Lakewood locks in new Council crew and gets to business

Jan5, 2026

In the wake of the retirement of Mayor Jason Whalen and Deputy Mayor Mary Moss, a constituent election selected two new Councilmembers to fill the vacated seats.  Patti Belle and Mike Brandstetter held their Council positions and were sworn in as well.

Ellen Talbo was newly sworn in tonight.  She is 40 and her family has lived in Lakewood all her life.

She holds a Master's in Urban Planning, held several civic organization positions and recently sat on the City's Planning Commission as Vice Chair.  

Philip Lindholm was sworn in tonight and also sat on the Planning Commission.  He is 44 and has lived in South Puget Sound for nearly a decade. 

They were technically sworn in earlier today but given a ceremonial swearing-in during the night's Council meeting.  

Shortly after, Paul Bocchi was elected Mayor unanimously and Patti Belle was elected Deputy Mayor unanimously.