EDMONDS — The City Council on June 6 appointed a planning board member to serve on the council.
Kristiana Johnson replaces Councilman Michael Plunkett, who is moving to Seattle.
“For the past seven years, I’ve been working in an advisory capacity for the city,” Johnson said. “I felt like the City Council was the next step.” Johnson will serve the city through 2013, when the term for Plunkett’s Position 1 expires.
She was one of 18 applicants vying for the position. Two applicants dropped out of the race before interviews with the seated council members.
In her new role serving the city, Johnson, 60, plans to focus on the city’s strategic plan, land use issues and transportation.
Johnson, who is retired, has served on the city’s transportation committee, planning board, as a planning board liaison on the economic development commission and has been heavily involved in the city’s strategic planning process.
To fill a position, the council interviews applicants and then votes on a secret ballot to see if they can choose a consensus ballot. Council President Strom Peterson said that the council once took 33 votes to select a council member.
On June 6, the council only needed two votes. The council narrowed the number of candidates from 16 to five in the first round of balloting. Four council members chose Johnson on the second round of balloting.
Council members serve at large and receive a base salary of $600 per month. They are paid $50 per committee meeting and attend up to eight meetings per month, which includes City Council meetings.
They are also eligible to enroll in the city’s health benefits package.
Filling vacated elected seats is not new to Edmonds. This was the fourth time in the past four years the council appointed a new member.
Plunkett served the city for 14 years, including as council president in 2004 and 2008, before announcing his resignation this year.
Q&A
New Edmonds City Council member Kristiana Johnson addresses a few questions after her appointment:
Q: How do you feel about being appointed to the City Council?
A: I am honored to be selected by the Edmonds City Council for Position 1. I appreciate the council’s confidence in me and look forward to a productive working relationship. I am grateful to all my supporters. The council had a strong group of applicants and I am delighted that I was chosen for the job.
Q: What were your advisory roles for the city?
A: I’ve been involved with the strategic planning process. I served on the planning board, the transportation committee, a liaison on the economic development commission. I was also involved in strategic planning workshops.
Q: What are your priorities as a city councilor?
A: Three things: strategic planning, land use issues and transportation.
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