16 candidates vie for Edmonds council seat

Published 7:49 pm Sunday, June 3, 2012

EDMONDS — City Council members plan to appoint a new council member Tuesday night to fill a vacant seat left by Councilman Michael Plunkett, who is moving to Seattle.

The appointed council member will serve the city through 2013, when the term for Position 1 expires.

City Council President Strom Peterson said the council interviewed with 16 of the 18 applicants May 29 and 30. The interviews went well, he said, but not all applicants showed up.

“Two candidates dropped out before the interview,” said Peterson. “The interview went very well and it was a consistent process. We had everybody answer the questions and give solutions to the city. The applicants varied on backgrounds, from schoolteachers to urban farmers.”

Each council member will nominate a person from the 16 candidates and then vote. If no nominee gets four votes, the voting will be repeated three times before beginning a new nomination process.

“I hope the voting will go smoothly, I know the record was 33 times and I don’t want to hit that,” Peterson said.

Filling vacated elected seats is not new to Edmonds. The same process has been carried out three times since 2009.

“It will be the fourth time in the last four years,” Peterson said.

Plunkett served the city for 14 years, including council president in 2004 and 2008, before announcing his resignation this year.

Here are the 16 candidates to fill in the vacant seat: Steve Bernheim, city councilman, 2008-2011; Lori A. Chrisman, member of two regional church boards; Harry Gatjens, member of city technology advisory committee; Richard David Gurtiza, member of the 2012 budget committee and a Democratic precinct committee officer; Randy Hayden, member of Snohomish County alcohol and drug advisory board; Roger Hertrich, city councilman, 1990-1993.

Dan Hinrichs, an engineer; Kristiana Johnson, a planning board member; Michael Mearns, operator of an urban farm; William H. Patton, an attorney, now representing the City of Bainbridge; Alvin Rutledge, past council candidate; Steve Shelton, president of Edmonds Center for the Arts; Natalie Shippen, city councilwoman, 1972-1975; Darlene Stern, chamber of commerce board member and 2012 council candidate; Dick Van Hollebeke, chairman of the Board of Trustee of Edmonds Community College and former councilman; and Ron Wambolt, councilman, 2006-2009.