Washougal City Councilwoman Jennifer McDaniel announced her resignation last month, and the race to fill her seat has become the most contested one city officials can remember.
When the 5 p.m. deadline for applications passed Tuesday, 11 Washougal residents had thrown their name into consideration for Position No. 5. Washougal Mayor Sean Guard, City Administrator David Scott and City Clerk Jennifer Forsberg all said it was the most applicants they can remember for an open councilor position in the city. Forsberg said the most applicants she remembers for a council position is seven.
Guard was curious if part of the reason for the turnout is more people wanting to get involved due to the current national political landscape.
“Some, I hope, is from the successes we have had in Washougal in the last five or six years and people wanting to be part of that continued success,” Guard wrote in an email. “I am very encouraged and excited to see so many people wanting to be involved, though.”
The 11 candidates are: Steve Henderson, David Jolivette, Kathryn Kramer, Ray Kutch, Daniel Lyman, John McConnaughey, Richard Reynolds, Karen Rezabek, Julie Russell, Earl Scott and Paul Slot.
Two others handed in applications on time, but one later withdrew his application and the other was determined to live outside city limits, according to Forsberg.
The interview and appointment process will be held during a special council meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Washougal City Hall, 1701 C St., Washougal. The current councilors will interview the candidates, retreat for an executive session and are expected to come back out the same night to vote on the new councilor.
The position will be part of the 2017 primary and general election cycle, so the person appointed to the position will serve until the results of the November general election are certified. The person who wins that election will serve through the current term, which ends in 2019.
Guard said councilors have to be passionate about Washougal.
“They need to be well-rounded and not a (one or two) issue candidate,” Guard wrote. “They need to be able to study all the aspects of the issue, digest the information provided, ask questions if they don’t have enough information and be able to make a well-informed, independent decision.”
Eleven candidates
• Henderson, a current homeowners association president, is a retired fighter pilot and commercial pilot.
• Jolivette worked at Associated Mortgage Brokers from 1989 through December, serving as the company’s chief operating officer, chief financial officer and president.
• Kramer has been a registered nurse for 35 years and worked as a firefighter for 15 years in Hoquiam and Lacey.
• Kutch was a naval flight officer, small business owner and is active in the Washougal United Methodist Church.
• Lyman is the co-founder and principal of Get Space, a self-storage company located Washougal.
• McConnaughey has worked as a wetland scientist in the greater Portland area with 30 years of experience.
• Reynolds has served as a member of the city’s salary commission for the last two years and is the managing director for Silverpine Group in Washougal.
• Rezabek is a retired elementary school music teacher and certified music therapist.
• Russell is a licensed marriage and family therapist, professional counselor and mental health counselor, and was elected as a water district commissioner in Tigard, Ore.
• Scott was a volunteer with the Washougal Fire Department from 1986 through 1991, and was captain of the department from 1993 until 2014.
• Slot works as a tutor for special needs and at-risk students from pre-kindergarten through college and was a substitute para-educator in the Washougal School District from 2008-2016.
