Town Mayor and Council
MISSION
The Council's mission is to implement by legislation and policy decisions, the actions necessary to prudently preserve and enhance Yarrow Point's environment and to actively encourage community involvement in government through communication of issues and thoughtful response to residents' concerns.
Meetings:
Regular Council meetings are held at 4:00 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month at Town Hall. Agendas for regular Council meetings are posted at Town Hall at least four days before the meeting. Special Council meetings may be held from time to time as issues warrant. Notices and agendas for a special meeting are posted at Town Hall at least 24 hours before the special meeting. Council meetings represent grassroots politics at its best; citizens are encouraged to appear at meetings and speak to their elected representatives directly about issues of concern to them during the meeting. Citizens wishing to contact members of the Council outside of the Council meeting may do so by calling the Town Hall at (425) 454-6994 or emailing staff using one of the email links on the Administration page of this website.
The Mayor presides over Council meetings and serves as the Town's Chief Executive Officer. The Mayor has the authority to appoint staff to assist in implementing the executive duties of the Town and to appoint citizens to serve on the other advisory commissions and boards of the Town, with consent of the Council.
The Council of the Town of Yarrow Point is its governing body. It consists of five resident Councilmembers and one resident Mayor elected at large by registered voters residing in the Town. Each member serves a four-year term and is eligible for re-election without term limits.
The Council is responsible for establishing the policies, direction, and goals of the Town through the passage of ordinances, resolutions, and policy statements. They also are charged with authorizing the Town's annual operating budget and its monthly expenditures.
Yarrow Point's current Mayor and Council are:
| POSITION | COUNCIL MEMBER | TERM EPIRES | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mayor | Katy Harris | Dec 31, 2025 | mayor@yarrowpointwa.gov |
| 1 | Stephan Lagerholm, Mayor Pro Tem | Dec 31, 2025 | slagerholm@yarrowpointwa.gov |
| 2 | Carl Scandella | Dec 31, 2023 | cscandella@yarrowpointwa.gov |
| 3 | Chuck Porter | Dec 31, 2025 | cporter@yarrowpointwa.gov |
| 4 | Andy Valaas | Dec 31, 2023 | avalaas@yarrowpointwa.gov |
| 5 | Kathy Smith | Dec 31, 2025 | ksmith@yarrowpointwa.gov |
Mayor and Councilmember Biographies:
Mayor Katy Kinney Harris
I learned the value of community early in my close-knit Navy family life, moving and establishing new relationships 19 times before attending college. My three kids were raised on the Eastside with those same family values instilled in them. We all immediately felt at home in the community of Yarrow Point, buying a home on 94th in 2013. I highly regard preserving the unique qualities of Yarrow Point that make it such a wonderful place to live.
Outdoor/Experiential Education is a strong family value. My children’s interest in Environmental Science and Conservation paralleled mine, which led to decades of projects and service with the Seattle Aquarium Society, Woodland Park Zoo and Pacific Northwest YMCA Camps. My decades of advocacy for the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Board of Ambassadors continues to keep me grounded and grateful. In addition to various local non-profit endeavors, I frequently travel to NYC where I passionately strive to produce an Original Broadway Musical.
I enjoy triathlons, hiking, swimming at Samena or in Lake Washington off the dock at Road End Beach or at Loch Lane Beach with my Golden Retriever Langley. You will likely see me walking around YP with her.
Please reach out to me for a walk around our neighborhood!
Stephan Lagerholm
I grew up in Sweden and graduated from Uppsala University in 1999. I met my wife in 2005 and moved to the U.S in 2007. In 2007 I also started my own company that focused on consulting services to startups in the networking space. In 2009 I founded the Texas IPv6 Task Force and served on the board for 5 years while working for a startup called Secure64. I moved to Seattle in 2014 and worked for Microsoft for 3 years. At the end of 2016 I accepted a position with T-Mobile where I lead a team responsible for T-Mobile’s network architecture. I won the 2017 November election for Council Position #1. I have two precious sons and a wonderful wife. The town of Yarrow Point is a fantastic place to live, with a perfect balance of a small town feel and proximity to a prosperous metropolitan area. I’m happy to serve on the town council and make a difference in our community. I believe in being friendly to the environment, practical in daily life and in fostering a sense of community.
