Field of 13 Applicants Narrowed to Five for Vacant King County Council Seat

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A field of 13 applicants (including two from Woodinville) for a pending vacancy on the Metropolitan King County Council was narrowed to five Thursday night by a citizen panel convened by King County Executive Dow Constantine, according to a news release from the county. Under state law, Constantine must decide on three names to give to the council for the appointment.

Constantine tasked the Citizens Advisory Committee with reviewing applicants for the vacancy that will be created on Jan. 16 when Councilmember Bob Ferguson is sworn into office as state Attorney General. The panel voted unanimously to recommend five names to the Executive. They are, in alphabetical order:

• Rod Dembowski (Seattle) — Attorney, Foster Pepper PLLC
• Will Hall — (Shoreline) Councilmember, City of Shoreline; Senior Legislative Analyst, Snohomish County Council
• Cindy Ryu — (Shoreline) State Representative, 32nd District
• Keith Scully — (Shoreline) Planning Commissioner, City of Shoreline; Attorney, Newman Du Wors
• Chuck Sloane (Seattle) — Deputy Ombudsman, King County Office of Citizen Complaints – Ombudsman; Board Chair, Municipal League of King County

Woodinville applicants Tiffany Bond and Ken Goodwin were not selected.

The panel met for many hours to review applications and written responses to questions, conduct interviews, and discuss applicant qualifications.

Eleven of the 13 Citizen Advisory Committee members are residents of District 1. They evaluated applicants based on their qualifications, including leadership skills and budget experience, their knowledge of issues facing King County, and their knowledge of issues specific to the residents of Council District 1.

The Council has 60 days to fill the position from the date it becomes vacant. The appointee will serve in office until certification of the next general election in November 2013. The job pays $135,525 per year.

The members of the Citizen Advisory Committee can be found here.

Source: King County Executive's Office.