Lacey Beaty

In 2014, Beaty ran for the city council of Beaverton, Oregon. She defeated incumbent Ian King in a three-way primary with 55 percent of the vote and went on to win the general election uncontested.[15]

In January 2015, at age 30, she assumed office as the youngest-ever elected official in Beaverton's history,[2][1][14] and went on to serve on the city council for six years.[2] As city councilor, she was an advocate for veterans, supporting Beaverton's designation as a Purple Heart City and recognition of service-disabled veterans in the city's Minority, Women, and Emerging Small Business Policy.[1] While in office, she also worked as director for Virginia Garcial Memorial Health Center's school-based health clinics across Washington and Yamhill counties.[1]

In 2020, Beaty ran for mayor of Beaverton, a position that Denny Doyle had held for 11 years. She won 34% of the vote in the May primary, against Doyle's 45%. The two advanced to a runoff election.[16] Beaty was elected mayor of Beaverton with 53.3% of the vote in the November 2020 runoff.[17] She took office in January 2021 as the role of mayor was transitioning by charter to a "city manager" form of government, away from the commission manager system that had been in place previously.[5][18]

As the first female and youngest mayor of Beaverton, Beaty has focused on affordable housing.[19] In 2022, she joined a task force of 25 mayors from the Oregon Mayors Association in requesting state funds to address homelessness.[20] In her 2023 State of the City address, she called housing a "fundamental human right", noting the development of new shelters, including the first-ever year-round shelter in Beaverton.[19][21]

In January 2021, Beaty helped to organize a COVID-19 Summit bringing together leaders from the public and private sectors to discuss making vaccines available to local residents.[22] Two weeks later, they piloted the first mass vaccination site in Washington County in the parking garage at Nike world headquarters in Beaverton, distributing nearly 50,000 doses of the vaccine.[23][24][22] Another key initiative for Beaty has been the Beaverton Loop Project to improve safety for cyclists and pedestrians, for which she has sought federal funding.[25]

In December 2021, Beaty filed a complaint with the League of Oregon Cities when its executive director Mike Cully sent her a slew of abusive private messages on Twitter calling her "weak".[26] Beaty had publicly called out Cully for announcing that he refused to tip fast food workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, and that they should "Get an education and a better job."[26] Cully later apologized, deleted his Twitter account, and resigned.[26][27]