Councilmember Kristina Michele Martens, the first Black woman to serve on the Bellingham City Council, completes her two-year term of office on December 31, 2023. Councilmember Martens has served with candor and compassion, known as a steadfast advocate for community members — especially those representing historically underserved communities — and for “walking the talk.”
“We have come a long way in the time since I moved to Bellingham in 2016,” Councilmember Martens said when honored during her last City Council meeting in December. “All of the issues we deal with, we’ve seen how and what we can do in times of crisis. When we come together and collaborate, when we open the doors to let the community in more, our community makes this City so amazing,” she said, adding that “I’ve come, I’ve set my fires, off to the next thing!”
The Bellingham City Council passed a resolution in Councilmember Martens’ honor on December 11, 2023.
- A Resolution Honoring Councilmember Kristina Michele Martens For Her Service to the City of Bellingham (pdf)
- Video of Bellingham City Council honoring Councilmember Kristina Michele Martens (recognition begins at 23 minutes, 30 seconds into the video)
Councilmember Martens and fellow Councilmember Edwin “Skip” Williams made history as Bellingham’s first Black representatives elected to the City Council.
Prior to being elected to the City Council, Councilmember Martens became more involved in community life after helping organize and serving as key speaker at the 2020 Bellingham Black Lives Matter rally, uniting a crowd of hundreds of Bellingham residents around the cause of racial justice. She became an essential part of the small team that developed and oversaw the creation of the Whatcom County Racial Equity Commission.
She brought the same energy and commitment to her work as a City Councilmember after taking office in January 2022. She regularly stands in solidarity with community members, bringing forward resolutions on behalf of those she serves, casting dissenting votes, and speaking with candor and compassion at Council meetings and elsewhere. She was often seen commuting by foot to meetings around town – truly “walking the walk.”
Councilmember Martens inspired her fellow councilmembers to maintain focus on what they could accomplish as a body and encouraged them to be mindful of the power of their words and actions.
We are grateful to Councilmember Martens for her service and hope she will remain active in community issues.
