Nancy Backus (Mayor of Auburn, Washington, candidate 2025)

Nancy Backus

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Nonpartisan

Candidate, Mayor of Auburn

Elections and appointments

Last election

August 5, 2025

Education

High school

Auburn High School

Associate

Green River Community College, 1981

Bachelor's

City University, 1994

Personal

Birthplace

Wichita, Kan.

Religion

Christian

Profession

Mayor

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Nancy Backus is running for election to the Mayor of Auburn in Washington. She is on the ballot in the general election on November 4, 2025.^[source] She was on the ballot in the primary on August 5, 2025.^[source]

Backus completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Nancy Backus provided the following biographical information via Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey on July 16, 2025:

• Birth date: August 13, 1961
• Birth place: Wichita, Kansas
• High school: Auburn High School
• Associate: Green River Community College, 1981
• Bachelor's: City University, 1994
• Gender: Female
• Religion: Christian
• Profession: Mayor
• Prior offices held:
  • Mayor of Auburn, WA (2014-Prsnt)
  • Auburn City Councilmember (2003-2013)
• Incumbent officeholder: Yes
• Campaign slogan: Nancy Backus - a tireless advocate for Auburn
• Campaign website
• Campaign endorsements
• Campaign Facebook

Elections

General election

General election for Mayor of Auburn

Nancy Backus and Yolanda Trout are running in the general election for Mayor of Auburn on November 4, 2025.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	Nancy Backus (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Yolanda Trout (Nonpartisan)

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	Incumbency information for this election was not available.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Mayor of Auburn

Nancy Backus, Ronnie Morgan, and Yolanda Trout ran in the primary for Mayor of Auburn on August 5, 2025.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	Nancy Backus (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Ronnie Morgan (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Yolanda Trout (Nonpartisan)

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	Incumbency information for this election was not available.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Endorsements

Backus received the following endorsements. To view a full list of Backus's endorsements as published by their campaign, click here. To send us additional endorsements, click here.

• International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, District Lodge 751

Campaign themes

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Nancy Backus completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Backus' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am a proud product of the Auburn School District and graduate of Green River College. I have lived in Auburn since I was six years old, and am proud of my hometown! I worked for The Boeing Company for 25 years, and during the last ten years I was also a member of the Auburn City Council. I have always had a passion for community service and giving back to the community that has given me and my family so much. I have a B.S. in Accounting and worked in Finance at Boeing my entire career. That background has been invaluable for my time as Mayor of Auburn when creating a balanced budget and being financially responsible with your tax dollars. I am a wife and a mother, and appreciate the love and support that my husband and our daughter have given me throughout my time in elected office. I lead with compassion and accountability to ensure a strong community.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Public Safety:

  During my time as Mayor, we have -Increased police staffing and restructured investigations to better address felony crimes. -Expanded mental health support for officers through wellness initiatives, training, and peer support. -Launched and grew Auburn’s Community Court, offering alternatives to incarceration and direct access to services. -Added school zone speed enforcement cameras—reducing excessive speeding from 35% to just 2%. -Added 16 more officers

  -Built new outreach teams through Auburn’s Human Services Department, leading to over 443 people housed.
• Transportation & Infrastructure -Completed 48 capital projects totaling over $72.5 million, including roads, bridges, sidewalks, and pedestrian safety enhancements. -Reconstructed 11 lane miles of roadway, upgraded 86 ADA curb ramps, and added 18,000+ feet of new sidewalks. -Upgraded key corridors like A Street SE, Auburn Way North, and Lakeland Hills Way. -Secured $31.9 million in infrastructure grants, including for roundabouts, crosswalks, street preservation, and trail improvements. -Ensured the construction of the second Sound Transit parking structure in Auburn. I will continue to prioritize infrastructure to ensure mobility, safety and connectivity for our residents within our city and throughout the region.
• Housing and Community Well-Being -Facilitated over 180 new single-family home permits from 2022–2024. -Adopted Auburn’s Housing Action Plan and updated zoning to support middle housing and ADUs. -Expanded clean and sober housing options and secured Health Through Housing units for Auburn residents. Continued home repair assistance for low-income homeowners—65 projects completed in 2024 alone. -Zoning for diverse and affordable housing options, as well as continuing to fund supportive services, are top priorities in my administration.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Homelessness has been one of my passions since first taking office. I have served on numerous local and regional committees to bring resources to the most vulnerable in our community. Auburn has created a model for services and housing that has captured the attention of other cities within our state, who are reaching out wanting to replicate our programs. I believe in compassion, accountability and community, and make sure that all decisions I make have taken those three words into consideration.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

