Council Member John Hines - Position 1
Council Member John Hines was elected to Tacoma City Council in 2019. Born in Tacoma, he has lived his entire life in the City of Destiny. He currently serves as the Instructional Facilitator for Academic Acceleration for Tacoma Public Schools supporting advanced programs and Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) in schools throughout the district. Prior to his position at Tacoma Public Schools, John spent ten years teaching high school social studies and AVID in Federal Way, in addition to coaching football. During that time, he became a National Board Certified Teacher, served as the president of the Washington State Council for the Social Studies, and was nationally recognized as an Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) Emerging Leader in 2013. John’s long history of community service in Tacoma is demonstrated most recently as a Trustee for the Tacoma Public Library and as a board member of the YWCA of Pierce County.
He is a proud graduate of Seward Elementary, Stewart Middle School, Lincoln High School and the University of Puget Sound (UPS). While at UPS, he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in History, Politics, and Government and his Master of Arts in Secondary Education. While at UPS, he played football, earning recognition as a member of the American Football Coaches Association All-American Good Works Team and served as an elected leader of the Associated Students of the University of Puget Sound.
Council Member Hines currently serves in multiple leadership roles at a national, state-wide and regional level. He currently serves on the National League of Cities’ Finance, Administration and Intergovernmental Relations (FAIR) Federal Advocacy Committee, the Association of Washington Cities’ (AWC) Large City Advisory Committee, and as a Pierce Transit Commissioner. On the Council he serves as Chair of the Government Performance and Finance Committee (GPFC) and as Vice-Chair of the Infrastructure, Planning and Sustainability (IPS) Committee. In 2021, he earned his Certificate of Municipal Leadership from the Association of Washington Cities.
John and his wife, Kelsey, currently live in the neighborhood of Silas High School with their two children. When not serving the residents of District 1, John can be found with his family outdoors hiking and kayaking, running (he has completed over 12 marathons including the 2011 Boston Marathon) or reading (he loves trivia and was a contestant on Jeopardy! in 2012).
John is passionate about serving the residents of District 1 with integrity, honesty, and dedication to solving the tough challenges facing our beautiful city and will advocate for excellent basic services to all residents of Tacoma.
Watch this CityLine Segment with Council Member Hines (November 10, 2022)
Watch this CityLine Segment with Council Member Hines (July 7, 2022).
To learn more about Council Member Hines, watch this episode of Inside Tacoma (January 16, 2020).