Kirkland, Wash – The City of Kirkland will host a farewell celebration for former Councilmember Toby Nixon on Thursday, January 11, 2024, at Heritage Hall, 203 Market St in Kirkland. All community members are invited to this free event. Doors open at 6 p.m.
“Toby has been such a dedicated Councilmember over the last twelve years,” said Mayor Kelli Curtis. “He’s meant a lot to so many community members and has made such an impact on transparency in government and public safety in Kirkland, among many other accomplishments. We wish him all the best in his next chapter.”
A resident of the Kingsgate neighborhood since 1993, Nixon has been active in public service for over two decades. Prior to being elected to the City Council, Nixon served as a commissioner of King County Fire Protection District #41 from 2009 to 2011 and as State Representative for the 45th District from 2002 to 2007. He chaired the Kirkland Ethics Task Force which drafted the code of ethics for the Kirkland City Council and boards and commissions. Nixon also co-chaired Citizens for One Kirkland, which advocated for annexation of Kingsgate, North Juanita, and Finn Hill into Kirkland, and served as chair for Citizens for Accountable Elections, which sponsored the successful initiative to make the King County Director of Elections an elected non-partisan office. He is a former president and current board member of his homeowner association, and a former board member of the Evergreen Hill Neighborhood Association.
Nixon is president emeritus of Washington Coalition for Open Government, a statewide non-partisan non-profit organization dedicated to protecting and extending the public’s right to know what their government is doing; he served on the WCOG board 2005-2021, and as president 2007-2021. In 2022, WCOG renamed its lifetime achievement award in his honor, and presented him the first Toby Nixon Award for his service to the cause of open government. Nixon was selected by the National Freedom of Information Coalition and the national Society of Professional Journalists for induction into the Heroes of the 50 States: The State Open Government Hall of Fame in 2012. He also received the “Freedom’s Light Award” from the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association for his support of the First Amendment in Washington.
Nixon also serves as chair of Nourishing Networks Consortium, as vice president of Kirkland-based Attain Housing, as board member of Heart of America Northwest, and as board member of Kirkland Interfaith Network.
The January 11 farewell celebration will include brief remarks by City leaders and opportunities for community members to express their thanks to Nixon. Light refreshments will be served. No RSVP required.
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