Community leader Victoria Woodards recently announced that she will run for Mayor of Tacoma in 2017.
Woodards, 51, is a U.S. Army veteran who currently works as President and CEO of the Tacoma Urban League, which she has run since 2011. Under her leadership, she has helped restore the financial health of the organization and helped expand its program offerings. The size of the organization’s operating budget has tripled under her leadership.
More than 50 local elected officials and neighborhood leaders are endorsing Woodards’ campaign, including incumbent Mayor Marilyn Strickland and the entire Tacoma City Council.
Woodards moved to Tacoma when she was three-years-old. She joined the U.S. Army after graduating from Lincoln High School. Victoria has lived in every Tacoma neighborhood but currently calls the Southend home.
“I love Tacoma. My family moved here when I was still a young girl, and I watched this city grow up as I did. The strength of this community helped me fulfill my destiny as an Army veteran, public servant, and non-profit leader,” Woodards said.
“I’m running for Mayor so every person who lives in Tacoma can fulfill their own destiny,” she continued. “I’ll fight for family-wage jobs, public safety, responsible budgets, local businesses, and a lasting solution to our homelessness and mental health crisis.”
Woodards has served on the Tacoma City Council for seven years. She previously served for five years as a Metro Parks Tacoma Commissioner.
On the City Council, Woodards has increased funding for Tacoma’s mental health programs and restored police and firefighter positions cut during the Great Recession. She was a leading proponent of the road improvement measures approved by Tacoma voters in 2015.
Woodards will step down from the City Council to run for Mayor. To keep city elections fair and open, Tacoma’s charter requires that elected officials observe a gap in service after being elected to two consecutive terms.
Victoria has served on the boards of the Crystal Judson Family Justice Center, the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department, the Washington State Historical Society, and the Foundation for Tacoma Students. She was recently appointed by Governor Inslee to the Washington State Partnership Council on Juvenile Justice.