Carl Scandella
In 1992, my family and I moved to Yarrow Point, where I have since served on the Council for over a decade. Growing up in Sacramento during the Sputnik era, I aspired to become a scientist and contribute to the fight against human diseases. I pursued this dream by obtaining bachelor's and doctorate degrees from Caltech and Stanford, as well as research training at the University of Basel and the Pasteur Institute in Paris. In 1981, I joined the Biotech industry, which was still in its infancy and held much promise. At Chiron Corp. in Emeryville CA, I played a role in discovering, manufacturing, and marketing some of the first Biotech products to be approved by the FDA. These included a recombinant DNA vaccine against Hepatitis B, diagnostic tests and candidate vaccine for AIDS, and therapeutics for cancer and multiple sclerosis. Our most significant accomplishment, the discovery of the Hepatitis C virus and the development of a diagnostic test capable of screening the blood supply for Hepatitis C contamination, was recognized with the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2020. Since founding my consulting business upon arriving in Yarrow Point, I have worked with over 50 client companies. Recently I’ve provided expert witness services in patent cases involving top-selling pharmaceutical products. In addition to my work in Biotech, I have a strong interest in the environment and education. I helped design and teach the first course in Pharmaceutical Biotechnology at the University of Washington for 15 years. More recently, I have been involved with the WRIA 8 Council, a government council dedicated to restoring the salmon population in the Lake Washington/Lake Sammamish/Cedar River watershed, as well as the Pacific Science Center and the Logan Center for Education in Seattle, where I served as a Science Education Advisor with a focus on improving STEM education in public schools.
Chuck Porter
My wife (Nancy) and I have been residents of Yarrow Point since 2010. We have two children who live in the area: one a family law attorney; and one a game company executive. And a couple of vastly entertaining grand kids. After graduating with degrees in Math (Gonzaga) and Business (Michigan), I made my career working in technology. I retired the first time from a thirty-year career at Accenture and came out of retirement to be the CIO at Seattle University, where I retired again in 2016. Although semi-retired (my wife says more semi than retired) I have broad business interests in technology & life sciences. I serve on the Boards of non-profit (e.g. Seattle University) and for-profit (e.g. Theo Chocolate) companies and am deeply involved in the Pacific Northwest start-up ecosystem. In these various roles, I’ve lived, worked, and traveled to nearly 70 countries around the world. In general, I am in favor of governance with a light touch that’s informed by information. I’ve adopted a listen first approach to life and business which has served me well. For fun, I’m a motorcyclist, photographer, traveler, and former pilot. My term of service on the Yarrow Point Council began January 2022.
Andy Valaas
My wife and I have been residents of Yarrow Point since 1973, having raised our family of three children here. We have seven grandchildren spread across the country from here to the upper Midwest. After graduating from Whitman College with a degree in physics, I spent a little time in the Army and then earned a graduate degree in engineering from MIT. I am now retired after a career as an engineer and an engineering manager for Boeing Commercial Airplanes. I was first elected to the Town Council in 1993, and I have enjoyed the opportunity to contribute to the community by helping the Town make the necessary choices to maintain a sense of calm and tranquility in Yarrow Point despite the tremendous changes that have taken place in the greater Seattle area in the past 25 years.
Kathy Smith
My family, husband Jon and sons Patrick and Joshua, moved to Yarrow Point, in 1983. Yarrow Point was, and is, a wonderful community in which to raise a family. I grew up in Clyde Hill and attended Medina Elementary, Bellevue Jr. High and Bellevue High School. After graduating from Western Washington University with a BA in Education, I attended the University of Washington for post-graduate studies in Literacy. I was a reading specialist in the Lake Washington School district Title I program for many years before shifting my focus to early childhood education and teaching Pre-Kindergarten at St. Thomas School, Medina. Since becoming a resident of the town I have served Yarrow Point in a variety of capacities including chairing the 4th of July Committee and being a member of the Park Board for many years. I have fond memories of playing with friends who lived on Yarrow Point when I was growing up so maintaining the small town intimacy and family-friendly character of the town is important to me. Preserving the quality of life and policies that promote the common good will be foremost in my mind when making decisions during my term on the Council.
Approved Minutes of recent Council meetings as well as recordings of meeting, please call the Town Hall at (425) 454-6994 to arrange for a copy to be made for a nominal fee.