Published August 10 2023
City manager selects Joseph Todd as deputy city manager and Lucy Liu as utilities director - key leadership roles
Bellevue City Manager Brad Miyake announced Joseph Todd as the city’s newest deputy city manager of internal services after a national search. Miyake also announced Thursday his selection of internal candidate and acting utilities director Lucy Liu to serve as the Utilities Department's permanent director, effective Wednesday, Aug. 16. Todd will begin with the city Thursday, Aug. 31. Both roles come after retirements earlier this year.
Todd brings a wide breadth of both public sector and private sector experience as a corporate strategist and technology executive, most recently serving as senior director of core infrastructure at payment tech firm Marqeta. Former positions include leadership and technology roles at King County and the City of Tukwila, as well as with Boeing and Alaska Airlines.
“Joseph brings more than two decades of relevant technical and leadership experience from a wide variety of complex organizations in our region, which will help Bellevue continue to innovate, lead, and meet today’s most pressing community challenges,” said Miyake. “We were impressed not only with his demonstrated ability to meaningfully resolve issues of community and political complexity but also his focus on innovating to improve service delivery for the benefit of the public, his deeply held passion for public service, and his commitment to thoughtful and collaborative problem solving.”
Miyake also noted Todd’s broad knowledge across systems and structures, his political astuteness and experience, his ability to use data to inform decisions and his commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. Todd is currently serving a term on the Washington State Commission on African American Affairs, representing south King County. He has a bachelor’s degree of science in business administration from Troy University.
Liu has been with the City of Bellevue for 21 years, 11 in leadership roles with Bellevue Utilities, including most recently as deputy director for the department. She brings 30 years of managerial, financial and utilities-based experience, including 26 years in the public sector. She began her career in financial services with the state Department of Revenue and Ernst & Young LLP as an auditor and tax consultant, respectively. She later joined the finance team at the City of Bellevue, managing the tax division before transitioning to management in Utilities.
“Lucy is a strong, strategic leader in our organization with an impressive set of skills in finance, budgeting, utilities and people management,” said Miyake. “She is committed to the long-term vision of stewardship and fiscal sustainability to ensure our utilities infrastructure is well managed for the Bellevue community well into the future. Just as important, she has the talent to lead our utilities teams through strategic initiatives and innovative approaches to best managing our water systems and supply while delivering exceptional service to customers.”
Liu is a certified public accountant and has a bachelor’s degree in business administration with an accounting concentration from the University of Washington. She is a member of a number of professional organizations including the American Water Works Association and the American Public Works Association.