Praise and a proclamation greeted Pierce County Councilmember Calvin Goings Tuesday evening during his last meeting as a council member.

Goings was elected in 2000 and again in 2004 to represent Council District 2, which includes Puyallup, Fife, Northeast Tacoma, Browns Point and Dash Point, East Tacoma, Summit View and Summit-Waller. The Pierce County Charter limits councilmembers to two consecutive four-year terms.

Goings’ fellow councilmembers approved a proclamation honoring his eight years of council service. It notes some of his other accomplishments, such as becoming the state’s youngest elected official (fire commissioner at age 18) and being elected the nation’s youngest state senator in 1995 at age 23.

During his eight years in office he served as the council’s vice chair and as executive pro tempore, and for seven of those years he chaired the Community Development Committee, which focused on land use and planning.

State Rep. Joyce McDonald (25th Legislative District) was elected in November to fill Goings’ seat. Her term begins Jan. 1, and the first council meeting of 2009 is Jan. 13.