The Edmonds City Council has picked City Planning Board member Michael Jay Nelson to fill the council vacancy created when former Councilman Strom Peterson left in January to begin the term in the state legislature that he won in November.
The other six council members chose Nelson on the fourth ballot Tuesday, when he got the needed fourth vote to eliminate applicants Mario Brown and Neil Tibbott.
When the council chose Thomas Mesaros to fill a council vacancy last year, it took 59 ballots for him to get the necessary four votes for appointment.
Nelson joined the council right after the Tuesday vote.
Nelson already has registered with the State Public Disclosure Commission as a candidate in the coming elections, along with two other applicants to fill the vacancy — Deputy Snohomish County Prosecuting Attorney Adam Cornell and retired Qwest Communications Public Policy Director David Teitzel. Both Cornell and Teitzel have said that they plan to run for some council position whatever the outcome of the appointment process.
Other applicants to fill the vacancy were Stephen Clifton, a former Edmonds economic development director; Debbie Matteson, a member of the Edmonds Economic Development Commission; David Preston, an Edmonds port commissioner; Alvin Rutledge, a former council and legislative candidate; Jeff Scherrer, a Republican candidate in the 21st Legislative District in 2015.
In addition to being a member of the City Planning Board, Nelson is co-chairman of the Mayor’s Climate Protection Committee.
The appointment lasts through certification of the November 2015 general election, when voters will choose someone to fill the last two years of the four-year term that Peterson won in 2013.
None of the three who have registered with the public disclosure commission have listed specific positions, meaning that any could run either for the last two years of the term that Nelson won with the appointment or for full terms for the positions now held by Council members Joan Bloom, Diane Buckshnis, Mesaros and Lora Petso.
Registering with the PDC allows candidates to raise and spend money for the coming election. Early registration is a sign of an intent to run. All candidates who file for ballot position must register with the PDC.
Candidates file for ballot positions in early May. Positions with three or more candidates appear on the August primary ballot, with the top two vote getters advancing to the November general-election ballot. Positions with only one or two candidates appear only on the November ballot.
Evan Smith can be reached at schsmith@frontier.com.
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