New Puyallup mayor predicts more civility, productivity on City Council

Puyallup’s new mayor this week predicted the City Council will usher in a new era of civility and vision this year.

Fellow council members voted unanimously to name John Hopkins mayor. Council rules provide that the most senior council member be named mayor.

Hopkins said he sees ample opportunity for the council to move the city forward in the next two years.

“This is a council that has vision, opportunity and goals,” Hopkins said. “This is a council that has a positive attitude.”

The prior council at times was criticized for unprofessional conduct, ranging from publicly airing personal feuds with a private citizen to limiting a resident’s comments during a public meeting.

Some residents called for new ethics rules for elected officials last year, partly in response to behavior they considered to be bullying.

The new mayor said the council will make Puyallup citizens proud.

“We’re going to respect each other. We’re going are going to discover that we can be civil and we’re going to get some things done,” he predicted.

Hopkins is the former owner of Diamond Electric, a leader in the Puyallup Main Street Association and a local property investor.

The mayor’s position makes him chairman of the council and ceremonial leader of the city. City manager Kevin Yamamoto handles the city’s day-to-day operations.

The two new members of the seven-member council, Robin Farris and Dean Johnson, were sworn in Tuesday. Both had campaigned in part on restoring good relations among council members.

This story was originally published January 8, 2016 at 1:31 PM with the headline "New Puyallup mayor predicts more civility, productivity on City Council."