Councilmember Marli Larimer grew up in Portland, but after a few years in in Arizona and California, her family returned the Northwest and settled in Kent in 1990. Marli later graduated from Kentwood and spent her college and early career years in West Seattle, where she met her husband, Terry. In 2009, they decided to move back to Kent to raise their family. They live in the Panther Lake area and have two teenagers at Kentridge who are active in tennis and ballet.

Like many Kent residents, Marli balances work, family, and community life. With a bachelor’s degree in mass communications and an associate’s degree in non-profit management, Marli works for Concentrix Catalyst as the Global Director of Content & Communication where she manages a large team of consultants around the world that help brands create digital experiences.

Her council priorities include developing creative solutions for the City’s financial challenges and addressing the housing affordability crisis. She's passionate about finding ways to connect Kent’s youth to high-paying jobs in space-tech and advanced manufacturing in the Kent Valley and supporting small businesses that are the lifeblood of our community.

“I want to be sure we are securing housing for all economic levels and that we have a fair and balanced approach that suits all residents,” Marli said. “From regional and economic perspectives, we need to take our place at the table and push for Kent's housing, transportation, funding, and programming needs."

While on Council, she is particularly proud of her work on the Council's race and equity resolution, where she worked to secure funding for youth mental health, police data analysis and a police co-responder model. Other measures she's proud to have introduced or supported include extended protections for renters throughout the city (later overturned when the State passed equally protective statewide policies), single use plastic bag ban (also later duplicated at the state-level), increased transparency in Council meeting scheduling, expanded open application policies for citizen advisory boards, a plan to save labor and water costs by introducing pollinator gardens throughout the City, and lobbying for local crosswalks for safer school crossings.

When not at work, Marli is an active community volunteer, working with Evergreen City Ballet and school groups. She is the subject-matter-expert for Kent’s Economic and Community Development committee, sits on the Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority’s Governance Board, and serves on the Seattle-King County Advisory Council for Aging & Disability Services since 2019. Having been raised with a sister with cerebral palsy, disability rights and services is an area of policy that she is passionate about.

Every year, Marli and Terry take their kids, who are avid Marvel and anime fans, to Emerald City Comic Con. The family enjoys spending time in Kent's parks and recreation programming and going to local events like Nerdfest, Cornucopia Days and the International Festival. Her favorite weekend activities including shopping in historic downtown, walking their dog along the Green River trail, and visiting the gardens at the Neeley-Sommes house and/or the Kent History Museum.

“Kent is a hidden gem in the south end, and I don’t think people realize all the amenities we have,” said Marli. "Our city is diverse and dynamic; we are growing, with new residents and businesses choosing Kent every day. I want to see Kent realize our full potential without sacrificing the small-town, family-focused character that is Kent's foundation and history.”