Edmonds Councilwoman protests committee assignment

Edmonds City Councilwoman Diane Buckshnis has protested not being reappointed to head the council's Finance Committee, but new Council President Lora Petso defends the decision.

In a letter to constituents last week, Buckshnis said that Petso had made the committee assignments for the new year without consulting other council members.

Petso moved Buckshnis to the committee on planning, parks and public works, put Councilwoman Adrienne Fraley-Monillas on the Finance Committee along with Councilman Frank Yamamoto.

Buckshnis, a retired bank regulator, said that helping the city's finances was one of the prime reasons that she had joined the council and she had developed a good relationship with the city's finance director.

Petso said that Buckshnis had "been great on the Finance Committee, and will also be great on the Parks, Planning and Public Works committee."

She added, "I expect that the year will bring several significant parks and planning issues, and there is no doubt we will have a lot of public works projects. A hard-working council member who understands numbers will be an asset to this committee."

Petso said, however, that Fraley-Monillas already had shown the value of having a "fresh set of eyes" on city finances.

Buckshnis joined the council by appointment in 2010 and won a full four-year term in 2011.

Evan Smith can be reached at schsmith@frontier.com