Ibsen elected Mayor of Tacoma
Unlike Tacoma's neighbor to the north (Seattle), which saw a dramatic turnaround in results with Katie Wilson coming in from behind the incumbent by 9 points to lead a week later, Tacoma's Mayoral election was essentially settled on election day - with former Tacoma Councilmember Anders Ibsen (who represented District 1) again defeating Councilmember John Hines (currently representing District 1) in a citywide electoral rematch.
The margin of Ibsen's victory on election night was roughly 8 points at 53.61% of the vote, versus Hine's 45.78% of the vote. That margin grew to over 14 points as counting went on as shown in the table below.
| Candidate | Vote | Vote % | day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anders Ibsen | 13773 | 53.61% | 0 |
| John Hines | 11763 | 45.78% | 0 |
| WRITE-IN | 156 | 0.61% | 0 |
| Anders Ibsen | 17967 | 54.52% | 1 |
| John Hines | 14776 | 44.83% | 1 |
| WRITE-IN | 214 | 0.65% | 1 |
| Anders Ibsen | 27874 | 56.6% | 2 |
| John Hines | 21042 | 42.73% | 2 |
| WRITE-IN | 327 | 0.66% | 2 |
Geographically speaking, the general election showed few surprises versus the primary, with John Hines doing well in areas with views of Commencement Bay and the Tacoma Narrows Bridge and Anders Ibsen executing a near sweep of precincts from Point Defiance in the north to Fern Hill in the south. Ibsen had a complete lock on Central Tacoma with his message of expanding options for affordable housing, transit oriented development, and a sharp criticism of John Hines' policies with respect to homelessness.
John Hines did well in a few outlying precincts, edging out Ibsen in Old Town and parts of West Tacoma bordering University Place. He performed similarly in the primary, and did somewhat better in Northeast Tacoma by consolidating votes from candidates who did not reach the top-2 cut off, such as Steve Haverly, who later endorsed Hines for Mayor.
Single digit margins for Hines, Triple digit margins for Ibsen
In the precincts that Ibsen did not carry south of the I-5 turn the differences between the two candidates in terms of support was mostly in the single digits, such as in precinct 29-605 along S Tyler Street at 56th Street, which was Ibsen: 49, Hines: 53 - a difference of four votes and precinct 29-608 just south of that at Ibsen: 82, Hines: 88 - a difference of six votes.
While in Central Tacoma and Hilltop, such as in Precinct 27-490, Ibsen led Hines at a near 3:1 margin with Ibsen: 308, Hines: 110. Such a story was repeated several times over in Downtown Tacoma precincts and all but one precinct on the East Side, with 3:2 or 2:1 margins. The race was not a complete runaway success for Ibsen only due to lower voter turnout outside of Council Districts 1 (West End, North End) and 2 (Northeast Tacoma, Downtown, North End). It is a well documented pattern that Districts 3, 4, and 5 are generally more diverse and more working class than Districts 1 and 2 and have historically lower rates of voter participation, especially in off-years.
What does Ibsen's election mean for Tacoma?
Voters making known their preference for leadership on the Council, which is a break from the status quo, may show that there is widespread dissatisfaction with the way that the City government is being run on key issues where Ibsen and Hines disagree. These policy areas include the Council's current approach to voter-approved residential tenant protections and the treatment of unhoused individuals through a police crackdown and expansion of criminal penalties for "public camping."
Appointment of a City Manager, Police Chief
Mayor-elect Ibsen now has an opportunity to reset some of these policy conversations and rebuild public trust through leading the Council's identification of a new permanent city manager and police chief, two key positions that either direct or take up significant portions of the City's general fund. Ibsen in the past has advocated for greater accountability of appointed staff through changes to the City Charter, where voters approved his move to ensure periodic performance reviews and Council confirmation of the TPU Director.
Worker's Rights and Minimum Wage
Ibsen when he was on Council supported a higher minimum wage for workers. He will have the opportunity to weigh in again on these issues with the recent qualified initiative petition for a higher minimum wage and 'workers bill of rights' being previously hampered by Council action and legal mental gymnastics in defiance of the City Charter.
Municipal Broadband
Ibsen was a strong advocate of public ownership of utilities, including Tacoma's Click Network, which was leased out to Rainier Connect in 2020 and has subsequently been absorbed into a multinational telecommunications conglomerate without objection by the current Council. Ibsen may have a chance to take actions that would see a long range vision of municipal broadband realized in the City of Destiny if he makes it a priority at TPU.
Transit Oriented Development and Tacoma Light Rail
Coming into office on the sole endorsement by The Urbanist, Mayor Ibsen is likely to continue his support for smart growth initiatives that he supported when he was a councilmember. In the coming year there will be an opportunity to make adjustments to the Home in Tacoma housing program, passed last year that eliminated strict single family zoning. He will also have a chance during his term to serve on the Pierce Transit and potentially Sound Transit Boards to represent Tacoma's interests for regional light rail expansion and local transit service improvements. He may also instead rely on the leadership of Councilmember Kristina Walker, who is a longtime transit advocate and councilmember at-large.
Passing City ballot measures for streets, fire service
Mr. Ibsen was known for his penchant for being responsive to the needs of constituents asking for the City's help to get services. Rebuilding trust in City government will be essential to proposing and passing future city-introduced referenda to support a renewed streets levy, fire department levies, and other investments in city services that lag behind the rest of the region. Many services the city provides are under strain due to population growth, aging equipment, and obsolete capital facilities, issues that are only poised to become more serious over time.
Building support for better transit service
Ibsen was clear in his campaign that for public transit to succeed in Pierce County, it needs a strong, well-organized campaign to fight for increased funding. A campaign for such a measure could start with a re-envisioned Tacoma Streets Initiative that includes some city-focused transit funding to expand bus service hours each day and frequency on key routes targeted for affordable housing expansion. This could pave the way for a more certain victory of a countywide transit measure with greater scope. The direction taken on this issue could very well be influenced by Mayor Ibsen's leadership, but will otherwise be up to the Pierce Transit Board of Directors.