Chief editorial writer Patrick O'Callahan has been on The News Tribune's editorial page staff since 1987. A nearly native Washingtonian, he attended public schools in Marysville and is a graduate of the University of Washington, where he studied English and journalism. In 1979, he joined McClatchy Newspapers as a reporter for the Tri-City Herald in Eastern Washington. After covering the Hanford Nuclear Reservation for several years, he served as the Tri-City Herald's editorial page editor before returning to the Puget Sound region to join The News Tribune's editorial board.

O'Callahan is a reading tutor at Jefferson Elementary School; he is also a board member of the South Sound Division of the March of Dimes. His interests include hiking, literature and history. He and his wife, Patricia Lee O'Callahan, live in North Tacoma; they have two adult children, Elizabeth and Patrick.