First and foremost, an elected needs to know that it’s not all about them, but about the people that we serve! I believe that the following characteristics are critical:

Honesty
Courage
Humility
Ability to collaborate
Accountability
Compassion
Practical Experience
Ability to help others develop their leadership skills

Vision

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Serve as the CEO of the municipality

Prepare and present a responsible and balanced budget for council to adopt
Serve as the face of local government in both good times and times of crisis
Interact/be responsive to the residents
Provide a vision for the city

Work collaboratively with other levels of government

What legacy would you like to leave?

I would like to leave a legacy of hard work, dedication and integrity for my time as mayor, and that I raised a good human in my personal life.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

The assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy within three months of each other in 1968. I was seven years old and remember watching everything I could about both events on television. I knew that it was a very sad and pivotal time for our country.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

I started babysitting when I was ten, but my first regular job was as a “box boy” at Piggly Wiggly. I worked for the company for ten years, being promoted to night manager over time.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Wonder Woman - fighting injustice

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

I Will Survive

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

I have sometimes struggled to find a good work/life balance.

A mayor is a leader in his or her city. What does that mean to you?

I believe in servant leadership. I am very proud to be the mayor of my hometown, and I know that it’s not about me, but about the people that I serve. Everyday I try to do my very best and make decisions with the most updated information available at the time that I need to make the decision. My integrity is so important to me. I’ve always told my daughter that there is only one thing in this world that you own outright, and no one can take it from you. You can give it away, but no one can take it, and that is your integrity.

If the mayor in your city is a member of the city council and there's a city manager appointed to handle the day-to-day administration of the city government, what do you believe should be the mayor's top priority in office?

N/A

If the mayor in your city is not a member of the city council and oversees the day-to-day administration of the city government, what do you believe is the ideal relationship between the mayor and city council?

The perfect relationship is one of respect and collaboration. The mayor and council are separate branches of government, and each should understand their respective roles. There will be times that they disagree, and times that they will be in perfect alignment, but it shouldn’t be contentious and disrespectful. They should all be working for the common good utilizing good communications skills and a good working knowledge of their roles.

What do you love most about your city?

So many things! I love our grit, our resilience, and willingness to come together to help those in need. I love the artwork that we have around our city, and the great events we sponsor. It provides our residents with a strong sense of home.

What do you perceive to be your city's greatest challenges over the next decade?

Affordable housing will continue to be one of our greatest challenges in the upcoming decade. Auburn has created new options including accessory dwelling units (ADU’s), smaller lot sizes, and ability to build duplexes and triplexes in single family residential areas to provide for more and less expensive housing.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between your city and the state government?

The relationship should be one of mutual respect and collaboration. There should be an understanding that local government should have some control over their city and not have state government create a “one size fits all” approach.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between your city and the federal government?

Similar to local and state governments, federal and local should also have a collaborative and respectful relationship.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the mayor's office and law enforcement?

The mayor’s office should be supportive of good law enforcement and also expect transparency and accountability to be a two way street.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

https://www.nancybackus.com/endorsements

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

These are key responsibilities of government. Most of the money utilized by government is collected from the people the jurisdiction represents. We are responsible to use the money wisely and to be open and honest with how it is used. In Auburn, we post our biennial budget online for anyone to review.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Other survey responses

Ballotpedia identified the following surveys, interviews, and questionnaires Backus completed for other organizations. If you are aware of a link that should be added, email us.

• VoteWA Profile

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Candidate

Mayor of Auburn

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