Don Anderson Is Lakewood's New Mayor

Don Anderson - who six years after being elected to office is now the longest-serving member of the Lakewood City Council - became the city's new mayor on Tuesday night.

The city's elected leaders unanimously voted for the attorney and Navy veteran to serve out the job that became vacant this month, when longtime Mayor Doug Richardson resigned to begin his tenure on the Pierce County Council.

Council members also chose Councilman Jason Whalen to the city's deputy mayor post through the end of this year, a position Anderson held for years under Richardson.

Anderson is the city's fourth mayor. The first three: Richardson, Claudia Thomas (the state's first female African-American mayor) and retired Lt. Gen. William Harrison (the city's first mayor)

Although the title is mostly ceremonial (Lakewood adopted a council-manager form of government in which the city manager runs its day-to-day operations), being mayor of the second-largest city in the state's second-largest county is still a distinction. Name recognition is one of the things that propelled Richardson to victory at the county level.

But Anderson's ambitions appeared focused solely on the City of Lakewood on Tuesday night and the fact that the newer members on the dais will continue helping the city move forward.

"I think the most important thing now is we have a really good group to work with," he said. "We have six council members now who are all collaboratively committed to making Lakewood a better place."

Soon, there will be seven members on the dais, as the Lakewood City Council is looking to fill the spot left vacant with Richardson's departure. It also is bracing to lose its city manager, Andrew Neiditz, who was recently recommended to head the new South Sound 911 emergency communications agency.

Lakewood's leaders also unanimously Whalen to the deputy mayor position. The attorney and product of the Army ROTC program has served on the City Council for three years.