Here’s what Tacoma’s mayor said during her final state of the city address
In her final State of the City address, outgoing Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards reflected on the challenges the city has faced and accomplishments it has overcome during her tenure, focusing on the strides Tacoma has made to boost public safety and workforce development.
In what she called a “full circle moment,” Woodards delivered the address at her alma mater, Lincoln High School, on Oct. 2. The two-term mayor was first elected in 2017 and by the end of this year will conclude her final year as mayor, capping off a tenure at City Hall that started when she first became a City Council member in 2009.
Current District 1 council member John Hines and former District 1 council member Anders Ibsen are campaigning to replace Woodards in a four-year term starting January, as Woodards reaches the two-term limit for mayors in Tacoma.
With a crowd of roughly 100 people in attendance at the auditorium, Woodards reflected on some of the city’s recent accomplishments, including the renovation of Tacoma’s main library branch in downtown, the unveiling of a new city website and the ongoing work on Maritime | 253, an effort from Tacoma Public Schools to open a maritime skills center next year.
“Our skyline is changing, our neighborhoods are growing, and we are seeing steady economic progress,” Woodards said.
She spoke with optimism but said she knew that challenging times lie ahead given uncertainty over immigration, tariffs and more under a new presidential administration.
“Challenges are going to come, but I know that we can and we will overcome the trials and tribulations with resolve and determination,” she said.
She also lauded the council for the work it did on passing Home in Tacoma, a significant rezoning effort that concluded last December to expand the parts of the city in which new housing can be built.
Woodards gave special attention to the work the city has done on public safety, including the passage of a new lateral incentive program that seeks to address the department’s chronic understaffing with $50,000 signing bonuses for certain new hires at the Tacoma Police Department.
She also noted the death of Manny Ellis, who died while being restrained by officers with the Tacoma Police Department in 2020. The city has since approved millions of dollars in settlement money after the trial of the officers involved in Ellis’s death, both to the officers involved and to Ellis’s family. Woodards spoke proudly of the work the city has done to develop alternative-response programs, updating the Police Department’s use-of-force standards and giving officers body cameras.
“Our community stood together, and while cities across the country burned, Tacomans marched with determination and grace with the support of our Police Department, demanding accountability and keeping focus where it belonged, on transformation,” she said in her speech. “Out of that tragedy came action.”
