The City Council enacts all legislation and general policy decisions governing Lakewood. Lakewood City Council consists of seven part-time, nonpartisan members elected every two years. They then hold a four-year term.
Lakewood City Council
Lakewood City Hall – Council Chambers
6000 Main Street SW
Lakewood, WA 98499
City Hall Hours
Monday to Friday: 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
About Lakewood Government
The City of Lakewood is a code city with a Council-Manager form of government. The City Council consists of seven part-time, nonpartisan members elected every two years. They then hold a four-year term. The council elects one of its members as Mayor.
The City Council enacts all legislation and general policy decisions governing Lakewood. The council appoints a City Manager to oversee the administrative functions of the City. The City manager also implements the policies and goals of the City Council. This includes leading City departments to provide efficient, quality service to Lakewood residents.
Council follows adopted Rules and Procedures and its adopted code of ethics and protocols.
The council also appoints members of the City’s advisory boards and committees.
City Councilmembers
- Mayor
- Took office: 2010
- Term expires: December 31, 2025
- City Hall: (253) 983-7705
- Email: JWhalen
To email City Council, add their email handle before @cityoflakewood.us
Elected to his fourth term in 2021, Mayor Jason Whalen has served on the City Council in Position 3 since 2010 and was appointed Mayor by the Council in January 2022 and again in 2024. Whalen represents Lakewood on the Pierce County Regional Council, the Pierce Transit Board of Commissioners, and is a former member (Past Chair) of the Economic Development Board for Tacoma-Pierce County.
Whalen was commissioned as a second lieutenant through Gonzaga’s Army ROTC Program. He served as a field artillery officer in Bamberg, Germany, from 1986 to 1989, returning to Gonzaga for law school. Since 1993, Whalen has been in private law practice, focusing on real estate, business, and employment-related litigation. From 1993 through 2014, Whalen was an associate attorney, and then a partner, with the Tacoma law firm of Eisenhower & Carlson. In 2015, Whalen co-founded Ledger Square Law, P.S., a boutique real estate, business, and litigation law firm serving the South Puget Sound.
In 2023, Whalen returned to public legal service and served as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for the Pierce County Prosecutor’s Office, Civil Division. Whalen was recently appointed as the City Attorney for the City of Auburn, where he serves as Director of the Legal Department.
Whalen is a Senior Fellow of the American Leadership Forum (Class 19) and continues his service as a professional mediator with OnPoint Dispute Resolution, a dispute resolution company he founded, helping private litigants resolve their disputes before incurring undue litigation expenses. He is Past President of Lakewood Rotary.
Whalen has been married to his wife, Gael, for 36 years. They have three daughters, Olivia, Clare, and Alison.
- Deputy Mayor, Position 1
- Took office: 2010
- Term expires: December 31, 2025
- City Hall: (253) 983-7705
- Email: MMoss
To email City Council, add their email handle before @cityoflakewood.us
Bio:
Deputy Mayor Mary Moss was elected to Position 1 on the Lakewood City Council in November 2009. She is a native of Virginia and moved to Washington State as a military dependent. She graduated from The Evergreen State College with a Bachelor’s degree in Liberal Arts and received her Master’s Degree in Organizational Leadership from Chapman University.
Moss earned recognition in her role as Community Relations Manager for Harborstone Credit Union, from which she retired after 36 years. She received the Pierce County Chapter of Credit Unions’ Lifetime Achievement Award and was chosen as a Woman of Influence by the Business Examiner. She also recently received the Thomas Bradley Distinguished Citizen award for her work in the community. In addition, Governor Jay Inslee re-appointed her to the Clover Park Technical College Board of Trustees through the end of 2018. She currently serves as the council liaison to Lakewood’s Promise and is the president of the Lakewood Multicultural Coalition (LMCC).
She is the proud mother of three adult children; two sons and a daughter who have blessed her with 11 grandchildren.
- Position 4
- Took office: 2024
- Term expires: Dec. 31, 2027
- City Hall: (253) 983-7705
- Email: RPearson
To email City Council, add their email handle before @cityoflakewood.us
Bio:
Council member Ryan Pearson was born and raised in Prescott, Arizona and attended Northern Arizona University. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering in 2012.
Pearson is a licensed professional engineer and began working as a civil engineering consultant in 2012. He joined the public sector in 2018 when he took a job with Pierce County. While at Pierce County, he has worked primarily on commercial/industrial and residential subdivision projects. Prior to being elected to the Lakewood City Council, Pearson served on the Lakewood Planning Commission.
He is married to a proud lifelong Lakewood resident, Alyssa. They have two amazing children.
- Councilmember, Position 2
- Took office: 2010
- Term expires: December 31, 2025
- City Hall: (253) 983-7705
- Email: MBrandstetter
To email City Council, add their email handle before @cityoflakewood.us
Bio:
Councilmember Mike Brandstetter has served on the Lakewood City Council in Position 2 since January 2010. He represents the City on the South Sound 911 Board. He also serves as a Director on the boards of the Lakewood Multicultural Coalition and the Lakewood Sister Cities Association.
