Last month, we featured the two candidates running for Tigard mayor this November (catch up anytime at tigardlife.com/go/2026-mayor).
This month, we turn our focus to the crowded field of eight candidates vying for three open city council seats. We asked each candidate about their background and community ties, their top priorities, and their vision for Tigard. Candidates are featured in alphabetical order, and responses have been edited for clarity and space.
Next month, we’re handing the microphone to you! We’ll be presenting a final round of questions to both the mayoral and city council candidates—and we want to know what matters most to our readers.
Send your candidate questions to mike@tigardlife.com by September 18, and look for the community’s top questions in our October print issue.
YOUSEF ALLOUZI
Background & Community Ties: Yousef Allouzi is a data analyst with more than 18 years of government service working with vulnerable communities. He holds a Bachelor of Science in economics and a Master of Public Policy from Oregon State University. A 24-year resident of Oregon, Allouzi spent more than a decade working to purchase a home in Tigard. His local volunteer service includes the Tigard City Budget Committee, Family Promise of Tualatin Valley, the Tigard Free Food Fair, and work as a small-claims court mediator.
Key Priorities: Safe Streets for All: Prioritizing traffic safety improvements throughout Tigard to prevent fatal crashes and serious injuries.
Affordable Housing: Developing housing policies that support working families earning less than the area median income.
People-Centered Policies: Using data-driven decision-making that emphasizes equity, efficiency, government transparency, and small businesses over short-term corporate gains.
Vision for Council: Allouzi is running because he believes Tigard is at a critical juncture requiring proactive leadership over reactive responses. During his term, he aims to implement a proactive policy framework that centers working people, incorporates equity into city decisions, and ensures local government remains accountable to the public.
TOM ANDERSON
Background & Community Ties: Tom Anderson is a principal real estate broker, small-business owner, and current Tigard city councilor, appointed in 2026 after previously serving from 2016 to 2020. He and his wife, Kelcie, raised their two children in Tigard. His civic service includes serving as president of the Tigard Planning Commission, holding leadership roles with the Tigard Rotary Club and Tigard Chamber of Commerce Government Affairs Committee, and playing trumpet in the Tualatin Valley Community Band.
Key Priorities: Housing Affordability & Smart Growth: Expanding housing options and managing growth in areas like River Terrace 2.0 while protecting parks and green spaces.
Infrastructure & Traffic: Managing traffic congestion and investing in long-term transportation infrastructure.
Economic Development & Fiscal Stability: Supporting local businesses, strengthening the regional economy, and protecting essential city services through balanced budgeting.
Vision for Council: Anderson is running to provide experienced leadership, continuity, and stability on council. His primary goals are to advance downtown revitalization, guide the River Terrace 2.0 development, and ensure Tigard maintains a sustainable fiscal foundation.
JEFF DARLAND
Background & Community Ties: Jeff Darland is a stay-at-home parent with a professional background leading international manufacturing and innovation research teams across Asia and Europe. He purchased his Tigard home in 2004, drawn by the school district, trails, and green spaces. Darland serves on the Tigard Budget Committee, where he has conducted extensive reviews of the city’s capital planning and water system development charges (SDCs).
Key Priorities: Infrastructure Funding Reform: Ensuring development pays for itself through updated SDCs so existing ratepayers do not subsidize pipe, road, water, sewer, and stormwater expansions.
Permanent Housing Affordability: Establishing community land trusts and public land leasing models so taxpayer-supported housing remains affordable across future resales.
Livability in Growth: Requiring new development projects to include walkable streets, open natural areas, and functional public gathering spaces alongside added density.
Vision for Council: Darland is running to bring an analytical, independent perspective to council to examine city finances. During his term, he aims to audit ratepayer fee allocations, establish growth-funded sewer and stormwater fee structures, and integrate public land trust models into Tigard’s state-mandated housing strategy.
SUE GARINO
Background & Community Ties: Sue Garino recently retired after nearly two decades with the Tigard Police Department in non-sworn roles, including property and evidence specialist, community service officer, and records specialist. She served nine years on the Tigard Police Officers’ Association executive board. An 11-year Tigard resident living in Summerfield, she has been active in her homeowners association and volunteered on four local public safety bond and levy campaigns.
Key Priorities:
Fiscal Responsibility: Protecting taxpayer dollars by controlling taxes and fees, establishing clear spending priorities, and ending the use of one-time funds for ongoing operations.
Public Safety & Core Infrastructure: Ensuring law enforcement has the resources needed to protect neighborhoods while keeping municipal streets and utilities well maintained.
