Ryan Walters Announces Run for Mayor of Anacortes

April 11, 2025

Anacortes—City Councilmember Ryan Walters today announced his candidacy for mayor of Anacortes.

Incumbent mayor Matt Miller recently announced he would not seek reelection. “We thank Mayor Miller for all his hard work and accomplishments over the last four years,” Walters said.

Walters has been a strong advocate of improving the condition of our neighborhood streets, connecting sidewalks, and self-funding the repaving of Commercial Avenue. Walters said his priorities are to continue our investments in our parks and infrastructure while working to make Anacortes more affordable. “Our quality of life was built by the people who built Anacortes,” Walters said. &lqduo;The future I want for Anacortes is one where working people can still afford a home and raise a family.”

Former mayor Laurie Gere, who served with Walters from 2014-2021, offered her endorsement. “Ryan is dedicated to the strength and future of Anacortes,” she said. “His work has provided a solid foundation for the city today and into the future. He is a problem solver, he is a critical thinker, and he always facilitates a collaborative and transparent public process.”

As the longest serving member of the city council, Walters has led efforts to improve public safety and emergency response, protect our forestlands, and improve our zoning code and code enforcement. He has been a steadfast champion of the city's fiber project, and helped craft the city's affordable housing initiatives that support the Family Center and Housing Authority. He worked with the Port of Anacortes on the project to build a waterfront community event facility--at no cost to city taxpayers.

Walters is a former prosecutor and former planning director. Currently in private practice as a municipal and land use attorney, Walters works with other local governments to rewrite their zoning codes and improve their permit procedures. He is the principal author of a forthcoming state guidebook on how to process building and land use permit applications.

The son of Randy and Cyndi Walters, Ryan's family has lived in Anacortes for five generations. Ryan and his wife Allison recently welcomed their first child, Benjamin. The family lives in a century-old home they've remodeled in Old Town, across the street from where Allison's great grandparents lived in the 1950s.

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