He retired from the US Army in 1999 and joined Bates Technical College. At Bates he served as Dean of Academic Instruction and Adult Basic Education; Dean of Engineering, Computer Science and Advanced Technologies; and as a workforce education program manager.
Councilmember Brandstetter and his wife, Hae Yon, have resided in Lakewood since 1993.
- Councilmember, Position 5
- Took office: 2021
- Term expires: December 31, 2025
- City Hall: (253) 983-7705
- Cell Phone: (253) 495-1148
- Email: PBelle
To email City Council, add their email handle before @cityoflakewood.us
Bio:
Councilmember Patti Belle was appointed to her first term on the Lakewood City Council in 2021. She was born and raised in Port Orchard, Washington, and has lived in Pierce County for more than two decades. She has called Lakewood her home since 2018.
Councilmember Belle first entered the communications and marketing industry over 20 years ago. After more than 8 years with the Tacoma News Tribune, she moved on to the public sector where she joined the City of Kent. Currently working in the Office of Kent Mayor Dana Ralph as the Communications Manager, she has led national, award-winning visual communications and marketing teams in both the public and private sectors. She has served on the City of Lakewood Art’s Commission for 2 years and continues to work with a variety of freelance clients.
Councilmember Belle and her husband Ron have been married since 2010 and have one daughter.
- Councilmember, Position 6
- Took office: 2023
- Term expires: December 31, 2027
- City Hall: (253) 983-7705
- Email: TLauricella
To email City Council, add their email handle before @cityoflakewood.us
Bio:
Councilmember Trestin Lauricella was appointed to serve the City in 2023. He was born and raised in Lakewood and is proud to call our city home. A graduate of Clover Park High School, he attended Saint Martin’s University where he earned his Bachelor’s in Engineering, followed by an MBA from Seattle University. Since graduating, he has spent nearly two decades in the private sector as a cross-functional program manager – balancing business strategy and employee engagement needs for maximum performance.
Lauricella is also proud to serve our community through a 501(c)(3) non-profit, raising and directing funds to Pediatric Cancer Research and local Patient Support. He and his wife Kelly were married in 2011 and enjoy spending time with their large extended family and pets.
- Councilmember, Position 7
- Took office: 2012
- Term expires: Dec. 31, 2027
- City Hall: (253) 983-7705
- Email: PBocchi
To email City Council, add their email handle before @cityoflakewood.us
Bio:
Councilmember Paul Bocchi is serving his third term on the City Council in Position 7. He was born and raised in Bellingham, Washington. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics/Accounting from Western Washington University in 1985, and he graduated from Pacific Coast Banking School in 2002.
Councilmember Bocchi began working for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency as a Bank Examiner in 1985. In 1988 he started at Puget Sound Bank and continued to work in the banking industry until he was appointed to the Pierce County Council in 2003. After leaving the County Council he returned to banking until 2006 when he accepted his current position of Budget Legislative Analyst with the Pierce County Council.
Councilmember Bocchi has been married to his wife Holly since 1992 and they have three children together. He is actively involved in his church St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Lakewood.
City Council Vision Statement and Goals
On Aug. 19, 2024, the Lakewood City Council officially adopted goals for the 2025-2026 biennium. The main purpose of the adopted goals is to direct the community toward positive change. They serve as a policy direction for city government and the development of the City’s biennial budget. Goals guide the use of resources to assure that the community is always moving towards positive change.
Click the image to view a pdf of the adopted 2025-2026 City Council Goals.
Lakewood is a thriving, urban, South Puget Sound City, possessing the core values of family, community, education, economic prosperity, and the equitable delivery of municipal services. We will advance these values by recognizing our past, taking action in the present, and pursuing a dynamic future.
The City Council’s vision for Lakewood at its 30 Year Anniversary is a community:
- Inspired by its own sense of history and progress;
- Known for its safe and attractive neighborhoods, vibrant downtown, active arts and cultural communities;
- Sustained by robust economic growth and job creation;
- Recognized for the excellence of its public and private schools, and its community and technical colleges;
- Characterized by the beauty of its lakes, parks and natural environment;
- Acknowledged for excellence in the delivery of municipal services;
- That actively cultivates, embraces, and continually strives to create a more inclusive community with the equitable delivery of City services; and
- Supportive of Joint Base Lewis McChord (JBLM), Camp Murray, service members and their families.
– Lakewood City Council, Adopted June 21, 2021
Watch City Council Meetings
Every month, the first and third Mondays are regular council meetings. The second and fourth Mondays are study sessions. Typically, the council does not meet on the fifth Monday of the month, unless a special meeting is called. Meetings begin at 7 p.m. on the dates below, unless otherwise indicated.
View the full meeting calendar here.
There are three ways to watch a City Council Meeting:
In-Person
Lakewood City Hall
Council Chambers
6000 Main Street SW
Lakewood, WA 98499
Virtual
Meetings may be watched live from the City of Lakewood YouTube channel.
Meetings may also be joined via Zoom, meeting ID: 868 7263 2373.
Telephone
Dial +1 (253) 215- 8782 and enter meeting ID: 868 7263 2373.