The Puyallup City Council will have its hands full this month figuring out how to fill its vacant District 2 seat.
The vacancy, left open by Councilwoman Kathy Turner’s election to the council’s at-large position, has attracted 19 interested applicants. The cutoff for applications was Wednesday.
Among the applicants is Rick Hansen, Turner’s opponent for the at-large seat who lost by a slim margin. Hansen came in only nine votes behind Turner in November’s election, prompting a hand recount.
The council will have its first meeting of the year Monday to discuss how to go about making the appointment, which will last two years. Elected council members serve a full four years.
Several council members said they were surprised by the number of people interested in the position. The last council vacancy, left by the departure of Terri Smith in 1996, brought in only five applications.
“We’re going to have to come up in my opinion with some sort of streamlined way of narrowing them down, rather than spending an hour with each of them doing interviews,” Councilman George Dill said. “We’ll cross that bridge Monday.”
The person appointed will take part in the council’s search for a new city manager to replace Jim Bacon, who left in November to take a job in Arizona.
City Attorney Gary McLean is serving as interim city manager.
The appointment also could sway the balance between council members who support continued investment downtown and those who think city resources should be focused elsewhere.
All registered voters living in the boundaries of District 2, which encompasses the center of Puyallup, were eligible to apply.
Hansen, who served on the Puyallup City Council between 1980 and 1988, said he felt obligated to apply for the vacant seat after receiving such strong support during November’s election.
“There are a lot of people who supported me and wanted me to be there,” Hansen said. “I think it would be a disservice to them if I did not.”
Councilman Don Malloy said it would be premature to identify anyone as a front-runner for the position, despite Hansen’s close finish in November.
He said the number of applicants shows how passionate Puyallup citizens are about their community.
“It’s very important that everyone has a fair chance,” Malloy said. “I don’t want to indicate any preference at all.”
Melissa Santos: 253-552-7058
Applicants for council
Nineteen people have applied for the vacant District 2 position on the Puyallup City Council, which will be filled by appointment. They are:
Toni Bernetskie
Michael Cina
Carl Cole
James “Rick” Crozier
Joseph Flansburg
Russell Hamburg
Kevin Hanis
Rick Hansen
Patti Hogenson
Dean Johnson
John Palmer
Gale Robinette
Scott Rukke
Heather Shadko
Daniel Smith
Shaun Stoner
Thomas Swanson
Christopher Taylor
Kerry Yanasak
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