Mayor appoints new youth councilor to Tigard City Council

Published 10:17 am Wednesday, July 9, 2025

Tigard’s mayor and council president recently selected Asher Hellhake as the city’s sixth, and first transgender, youth councilor.

Hellhake was officially appointed by the Tigard City Council on July 1 following an interview with Mayor Heidi Lueb and Council President Maureen Wolf.

A lifelong Tigard resident who is entering his junior year at Tigard High School, Hellhake said he is thrilled to serve in the position that represents young people throughout the city. 

“I am absolutely ecstatic about working with all of the talented and intelligent people on the Council this year and hope to use his position to not only make Tigard a better place, but to make the world a better place,” Hellhake said in a statement.

In addition to spending lots of time in Tigard High’s Deb Fennell Auditorium, where he hones his acting skills or prepares for theater productions, Hellhake volunteers in the school’s guitar program. According to a news release, Hellhake “wants to use his term to bring up the queer community and to advocate for other minorities in Tigard.”

He recently performed at the recent city of Tigard and the Tigard-Tualatin School District’s annual Pride Parade & Festival and wants to attend a variety of future events to support as many people as possible.

In 2019, Tigard City Council established the Youth City Councilor program, allowing the mayor to appoint one Tigard resident entering their junior or senior year of high school to serve as a nonvoting member of the council. 

The program’s goal is to recognize the contributions that young people can make to city government and to foster an interest in and knowledge of local government from a youth’s perspective. 

Previous Youth City Councilors have included Meghan Turley (2019-20), Emilio Calderon (2020-21), Aishiki Nag (2021-22, 2022-23), Madi Vogel (2023-24) and Shriya Myneni (2024-25).