Gig Harbor City Council member resigns following decision to move outside city limits
The Gig Harbor City Council will soon have to fill another vacancy.
Council member Brenda Lykins announced her resignation, effective Jan. 15, during the Jan. 13 council meeting. The announcement follows the recent appointment of Reid Ekberg to fill Mary Barber’s council seat after she was appointed to become mayor in November.
“It has been my honor and privilege to serve the residents of the city, and my privilege to work alongside my honorable fellow council members and talented city staff,” Lykins wrote in an emailed statement Jan. 13. “I have learned so much in the role and I am deeply grateful for the opportunities I have had to contribute to the success of the city over the last several years.”
Lykins and her family are moving outside of city limits for personal reasons, according to her announcement at the meeting and her statement. According to Washington state law, city council members must be registered voters in the city they’re elected to serve and a resident of that city for at least one year prior to their election. The same goes for council members appointed to fill a vacancy, according to Gig Harbor City Council guidelines.
The nurse practitioner, elected in 2021 to serve from Jan. 1, 2022 to Dec. 31, 2025, wrote in her city website bio that she and her family chose to make Gig Harbor home because they “fell in love with the small town feel.” Priorities she included in her vision for the city included supporting preservation of the historic downtown area and its maritime character, ensuring responsible growth and development, protecting park spaces and listening to the citizens of Gig Harbor and their desires, according to her bio.
According to The News Tribune, Lykins was concerned about development and traffic when she was elected. She got into politics after observing a much-anticipated shopping center get delayed because of a lawsuit related to traffic impact fees, The News Tribune reported.
Lykins was selected on Jan. 22, 2024 to serve as mayor pro tempore, the designated council member who takes on the duties of the mayor in his or her absence for a maximum of six months, according to the Revised Code of Washington. She stepped into that role for one week between former Gig Harbor Mayor Tracie Markley’s resignation for family reasons and Mayor Barber’s appointment Nov. 25, 2024.
City Council guidelines dictate that staff recruit applicants to fill a council vacancy “at the earliest opportunity.” The process involves distributing public notice of a call for applicants over a two-week period, and interviewing finalists.
Council members Reid Ekberg and Jeni Woock, along with Mayor Barber, thanked Lykins for her service at the meeting Jan. 13.
“We will miss you, and together we have done amazing things,” Mayor Barber said to Lykins at the meeting.
The News Tribune reached out to Lykins via phone and email to ask for additional comments about her time on council but did not immediately hear back.
This story was originally published January 14, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
