Outgoing Mayor Victoria Woodards thanked at least 30 people by name during her final Tacoma City Council meeting.
After 15 years on the council – seven as a council member and eight as mayor – Woodards was filled with gratitude. For her friends and family, her fellow council members, her supporters and city staff, as well as those who disagreed with her. The list could go on, she said.
In what was likely her final interview with The News Tribune as Tacoma’s mayor, surrounded by mementos of her time in office, Woodards reflected on her career in public service, at times getting emotional. In her usual warm and effusive manner, Woodards said she is proud of how the city endured the COVID-19 pandemic and the transition to a new presidential administration, and optimistic about mayor-elect Anders Ibsen’s leadership come 2026.
Her first priority when her term ends this year is to go on vacation – and after that, she doesn’t know. Woodards said she has considered getting into consulting but doesn’t intend to run for office again…