Maple Valley City Councilwoman Victoria Laise Jonas announced at the Tuesday City Council meeting she will be resigning her seat on June 24.

She  has been on the council for 15 years and was first elected in 1999.

Jonas said she is stepping down because she is moving out of the city.

“My husband, Scott and I, have decided to pursue one of our lifelong dreams of living by the ocean,” Jonas said. “We are preparing to move and relocate to the Key Peninsula area.”

The councilwoman described the announcement as a “very bittersweet decision. Coming to Maple Valley 20 years ago was the best move I ever made. Maple Valley has been a wonderful place to live and raise my family. Our community is just amazing and the people of this community are incredible.”

Deputy Mayor Sean P. Kelly said, “Under her leadership and

guidance Maple Valley is one of the safest cities in the state. She has been involved in the farmers market, make a difference day, the food bank – I am going to miss her tremendously.”

Jonas was elected to a fifth term in November 2013 for Position No. 6, beating Leslie Burberry 53 to 46 percent.

She won her first race in 1999 against Clark Lehigh 52 to 48 percent.

She ran unopposed in 2001 and 2005. In 2009 she beat Stanette Marie Rose 66 to 33 percent.

“The past 15 years has been some of the most rewarding and exciting times of my life,” Jonas said. “I am proud of what we collectively, as a City Council, have accomplished over the past several years. We have made remarkable progress under some very challenging economic times. We have accomplished what we were elected to do.”

She also said she appreciated the, “hard work and dedication of the city staff.”

Jonas graduated from Renton High School in 1969 and attended South Seattle Community College. She worked for the human resources department of the Seattle Police Department before retiring in 2007. She worked at the department for three decades.

Jonas said she has been involved in public service for most of her life. After relocating she plans to look for opportunities to “volunteer for social justice issues” at the Washington Corrections Center for Women in Gig Harbor.

Jonas has a long history in Maple Valley of volunteer work that includes the Maple Valley Food Bank & Emergency Services, the Maple Valley Make a Difference Day Committee and the Lake Wilderness Arboretum Foundation.

On of her most significant accomplishments for the city has been the Maple Valley Farmers Market, which she cofounded and has been the main force in keeping the venue open and successfully operating for the past five years.

Jonas said she will continue to operate the market for this year, commuting from Key Peninsula on Saturday mornings through Oct. 4.

Jonas is the longest serving elected official in the city’s history. She served two terms as deputy mayor and has been on the council with 16 different council members.

Her husband, Scott Jonas, is the operations manager for Sammamish Plateau Water and Sewer District.