[5] During her childhood, the Woodards family moved to London, England before settling in Tacoma, Washington due to Cornelius serving in the United States Air Force.
[7] Up until her 2017 Mayoral Campaign, Woodards was under the impression that she obtained her associate degree from Pierce College due to her additional credits from City University.
[5] During an interview with the Association of Washington Cities, Woodards recalled how she was offered to apply at the Tacoma Urban League "which changed her life".
[13] After Woodards announced to the public that she would be running for mayor, it was reported that 55 people were competing for her spot on Tacoma City Council.
[10] After stepping down from her role on the City Council, Woodards ran for mayor against a local architect named Jim Merritt.
[17] In the midst of the campaign, Woodards also faced claims that she "falsely stated" that she had an associate degree from Pierce College.
[7] Woodards never published or claimed to have an associate degree to the public, only stating it once within her application to be appointed for Metro Parks Tacoma open seat in 2004.
[7] Woodards had the endorsements of Tacoma's current outgoing mayor, Marilyn Strickland, along with the rest of the city council.
Woodards endorsed the proposed Liquid Natural Gas facility, which had been a controversial matter, for Tacoma's tide flats.
[20] With the election taking place around the COVID-19 pandemic, Haverly stated that the city was "like a ghost town" due to downtown business closures.
[22] She serves on the advisory board of the United States Conference of Mayors and is vice-chair of the organization's Committee on Jobs, Education, and the Workforce.
[24] Tidy-Up Tacoma is a citywide initiative meant to help stop excessive street waste and vandalism.
[27] GRIT was funded both privately and publicly; using Tacoma's $500,000 share of the 15 million dollars that Jack Dorsey donated to Mayors for Guaranteed Income (MGI) as well as $100,000 from a collaboration with United Way of Pierce County.
[28] The purpose of the GRIT is to redefine the story of those within poverty systems as well as to help provide those who are "Asset Limited, Isolated, Constricted and Employed" with resources.
[32][33][34][35] In October 2024, Mayor Woodards voiced her support for Tacoma Police Chief Avery Moore after being placed on administrative leave for his personal use of a city asset.
The address provides the mayor an opportunity to lay out their vision for the future of the city and reflect on past milestones.
"The new format allows us to continue to hear directly from residents, but in a different and focused way that gives us a foundation to really weave in a tailored response that engages the public in a positive dialogue over the summer," Woodards said.
[37] During a November 2023 city council meeting, several callers spewed racial, anti semitic slurs during the public comment period.
[41] In June 2024, Woodards travelled to China for a sisters city summit organized by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries.
[43] In the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Woodards initially supported former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg before endorsing Joe Biden.