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About the Mayor
Mayor Don Gough and his wife JoAnn are celebrating their 25th Anniversary this year. They bought their Lynnwood home in 1983. They have two children, DeAnn and Justin. Both attended Lynnwood schools and graduated from Lynnwood High.
Don has a doctorate from Seattle University and is an attorney. His general practice in Lynnwood since 1979 has included family law, protecting abused children, dealing with domestic violence and, most recently, facilitating adoptions. JoAnn is a registered nurse and manager for Apria Healthcare. Before that she worked 25 years at Virginia Mason Hospital.
Don served for 10 years on the council (1995-2005). He was re-elected to the council in 1999 and 2003. He was elected Mayor in 2005 and will serve for four years, 2006-2009. |
In 2000, Don led the work to organize the city council and was elected the first Council President and Mayor Pro-Tem during 2000-2001. He served five years on the finance committee and was its chair for 2003-2004. He also served two years on the public safety committee.
The direction set by the council in 2000-2001 was to look at the long-term view, ensure accountability through performance management, and foster increased openness for ideas. Accordingly, Don has focused on protecting neighborhoods. He’s written, sponsored and worked with council members to successfully pass many improvements for our city including: a performance management and accountability act, a new budget law, an economic development office, long-term strategic planning and budgeting, and the first set of city goals and objectives.
Don has been awarded both the Association of Washington Cities Certified Municipal Leadership (1997) and Advanced Level Award (1998). To date, Don is number one in the state in the amount of leadership education and training for city elected officials.
Don is past liaison to the Fire, Police, Community Development, Library and Parks departments. He was the Medic 7 representative for six years and SnoCom (911) representative/alternate for nine years. |
About the Mayoral Position
The City of Lynnwood has a strong Mayor/Council form of government. The Mayor is elected directly by the people. Terms of office are four years.
The Mayor is the chief administrative officer of the City, responsible for managing city business, the staff and for implementing and enforcing ordinances, including the budget ordinance, and resolutions as passed by the the City Council, which functions as the legislative branch of local government.
The Mayor oversees the various departments of the City, all of which play a part in serving and protecting Lynnwood citizens, businesses and visitors.
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