently serves as the vice chair of the city’s Planning Commission. Talbo has no elected experience but is an urban planning and public works professional with 19 years of experience in transportation infrastructure, according to her Voter’s Pamphlet biography. Talbo works in the city of Renton’s Public Works Department and was a county transportation planner in California from 2017-2022. She is endorsed by Moss and other Democrats, including Pierce County Executive Ryan Mello, Pierce County Council Chair Jani Hitchen and the 28th Legislative District Democrats. According to the Public Disclosure Commission, Talbo has raised $12,139 and spent $2,375 on her campaign.
Talbo said Lakewood is her hometown and, “I’m running because I believe that Lakewood deserves energetic modern leadership that understands cross-generational needs for … change while balancing priorities for safe neighborhoods and cultivating community spirit.”
Chas Ames has 20 years of military experience and was a two-term chair of the city’s Public Safety Advisory Committee, among other community-service roles. In his Voter’s Pamphlet statement, Ames said while spending most of his life in Lakewood, he has advocated for better water quality, protested city furloughs and advocated for rental-housing safety. Ames has raised $875 and spent $2,255 on his campaign, according to the Public Disclosure Commission. He did not list any endorsements.
“I’ve always had one foot in the future watching for problems that need solving,” he wrote. “In my neighborhood people know me as someone who helps them out. What if I could do that for an entire city?”
Alice Fong is the CEO of the Center for Ethical Leadership and has served on the Washington state Public Health Advisory Board, Pierce County Commission on Refugee and Immigrant Affairs and the Lakewood Promise Advisory Board, among others. In her statement, Fong said she spent the first 22 years of her life working at her parents’ Chinese restaurant in East Tacoma and has applied “my parent’s ‘mom and pop’ approach to how to show up and lead in my career and service to the community” for almost 30 years. Fong raised $5,360 and spent $1,278 on her campaign, according to the Public Disclosure Commission. She listed endorsements from City Council member Trestin Lauricella and Bethel School Board member Erasmo Ruiz, among other community leaders, on her website.
“A listener, collaborator and make-it-happen leader, I’ll work with Lakewoodians to feel safe, create economic growth, support small businesses and build a healthy and vibrant community,” she wrote.
Mark Herr is a U.S. Army Combat veteran, small business owner and former Lakewood Chamber of Commerce ambassador. He’s served on the Lakewood Planning Commission, the Lakewood Independent Salary Commission and the Rotary Club of Lakewood, among others. Herr is endorsed by Whalen, Moss, council member Paul Bocchi and council member Ryan Pearson, in addition to Rep. Travis Couture, R-35 and others, according to his website. According to the Public Disclosure Commission, he raised $18,250 and spent $5,210 on his campaign.
Herr said that after recovering from a “devastating motorcycle accident” he successfully led two small businesses through the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and advocated for transparency, accountability and public input on the planning commission.
“I understand firsthand the pressures facing our community — from growing demands for public safety, to the need for sustainable infrastructure and essential community services,” he wrote. “Lakewood is at a pivotal moment.”
Who are the Position 3 candidates?
Jennifer Lamari runs a solo law practice in Lakewood with more than 10 years of litigation experience, including as a criminal deputy prosecutor, city deputy prosecutor, assistant city attorney and deputy coroner, according to the Pierce County’s Local Voter’s Pamphlet. Lamari said she is familiar with a “wide variety” of state and municipal laws and listed those laws in her statement. She is endorsed by Indivisible Tacoma, a volunteer organization that has a mission to elect progressive leaders, according to her website. Lamari has raised $550 and spent $0 on her campaign, according to the Public Disclosure Commission.
If elected, Lamari said she vows to serve “all citizens equally and to ensure fairness and impartiality in all my actions as a nonpartisan city council member.”
Philip Lindholm is the CEO of a small business and on the Lakewood Planning Commission. He was an Air Force captain, a lecturer at the University of Washington and development researcher for the British Broadcasting Corporation, among other professional, educational and community service experiences. Lindholm said his small business and planning commission experience means, “I know how we can revitalize our downtown and effectively address homelessness, public safety and growth.”
“I will stand up for our military members and strengthen our city’s bond with JBLM and Camp Murray. As a son, father and former grief-group facilitator at Mary Bridge Hospital, I will be a bold advocate for our most vulnerable populations,” he wrote in his statement. “I believe in collaboration and have earned strong bipartisan support from leaders across our community.
Lindholm is endorsed by Whalen, in addition to former Lakewood mayors Don Anderson and Doug Richardson, in addition to deputy mayor Moss, council members Bocchi and Pearson, former police chief Mike Zaro, former Sheriff Paul Pastor, School Board President Alyssa Anderson Pearson, past and present Rotary presidents and local business owners, according to his statement. He has raised $24,845 on his campaign and spent $13,591, according to the Public Disclosure Commission.
This story was originally published July 18, 2025 at 5:30 AM.
