Beaverton’s new mayor, Lacey Beaty, will have a very different role

By John Notarianni (OPB)
Nov. 8, 2020 7:36 p.m. Updated: Nov. 9, 2020 4:56 p.m.

Earlier this year, Beaverton approved a charter adopting a council-manager form of government

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Beaverton is getting a new mayor next year — and she will have a very different job than her predecessor.

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Beaverton City Councilor Lacey Beaty defeated incumbent Denny Doyle in the election. He’d been mayor of the city since 2009.

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But earlier this year, Beaverton also approved a charter that adopts a council-manager form of government; it does away with the so-called “strong mayor” system the city had previously used.

That means Beaty and the city will be learning the limits of the new role together.

“The skills that you need to have in that job are like the team captain,” Beaty told OPB’s “Weekend Edition.”

Beaty has been a member of the Beaverton City Council since 2015.

“My six years on council showed me that it was really challenging to get council’s priorities addressed when there was a strong mayor,” Beaty said. “I’m really excited to create this new mayor position that hasn’t existed in our city before.”

Listen to Beaty’s full conversation on OPB’s “Weekend Edition” using the audio player above.

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