Quick Links Video of Council Meetings City Organization Chart (pdf)

The positions are non-partisan. Olympia City Councilmembers represent the community-at-large, not districts.

Position 1 is designated as the Mayor's position. The Mayor is elected by the citizens to that position.

Olympia incorporated in 1859, and will celebrate its 150th birthday in 2009. 
View a list of Olympia's elected officials from 1859 to the present.

In 1982, the citizens of Olympia voted to change the city's form of government from a three-member Commission to the Council-Manager model. The Council-Manager form of government is similar to a business corporate model. The Council serving as the Board of Directors. The Mayor is the Chairman of the Board, and the City Manager, who is hired by the City Council, is the Chief Executive Officer.

Olympia City Council

• Doug Mah, Mayor  
• Joe Hyer
• Jeff Kingsbury, Mayor Pro Tem
• Joan Machlis
• Karen Messmer

  From Left:  Jeff Kingsbury, Karen Messmer, Rhenda Strub, Doug Mah (Mayor), Joan Machlis, Joe Hyer, Craig Ottavelli

• Craig Ottavelli
• Rhenda Iris Strub

Open Government
The Olympia City Council is committed to an open and responsive government.

• City Council's Tuesday evening business meetings and study sessions are televised live on Olympia Cable Channel 3 (TCTV) and made available for online viewing through this website.
• The Council's weekly meeting agenda and associated documents are posted online by 3:00 p.m. each Friday for the following week.
• Up to 30 minutes is set aside at the start of Council's Tuesday evening meetings so that members of the public may share their ideas and comments on City business and activities directly with the City Council.
• Email and other correspondence to and from Councilmembers is archived and available for public release by contacting the City Council office.
• A process to request access to public documents has been established by the City Clerk's office.
• All Olympia advisory committee meetings are open to the public. 
• A biennial telephone survey is conducted of 400 Olympia utility customers to assess how well the City is meeting citizen expectations for service.