Lacey Beaty
Mayor of Beaverton, Oregon
Assumed office
January 2021
Preceded byDenny Doyle
Personal details
Born (1984-06-06) June 6, 1984
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseIan Beaty
Education
Military service
Branch/serviceUnited States Army
Years of service2002–2008
Battles/warsIraq War

Lacey Beaty is an American politician, combat veteran, and the current mayor of Beaverton, Oregon. She took office in 2021 as the first female and youngest mayor in Beaverton history, after serving six years as city councilor.[1][2] Before entering politics, Beaty served five years of active duty in the 1st Infantry Division of the United States Army as a radiology specialist and combat medic during the Iraq War.[3] She has also worked in public health, overseeing school-based health centers.[3] Beaty has identified the homelessness crisis and the welfare of veterans as priority issues for her administration.[3]

In 2015, Beaty served on the National League of Cities human development steering committee.[4] In 2016, she was named Outstanding Woman Veteran of the Year by the Oregon Department of Veterans' Affairs (ODVA).[1] Portland Business Journal named her to its "40 Under 40" list for 2022.[5] In 2023, Beaty became a member of Politico's inaugural Fifty Mayors Club.[6][3]

Early life and education

Beaty was raised by a single mother in San Diego, California.[7] She was the goalie of her women's lacrosse team at Poway High School and won the state championship.[8] Upon graduating, and just before the 9/11 attacks, Beaty enlisted in the United States Army.[9] In 2004, she was deployed as a combat medic to the Iraq War following the 2003 invasion of Iraq.[10] She also served for three years in Germany.[11]

After five years of active duty in the United States Army, Beaty enrolled at Oregon State University using the G.I. Bill. In 2012, she earned her Bachelor of Arts in political science.[2] In 2013, Beaty earned a Master of Arts in organizational leadership from Warner Pacific University.[7]

Beginning in 2008, Beaty coached women's lacrosse. She coached at Beaverton High School from 2008 to 2014, and later at George Fox University until 2021, when she was sworn in as mayor. She also served as the president of the Oregon Girls Lacrosse Association.[12]

In 2022, Beaty joined the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative's year-long professional development program, as part of its sixth class of 40 mayors from around the world.[13]

Political career

Prior to running for elected office, Beaty served as vice chair of Beaverton's Visioning Advisory Committee.[14]

Beaverton City Council

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]

Mayor of Beaverton

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]

Personal life

Lacey and her husband Ian Beaty have lived in Beaverton since 2008.[28] Ian is also a member of the armed services and was deployed to Afghanistan following Beaty's election to the Beaverton City Council in 2014.[14] They have a daughter.[29][30]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Councilor Lacey Beaty named Outstanding Woman Veteran". Beaverton Valley Times. March 18, 2016. Archived from the original on March 21, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Beaver Leaders: Lacey Beaty". Oregon State Foundation. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "We asked 50 mayors: What keeps you up at night?". Politico. April 12, 2023. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  4. ↑ Owen, Wendy (February 27, 2015). "Beaverton's Mark Fagin and Lacey Beaty appointed to National League of Cities". The Oregonian. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  5. 1 2 "Forty Under 40 2022: Mayor Lacey Beaty of Beaverton". Portland Business Journal. May 11, 2022. Archived from the original on July 10, 2023. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
  6. ↑ Lizza, Ryan; Daniels, Eugene; Bade, Rachael (January 20, 2023). "POLITICO Playbook: How Democrats betrayed New Hampshire". Politico. Retrieved July 11, 2023 – via ProQuest.
  7. 1 2 "Congratulations Warner Pacific Alum Lacey Beaty". Warner Pacific University. January 9, 2015. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  8. ↑ "Lacey Beaty - NIKE Sports Camps - USSC". www.ussportscamps.com. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
  9. ↑ "Episode 4 - The Complexity of being a Woman in the Military". Youtube. June 29, 2023.
  10. ↑ Murray, Siobhan (February 3, 2023). "First female and youngest-ever mayor of Beaverton, Oregon earned her OSU degree online". Oregon State Ecampus News. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
  11. ↑ Bray, Karl (May 21, 2014). "Lacey Beaty's city council win is bittersweet as husband leaves for Afghanistan". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on July 10, 2023. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
  12. ↑ "Lacey Beaty". Emerge Oregon. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  13. ↑ "Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative Announces Sixth Class of Mayors". Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative. July 18, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
  14. 1 2 3 Alteir, Nuran (January 1, 2015). "Incoming Beaverton City Councilor Lacey Beaty wants a defined downtown, warming shelter". oregonlive. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
  15. ↑ Frazier, Laura (May 11, 2014). "Beaverton City Council seats finalized: Oregon elections results 2014". Oregonlive. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  16. ↑ "Beaverton mayoral race a runoff; city charter will change". kgw.com. May 19, 2020. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  17. ↑ Urenda, Gabby; Valdez, Jamie; Miller, Mark (November 4, 2020). "Lacey Beaty wins Beaverton mayoral race". BeavertonValleyTimes.com. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  18. ↑ Notarianni, John (November 8, 2020). "Beaverton's new mayor, Lacey Beaty, will have a very different role". OPB. Archived from the original on July 10, 2023.
  19. 1 2 Bishop, Lauren (March 14, 2023). "Beaty touts accomplishments, work ahead in Beaverton's 2023 State of the City". BeavertonValleyTimes.com. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
  20. ↑ Parafiniuk-Talesnick, Tatiana (November 3, 2022). "'A CRISIS ON OUR STREETS': Mayor Vinis explains how leaders united to seek homelessness funding". The Register-Guard. Retrieved July 11, 2023 – via ProQuest.
  21. ↑ Bishop, Lauren (January 4, 2023). "$3M from federal spending bill headed to Beaverton's future year-round shelter". BeavertonValleyTimes.com. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
  22. 1 2 "Achieving Large Goals: Short Essays from Three U.S. Mayors". The Catalyst: A Journal of Ideas from the Bush Institute. No. 24. Summer 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
  23. ↑ Beaty, Lacey; Haruyama, Jenny (October–December 2021). "City Spotlight: Beaverton" (PDF). Oregon Mayors Association Newsletter. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
  24. ↑ Manning, Jeff (November 23, 2021). "Nike lobbyist Julia Brim-Edwards, who fiercely battled on behalf of sneaker giant, to call it quits". The Oregonian. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
  25. ↑ Marine, Drew (March 16, 2022). "'It's a dangerous stretch of road': Second deadly hit-and-run on SW Hall Blvd. in just over a week". CNN Wire Service. Retrieved July 12, 2023 – via ProQuest.
  26. 1 2 3 Grega, Kelcie (December 22, 2021). "League of Oregon Cities leader resigns". Corvallis Gazette-Times. Oregon Capital Insider. Retrieved July 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. ↑ Davis, Rob (December 20, 2021). "League of Oregon Cities' leader resigns, days after telling Beaverton mayor: 'You have NO SOUL … You are WEAK'". The Oregonian. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
  28. ↑ Bray, Karl (July 10, 2023). "Lacey Beaty files to run against Ian King for Beaverton City Council seat". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on July 10, 2023.
  29. ↑ "Event: A Conversation with Gina Ortiz Jones, Under Secretary of the U.S. Air Force". Mayors Innovation Project. August 30, 2022. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
  30. ↑ Carter, Veronica (June 28, 2023). "Beaverton's Mayor Honored by Washington County for Her Service". KXL. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
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