MONROE — Someone’s losing streak could end tonight as three familiar candidates try to win a seat on the City Council.
Paul Loots, Bridgette Tuttle and Edwin Davis have all vied for one of the seven positions before.
The applicants now are trying to take over for former Councilman David Kennedy, who resigned from the council on March 30 to spend more time with his family. The council plans to meet with all three candidates, then will vote on who should fill out Kennedy’s remaining term.
Whoever wins will need to get up to speed quickly on a couple major issues facing the city. The council has struggled this year to keep the budget in the black and is working on multimillion-dollar land development projects.
“The learning curve is going to be real steep, real fast,” Councilman Kurt Goering said.
Still, Goering was encouraged by the mix of business experience and public service that the three candidates offer.
So was Councilman Tom Williams.
“We’re not going to make a bad decision … either way we do it,” he said.
The applicants include Loots, who lost in the August primary during a four-way race, taking 18 percent of the vote. Loots now sits on the city planning commission and works in restaurant design.
Tuttle also failed to make it past the August primary, taking 20 percent of the vote in the same race as Loots. She co-owns a Kirkland automotive detailing shop with her husband and sits on the Salem Woods Elementary School PTA.
Davis competed among a dozen people in 2007 for former Councilman Ken Berger’s seat — the position Kennedy originally won. Davis flew helicopters for the Army in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He now works as a federal compliance inspector for the Transportation Security Administration.
All the applicants will go through public interviews with the City Council. The council then may hold a closed-door executive session to discuss job qualifications. The actual appointment to the council will happen in public session.
The original list of applicants also included Michael Jacobson. He withdrew from the running this weekend, saying he couldn’t devote enough time to the job.
Andy Rathbun: 425-339-3455; arathbun@heraldnet.com.
Council pick
The Monroe City Council may appoint a new council member tonight. Residents can hear what the three applicants have to say by attending the 7 p.m. meeting at City Hall, 806 W. Main St. For more information, call 360-794-7400 or go to www.ci.monroe.wa.us.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