Responsive City Government: Listening directly to seniors, working families, and local business owners experiencing pressure from rising costs.
Vision for Council: Garino is running to help local government get back to basics: providing reliable municipal services, practicing fiscal restraint, and listening to residents. Her primary goal is to establish disciplined spending priorities that protect essential services without overburdening taxpayers.
JOHN GOODHOUSE
Background & Community Ties: John Goodhouse is an independent insurance broker, downtown small-business owner, and lifelong Tigard resident who previously served as a Tigard city councilor. His leadership background includes the National League of Cities Board of Directors and Transportation Committee, chair of the Willamette River Water Coalition, the League of Oregon Cities Finance Committee, and the Family Promise of Tualatin Valley Board of Directors.
Key Priorities: Public Safety: Fully supporting the Tigard Police Department to keep neighborhoods, commercial areas, and parks safe for families.
Downtown Vitality: Supporting downtown small businesses to ensure an active destination where residents can shop, dine, and gather.
Affordable Housing Options: Collaborating with homebuilders and city planners to streamline the permitting process and lower the cost of home construction.
Vision for Council: Goodhouse is running to provide accessible, experienced representation for all residents across party lines. His goal during his term is to streamline the city’s housing development regulations to generate more affordable options while keeping Tigard safe and economically vibrant.
SHAWNE MARTINEZ
Background & Community Ties: Shawne Martinez is a program coordinator for an Oregon nonprofit, working with the Oregon Safe Routes to School network and training physical education teachers statewide. He received The Street Trust’s Safe Streets for All Award in 2023. A 13-year Tigard resident, he has volunteered with the Tigard Transportation Advisory Committee, Tigard-Tualatin School District Budget Committee, Climate Action Tigard, Metzger Elementary bike programs, and PNW Search and Rescue.
Key Priorities: Active Transportation: Expanding safe walking, biking, and transit connections to reduce traffic congestion, improve public health, and lower carbon emissions.
Climate Resilience: Accelerating local climate action measures to protect neighborhoods from extreme heat and environmental hazards.
Equitable Infill Housing: Encouraging infill housing and building up rather than out to use existing infrastructure efficiently and expand affordable housing stock.
Vision for Council: Martinez is running because he believes Tigard needs to act with greater urgency on climate resilience and transportation access. His primary objective is to implement urban policies that expand complete pedestrian networks, accelerate local climate goals, and ensure a livable community for future generations.
KATE RISTAU
Background & Community Ties: Kate Ristau is a nonprofit executive, author, former University of Oregon instructor, and more than 20-year Tigard resident. She has served on the Tigard Library Board since 2017, including as chair since 2022. Ristau brings more than 15 years of experience in organizational leadership, strategic planning, education, and budgeting. She and her husband raised their son in Tigard.
Key Priorities: Infrastructure & Multimodal Connectivity: Completing missing sidewalk networks along Southwest 72nd Avenue, adding bike lanes in the Tigard Triangle, and connecting gaps on the Fanno Creek Trail.
Thoughtful Growth & Economic Vitality: Guiding sustainable development in River Terrace 2.0 while supporting local merchants and downtown vitality.
Essential Community Services: Maintaining strong investments in public amenities, municipal parks, and the Tigard Public Library.
Vision for Council: Ristau is running to bring collaborative, forward-looking leadership to the council centered on four principles: listening first, planning ahead, spending wisely, and working together. Her goal is to complete critical pedestrian and trail networks while ensuring new growth pays its own way.
GABRIEL ELIJIO VELÁSQUEZ
Background & Community Ties: Gabriel Elijio Velásquez is a lifelong Tigard resident of 27 years, a healthcare worker, and chair of the Tigard Town Center Advisory Commission, as well as a member of the City Center Grant Approval Committee. Raised in a working-class household, he graduated from Tigard public schools and earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Portland State University. His career includes work as a state legislative staffer, lobbyist, and municipal program manager.
Key Priorities: Housing Access & Homeownership: Restricting corporate investor purchases of single-family homes during their first two years on the market and building municipal programs to help renters transition into homeownership.
Small-Business Development: De-risking private investment for entrepreneurs through shared city market data and updating zoning to convert underused parking lots into commercial developments.
Community Safety Infrastructure: Upgrading public works facilities, establishing an in-house police evidence facility, and expanding transitional housing, navigation centers, and protected pedestrian routes.
Vision for Council: Velásquez is running to provide practical leadership focused on keeping Tigard affordable and accessible for working families. His primary policy goal is to enact homeownership protections and reform local zoning codes to generate new commercial opportunities for local small businesses.
