Council Member Kristina Michele Martens

Kristina Michele Martens

Represents: At Large Position
Term: Jan 2022- Dec 2023

Office Phone: 360-778-8214
Cell Phone: 360-303-2514
Email: kmmartens@cob.org

Kristina is a vocal member of the community, working to facilitate local conversations and improve access to news and information for residents of the Bellingham area. Throughout 2019, she was a co-host of Bellingham Tonight, a TV talk show filmed in front of a live studio audience of Bellinghamsters. Kristina has also served as the host of both the radio show Thursdays with Kristina Michele on KZAX-Lp 94.9 FM and the podcast Mission Accomplished? on KPNW-DB, where she discusses hot-button issues happening in society. On the strictly fun side, Kristina is proud of starting the local singing competition Bellingham Idol.

In the summer of 2020, Kristina partnered with communities across our city as part of the rallies for racial justice that drew over 5,000 Bellinghamsters. Kristina and the other rally organizers created spaces for members of marginalized communities to speak up about injustices they have faced, grieve together for victims of police violence, and celebrate their histories and cultures.

Then, inspired by the wave of parallel protests and the very real policy reforms that followed in communities across the country, Kristina began working to co-found the development of the Whatcom Racial Equity Commission. The Commission hopes to bring together local elected officials, leaders from local nonprofits, and community organizers in conversations about how to design specific policies to achieve real racial equity in Whatcom. The Commission will keep the community at the center of its process by engaging with public stakeholder groups where they define, assess, and make recommendations for solutions to race-based disparities experienced by residents of Whatcom County every day.

On the Council, Kristina serves as Chair of the Climate Action Committee and is a member of the Community and Economic Development, and the Public Works and Natural Resources Committees. Kristina is the Council’s representative to the Whatcom Council of Governments Policy Board, the Bellingham Public Library Board of Trustees, the Community Development Advisory Board, and the Immigration Advisory Board.

As the first Black woman to ever serve on Bellingham City Council, Kristina is honored to have the opportunity to bring a new voice and different perspective to the conversations of how to better our community.

Contacts

210 Lottie Street
Bellingham, WA 98225
Office Phone: 360-778-8214
Cell Phone: 360-303-2514

Email: kmmartens@cob.org

Email All Council Members: City Council