The Lakewood City Council just chose Cassandra Chase as mayor during its yearly reorganization. Chase will serve her first term as mayor, having been elected to the city council in 2022. Her tenure ends in June 2026.
She becomes the first elected Black woman to hold the office of mayor of the city, according to BOTWC. When the Measure L Citizens Oversight Committee was established in 2020, she was among the first members of the Lakewood community to be selected for the position.
She said in a statement, “In this historic moment, I believe we must stand firm on the values that bind us —not break us. Values like community, care, and collaboration—the very principles that remind us we are stronger together, that every voice is heard and that progress is built side by side, not in silos. Here in Lakewood, we prove every day that neighbors care about each other. That community isn’t an abstract idea—it’s a lived practice. We model what leadership looks like when it’s grounded in humanity, humility, and heart. That’s the kind of leadership I promise to bring forward.”
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Chase declared “Lakewood Together: A Year of Kindness, Care, and Civic Action” as the theme for her 2025–2026 mayoral term. She stated that the theme’s three main goals are sustainability and stewardship, community health and wellness, and youth and community empowerment.
Using these, she conveyed her wish for more concentration on teaching civics to young people and on developing Lakewood Leadership Academy, a program that emphasizes civic education and civic involvement. She also hopes to foster a community that values well-being as a foundation for civic life, and to promote the community’s ongoing climate education, water infrastructure initiatives, and yearly Earth Walk—”because sustainability is not just about the environment.”
She said, “Kindness is not weakness. Kindness is the quiet strength that holds communitiestogether. Care is compassion. Care is commitment. And civic action is not reserved for a few—it belongs to all of us.”
She added, “Let this be a year where we show up for each other with open hearts, we turn kindness into policy, and we practice car—not as a side note, but as our starting point.”
Chase grew up in Lakewood and attended St. Joseph High School before graduating from the University of California, Irvine, according to the City of Lakewood.
Her parents instilled in her the importance of serving others. A former Miss Greater Lakewood, she has volunteered with the Lakewood Jaycees for a long time and has been inspired by the community’s capacity to unite around a shared goal.
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Chase’s career as a social entrepreneur and business strategist focuses on giving underprivileged populations the resources and access they require to thrive. She established Chase Consulting Group (CCG), a boutique business consulting firm that offers strategic management, business development, and marketing services to small enterprises and non-profit organizations.
She is also a co-founder of Read Lead, a nonprofit that uses literacy-based programming to empower tomorrow’s leaders.
Chase is also the coordinator of the Empowerment Congress, a civic engagement model based on the principles of participatory democracy, reciprocal accountability, and intentional civility.
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