Young public policy professional joins Gig Harbor council following a series of turnovers

The Gig Harbor City Council appointed resident and public policy professional Emily (Em) Stone on Jan. 27 to fill the seat left by former council member Brenda Lykins, who stepped down for family reasons Jan. 15.

Stone, 31, is a senior policy advisor at the Washington State Department of Commerce, and is the latest appointment in a series of changes rippling through the council in recent months.

Former mayor Tracie Markley stepped down before the end of her term to focus on her family in November, leading to the appointment of former council member Mary Barber as mayor Nov. 21, The News Tribune reported. Small business owner Reid Ekberg was appointed out of four finalists chosen from 14 applicants to fill Barber’s former council seat on Dec. 12.

The remaining three finalists, Stone, Julie Martin and Stephen McDuffie, were called back on Jan. 27 to deliver three-minute statements about their qualifications to serve in Lykins’ former seat. The council members then made nominations and voted for their top choice. The mayor is excluded from voting.

The candidate with at least four votes wins the appointment, per council procedure. If no candidate receives at least four votes, the candidate with the least number of votes is eliminated and the council members vote again.

All three candidates were nominated by a council member for consideration. During the first round of votes, council members Reid Ekberg, Roger Henderson and Le Rodenberg voted for Stone and council members Ben Coronado and Jeni Woock voted for McDuffie. Council member Seth Storset voted for Martin.

Stone won the appointment in the second round after receiving votes from council members Ekberg, Henderson, Rodenberg and Storset. McDuffie received votes from council members Coronado and Woock.

In her statement to the city council, Stone said she has deep ties to Gig Harbor, where her immediate family lives. Her father — who came to the meeting to support Stone — moved to the city when he was 12 years old, and her grandparents retired there, she told the council.

“I cannot tell you what this city means to me and my family, and how grateful I am to call it my home,” Stone said.

She went on to say that she’s gained experience working with communities and the issues important to them through her career, from serving as a social worker to working on state and federal legislation. Her roles have broadened her knowledge and given her familiarity with “policy making and how levels of government talk to one another,” she said.

“We want to talk about public safety, small businesses, historical preservation, legal aid clinics, housing budgets, developer incentives — I can do that,” Stone said. “I’ve worked in all of these areas. I’ll never claim to know everything about an issue, and I’ll always listen to the voices of those most impacted.”

Her roles before stepping into her current job at the Washington State Department of Commerce include serving as the policy director for the Washington State Coalition Against Domestic Violence, working for the state Legislature and working directly with clients in the child welfare, human services and youth development fields, she told The News Tribune in an interview after the meeting.

She said she is confident she can draw on her network of contacts made throughout her career to help the city council figure out “who to pick up the phone and call” when they’re trying to find answers to questions. That could be a legislator working on some of the bills the city is discussing, a lobbyist for another city, or others just one or two connections away from the right person, she said.

Her “whys” for seeking a council seat are rooted in her family, according to her statement to the council. She said she wants to help build a city where her parents and other retired individuals can “age with dignity and afford to stay in town near children and grandkids,” and where kids are safe to grow up and be themselves in a city where they “have access to clean parks, can play sports (and) go to festivals.”

Asked by The News Tribune if she has any immediate ideas of what she wants to address in the city, she said it’s important to her to go with the council’s current momentum after being appointed, do her research, meet with staff and get oriented to her new role. She also said she’s looking forward to learning about issues related to public works, infrastructure and traffic that the city council addresses, while bringing her own expertise in other areas.

Stone is considering running for the same seat in the November election, she said when asked by The News Tribune. Lykins’ term was set to end Dec. 31, 2025.

This story was originally published January 28, 2025 at 10:36 AM.