A total of 18 people have filed to fill the open City Council seat and all of them will have 15 minutes to make their case tonight, Tuesday, at what is expected to be a six-hour Committee of the Whole meeting at City Hall.
The 18 applicants are all seeking to replace Terri Briere, who died Nov. 9 after a battle with an illness.
Among the names are former candidates, business owners, Homeowners Association presidents and average citizens from a variety of backgrounds,
The decision on who will replace Briere will be made by the City Council. The new council member will serve until the General Election in November 2015, at which point they will have to run for re-election. The winner of that election will serve the remainder of Briere’s term and will have to run again in 2017.
The seat is open to all registered Renton voters who have lived in the city for more than one year. Candidates had to file letters of interest and any other materials outlining qualifications, including letters of recommendation, by noon Monday.
The 18 candidates are (in alphabetical order by first name, as provided by the city): Beth Asher, Carol Ann Witschi, Charlene Pogue, Debra Leroy, Jacob Fruehling, James Flynn, Jan Ennis, Jim Wiesen, KB Van Horn, Larry Wright, Mark Martinez, Marven Rosette, Mike Snow, Patrick Hillyer, Renate Beedon, Robin Jones, Ruth Perez and William Roenicke.
The council on Monday night discussed the process for choosing a new council member. During a nearly 90-minute discussion, the council decided to interview each of the 18 candidates, as opposed to narrowing it down based on the resumes and letters submitted by each, during a special meeting Tuesday.
Each candidate will be given a maximum of 15 minutes of time in front of the council. The candidate will have five minutes to present himself or herself to the council and then the council will have 10 minutes to ask questions.
Each candidate was sent a list of 22 sample questions used the last time the council selected a replacement in January 2008. During that process, there were 11 candidates and three rounds of balloting and Rich Zwicker was appointed to the council. The process took 2 hours and 45 minutes.
The sample questions sent to each candidate include things like “In what areas do you think Renton should provide more or better services than are currently being provided, and how should added services be funded?” and “Describe how you approach solving a problem” or “Please describe your understanding of the differences in the roles of the City Council, the Mayor and Staff.”
Also included are more specific questions, including asking about balancing density with Growth Management Act requirements, how the candidate would handle a call about tall grass in a right-of-way near their home, knowledge of state Public Disclosure Laws and even “What past decisions of the Council are you least supportive of?”
Candidates were told the questions were only samples and not necessarily what would be asked.
No decision will be made tonight.
Tonight’s meeting begins at 5 p.m. and is expected to last approximately six hours. The meeting will also be shown on Ch. 21.
