Anders Ibsen has clinched the Tacoma mayor's race and is set to take office in the new year.
Ibsen defeated Tacoma District 1 City Council Member John Hines, winning over 56% of the vote. As of Thursday, Pierce County estimated there are around 1,500 outstanding ballots left to count. At that time, Ibsen led Hines by over 6,000 votes.
"This is your victory, just as much as mine. More so, as matter of fact," Ibsen told supporters on election night.
"Our city has a lot of challenges that we're facing, everything from public safety, housing stability, food security and the budget, obviously," he said. "It's our willpower. It's our creativity. It's our vision to have the courage to dream big, to be bigger, to do better."
As mayor, he will represent the entire community on the council and be involved in important decisions facing Tacoma, such as hiring a new city manager.
Unlike other major cities in Washington state, Tacoma's mayor isn’t the most powerful position in local government. An appointed city manager serves as the top executive, making the mayor more of a ceremonial leader who represents the city on the council.
Ibsen is a managing broker at a local real estate firm. He served two terms on the council, from 2012 to 2019. As mayor he has said he wants to foster an environment at the local level where city staff feel empowered to tackle problems creatively.
In his campaign, Ibsen focused on areas such as affordability and public safety issues. He has talked about improving how first responders address mental health crises and wants to build affordable housing projects on unused municipal land.
Ibsen gained the endorsements of a variety of groups in his bid for mayor, including Tacoma’s newspaper The News Tribune, the Pierce County Democrats and the progressive advocacy organization Indivisible Tacoma.
Hines and Ibsen will serve on the council together — Ibsen as mayor and Hines staying on in his role as a council member representing District 1.
