Home-Grown Talent

Mayor Woodards was raised in Tacoma, and when you speak with her, it’s easy to see how much she loves her city. As mayor of her hometown, Woodards has a unique view of the city – both literally and figuratively – from her office window on the 12^th floor of the Tacoma Municipal Building. While she may not have set her sights on a career in politics, her love of community and heart for service put her there, as well as her longtime mentor and father figure, the late Harold Moss.

“I was working for the founding president and CEO of the (Tacoma) Urban League and in that job, I had the opportunity to meet prominent African American figures in our community. One of those people was Harold Moss,” said Woodards. “He was Tacoma’s first African American council member, Mayor, and county council member – but he was more than that, you know. We always call Harold Tacoma’s John Lewis or Tacoma’s Martin Luther King.”

As she tells it, Moss saw something in young Victoria and recruited her for a position as his assistant. While she hated to leave her role at the Tacoma Urban League, where she worked closely and built relationships with many of the people she supported in her community, after some prayer and personal consideration, Moss made her an offer she couldn’t refuse, and her political career began.

“I found out very quickly that it is a great job to be the assistant to a politician because when you pick up the phone and call somebody – it gets answered. If I call and say I’m with Harold Moss’s office, they jump just as high for me as if Harold called himself. At that point, I thought my job in life would be to work next to power and take care of powerful people in the community. But then, Harold got to the end of his term and started talking about me running for office,” said Woodards. “And I thought, yeah – no.”

While that may not have been the right fit, it didn’t take long for the right opportunity to present itself. A park commissioner seat was vacant, and the board was looking for a person of color, preferably a woman, to fill it. For Victoria – it was kismet.

“I went for the appointment, got the appointment, and haven’t looked back since,” said Woodards.

Woodards recounts several impactful lessons from her early mentorship with Moss, including how to value and respect people in all positions – not just the CEOs – and the importance of authentically living your values daily, not just saying them. Her passion for service to others as well as Moss’s early guidance and influence on her leadership are evident.

“Now look, here I am, mayor of my hometown, a city where he was the first African American mayor. I’m just honored to be able to carry on that legacy. I am the second biracial African American woman to serve as mayor. When I am done, we will have had 16 years of leadership in this community by African American women. And I don’t think that just speaks to the quality of me as a leader, but it speaks to the community that I am blessed to govern.”

Tackling the Tough Stuff

One of the biggest issues facing Mayor Woodards – as well as the entire nation – is the issue of affordable housing. The “Home in Tacoma” plan is a comprehensive initiative to address the housing crisis in Tacoma, Washington. The plan focuses on increasing affordable housing options, preventing homelessness, and improving housing stability for residents.

It includes measures such as investing in affordable housing development, expanding tenant protections, and partnering with organizations to provide supportive services for vulnerable populations. The benefits to the community are significant, as this plan aims to reduce the homeless population, improve living conditions for low-income families, and create more inclusive and equitable neighborhoods. By prioritizing affordable housing, Mayor Woodards seeks to enhance Tacoma’s overall quality of life, fostering a more vibrant and economically resilient city for all its residents.

Now in phase two, Woodards is leading the implementation amid public fear and uncertainty. Residents fear that changing zoning laws from single-family to multi-family units in downtown areas will potentially impact neighborhood character, increase population density, and cause parking shortages and traffic congestion. They worry that it might alter the look and feel of their neighborhoods, disrupt established communities, and potentially reduce property values. Some have apprehensions about the potential for noise, reduced privacy, and a perceived strain on local infrastructure and services as the population density increases. These concerns reflect a broader debate about balancing the need for affordable housing and urban development with the desire to preserve the existing character and quality of life in residential neighborhoods.

“A lot of our residents are very scared when we talk about doing away with single-family housing because they think that means we’re going to put in a six-story apartment building with 200 units right next door, but that doesn’t make sense,” said Woodards. “However, in a business district with a grocery on the corner and access to public transit, post office, and amenities like a bank – it makes perfect sense.”

Woodards, who recently completed a year-long term as president of the National League of Cities (NLC), went on to discuss how she led the conversation about solving affordable housing at the national level.

“The greatest outcome of our work was not another report. If a report would solve it, we would have already fixed it. But what we did do was sit down with national and local organizations in our cities who don’t normally sit across the table from one another. We talked to developers, realtors, people who finance, and rental housing associations. Those are the people often seen as opponents on the ground when, in fact, we all want the same thing… We had some pretty heated conversations about what needed to be fixed. Cities cannot build all the affordable housing we need, so we need developers and rental housing associations, realtors, and financiers – we need partners in this work.”