Re-elected by Kent voters for her second term in 2021, Mayor Dana Ralph serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the City of Kent in Washington State.

She along with a seven-member City Council and over 730 City employees work to deliver results for the 140,000 people and over 5,000 businesses that call Kent Home.

Mayor Ralph has the sole discretion to appoint the City’s Executive Leadership Team, which consists of the Directors overseeing all city departments

She works with them to develop policy, programs and services to benefit the residents and businesses of Kent. She is also responsible for preparing and transmitting the City’s $884 million-dollar biennial operating and capital budgets.

A Kent native, Mayor Ralph is the fourth generation of her family to call Kent home. After attending Kent public schools, she graduated from Kent-Meridian High School.

During high school, she met and later married her high school sweetheart, Shawn. Together, they raised two boys who graduated from Kentridge High School.

Nearly 30 years ago, Mayor Ralph started a small business in Kent, which she still owns, but no longer manages day-to-day operations.

Driven by wanting to make a difference in her hometown, she first became involved in local government about 20 years ago when she volunteered to serve on the City’s Land Use and Planning Board and the City’s Arts Commission.

As she learned more about policy and advocacy and the inner working of local government, she wanted to be more involved to help shape the future of our community that she loves.

She was first elected to the Kent City Council in 2011 and served from 2012 to 2017.

During 2014 and 2015, she served as Kent City Council President where she was responsible for agenda setting and committee assignments.

Knowing there was much more work to be done for Kent, she ran for Mayor while at the same time battling (and later defeating!) breast cancer.

She elected by voters in 2017 and sworn into office in January 2018 as Kent’s 27th Mayor and only the 3rd woman to ever hold the role.

As mayor, Dana has prioritized bringing good jobs to Kent, improving public safety, investing in the city’s infrastructure, parks and human services programs, expanding housing and transit options, and supporting Kent’s small businesses and industries.

She values communication and transparency, and serving with compassion as we look after vulnerable populations and ensure a principled approach to equity and inclusion.

When not at work, Mayor Ralph is known for her extensive knowledge of Rock N’ Roll, she enjoys camping, spending time with family and friends, attending community events and volunteering.

She is passionate about serving the many needs of our diverse city. She is one of the founders of the Shop with a Cop program that raises funds to buy Christmas gifts for families in-need through Kent Youth and Family Services, and she encourages all City employees to give back to the community whenever possible.

“I am so proud to call Kent home and it is such an honor to serve as your mayor.

Kent has infinite potential. We have all the ingredients to continue being a world-class city for residents and businesses to thrive and make a lasting impact,” said Mayor Ralph.

Our strength is our people, and I am blessed to work side-by-side with some of the best and brightest every day toward a shared vision: to make Kent an even better place to live, work and play for generations.

My hope is that you will join in the passion that drives me—the idea I work toward every day—showing the world Kent’s potential, and making sure our residents, businesses and community organizations have the tools to turn that potential into reality.”

• Mayor of Kent (2018 - Present)

• Kent City Councilmember (2012-2017)

• Kent City Council President (2014-2015)

• Former Chair, City of Kent Land Use and Planning Board

• Former Chair, City of Kent Arts Commission

• Former Board Member, Kiwanis Club of Kent

• Board Member Emeritus, Kent Chamber of Commerce

• Chair, King County Flood Control District Advisory Committee

• Chair, Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) Transportation Policy Board

• Member, PSRC Executive Board, Central Puget Sound Economic Development District, Executive Committee, Operations Committee

• Vice Chair, U.S. Conference of Mayors Transportation Committee and the New Economy

• Vice Chair, South King Housing and Homelessness Partners

• Member, Regional Policy Committee

• Member, Association of Washington Cities (AWC) Large City Advisory Committee

• Member, Sound Cities Association (SCA) Board

• Member, Sound Cities Association Finance Committee

• Member, Municipal Research and Services Center (MRSC) Board

• Former President, Sound Cities Association

• Former Chair, Transportation Policy Board

• Former Chair, Valley Communications Board

• Former Vice Chair, King County Flood Control Advisory Board

• Former Board Member, Watershed Resource Inventory Area 9

• Former Board Member, South County Area Transportation Board

• Former Board Member, Kiwanis Club of Kent

• Ex-Officio of the Kent Chamber of Commerce Board

• Former Member, South King Early Intervention Program