The application packets for 56 Vancouver City Council hopefuls total 494 pages. Those pages include résumés, short-answer responses and dozens of recommendations.
Some of the standouts include two applications either partially or entirely handwritten, one mystery shopper, one dragon boat team recruiter, one established actor and several multilingual candidates boasting Spanish, Tagalog, Polish or Serbo-Croatian speaking skills.
Only one applicant answered “yes” to the question: “Is there anything in your background that would bring discredit to this city if appointed?”
Jason Presser acknowledged a 2013 conviction for negligent driving. The charge to which he pled guilty resulted from an original charge of driving while intoxicated.
Of the remaining 55, two have had multiple speeding tickets, at least five others have dealt with creditors in court and three have received eviction notices.
Also, two participated in criminal diversion programs. At 19, Quentin Bergmann was charged with second-degree theft from West Coast Wallboard. Bergmann completed diversion and the charge was dismissed.
Michael Pond is currently in a diversion program that concludes March 28. Pond was charged with fourth-degree assault for allegedly choking his younger brother for a few seconds during a verbal altercation in July 2016. Pond also jabbed his brother with a stick through the rear of a truck on the same day, according to witness accounts. The charge will be dismissed if he adheres to the terms of the diversion agreement.
No matter their backgrounds, all 56 candidates have one thing in common: On Monday morning, they will be waiting for the call.
The council will meet at 8 a.m. Monday to review candidates and tentatively make a short list by 9:30 a.m. Staff will then call the candidates, inviting them to public interviews that will begin at 4 p.m.
How many will be interviewed remains to be decided. The council will choose the pool Monday morning.
If all goes according to plan, a new councilor will be announced by 9:15 p.m. The selected applicant will be sworn in at the start of the Feb. 12 meeting.
Finding Mr. or Ms. Right
As councilors search to fill a seat left empty when Scott Campbell died before taking office, they might be on the lookout for someone like Linda Glover. Glover worked in the community and oversaw two local businesses before being elected to the council last November. She took office in January.
“My preparation has been happening over several years,” Glover said of her first few weeks on the dais. “Involvement in (city of Vancouver) committees and attending city council meetings have given me knowledge about the operations of different departments and their projects or programs.”
The council also will likely want someone who can provide similar examples of government involvement and who’s ready to learn the ropes while running for election in November.
If the council follows historical picks (Bart Hansen in 2010 and Tim Leavitt in 2003), here are 10 standouts who might fit the bill:
• Miranda Bickford: A relatively new and young Vancouver resident (2014 and age 27, respectively) Bickford is chief executive officer of EggDrop, a toy subscription service she helped found. She also served as secretary for the 49th Legislative District Democrats for a year before taking a step back.
Bickford states she’s devoted to ending homelessness and displacement in the city and is “invested in the local economy, trying to create space for new businesses, and especially creating equal opportunities for women and minorities.”
• Timothy Dunton: Dunton’s background is spread across three sectors. He’s worked as an investment banker, a lawyer and a small business owner. Locally, he’s involved in the Maplewood Neighborhood Association.
“I believe the council could benefit from someone with deep business and legal experience who can ask the kind of tough questions of the city manager and city attorney that others might not think of,” he writes.
• Marva Edwards: Edwards, a pastor, has lived in Vancouver since 1995 and spent the bulk of that time involved in the local community. She’s served as president of the Vancouver chapter of the NAACP, on the Vancouver Police Community Resource Team, YWCA Clark County board and with the Ethnic American Rites of Passage. She was named a Woman of Achievement in 2010.
“My focus for the community of Vancouver is government, public safety, housing, homelessness, transportation and oil train safety,” she writes.
• Mary Elkin: A long-time bookkeeper, Elkin serves on the Clark County Schools Advisory Council, chairs the Vancouver Neighborhood Alliance and the Image Neighborhood Association and founded the Friends of Fire Station 6.
“I want to be a part of shaping our city so that my son, and the next generation, has a vibrant place to love and call home,” Elkin writes.
• Sarah Fox: Fox currently serves as vice chair of the Historic Preservation Commission and is one of several candidates with a background in urban and regional planning. She’s a city planner in Camas and serves as president of Camas Public Employees Association.
“I am committed to building productive and mutually beneficial relationships with elected officials, leadership, agencies, colleagues and the public/community,” Fox writes.
• Steven Haygood: Haygood has worked in both the small business community and the corporate world. His background is in economics, project management and business analysis. He also volunteers with organizations such as Friends of the Trees, the Hiddenbrook Terrace Community Association board and the Fishers Creek Neighborhood Association.
Although specific government experience may be lacking, Haygood said CVTV broadcasts of city meetings are “viewing staples in my home. I have no idea who the characters or plot twists are on “Game of Thrones,” “Walking Dead” or pretty much any of the prime time shows, but I know who Bronson Potter and Eric Holmes are and as well deliberation concerns about ADUs, annexation, rezoning applicants and projects, ADA compliance, sidewalk and intersection infrastructure plan/needs, and who the 2018 mayor pro-tem is.”
• Laurie Lebowsky: Though Lebowsky has lived in Vancouver since May 2016, she has worked 24 years as a county planner. With a background in political science and urban/regional planning, Lebowsky is versed in speaking before elected officials and states that she’s comfortable with the government process, city codes and project management. She also served as chair of the Clark County Public Health Advisory Council and was a founding member of Bike Clark County.
Ridgefield City Manager Steve Stuart recommended her, stating: “Land use is sometimes an abstract, esoteric art that is hard to connect to its real-world implications. In the projects I’ve worked on with Laurie, she skillfully broke down complex, sometimes controversial projects into comprehensive pieces.”
• Carmen McKibben: McKibben also has a background in finance and business administration. She works for the Bonneville Power Administration as well as operates the Vida Flare food cart.
She helped form the Fourth Plain Forward Business Association and serves as the chair of the SW Washington League of United Latin American Citizens.
McKibben has the backing of Promise King, president of the League of Minority Voters, for her work launching candidate forums.
“Ms. McKibben’s passion for civic engagement behavior in the candidate forums gave the opportunity for the community to listen, engage and understand the needs of our communities of color,” King writes.
• Erik Paulsen: Paulsen has worked 25 years in finance and lived 21 years in Vancouver. He’s also spent seven years on the city’s planning commission, four of which he’s served as chair. To add to his city involvement, Paulsen also served on the Affordable Housing Task Force that recommended renter protections in 2015.
“I serve to make a difference in the community, to set an example for my children and peers, to apply the knowledge, experience and skills that I have acquired for the benefit of others: to give back,” Paulsen wrote in his application. “I acknowledge our history, I appreciate our circumstances, and I aspire to a bright future for our community.”
• Michael Pond: At 30, Pond is one of the youngest applicants for council. He’s involved in local politics, including work on Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle’s campaign and former 49th District state Rep. Jim Moeller’s campaign for the 3rd Congressional District. He currently serves as the 49th Legislative District Democrats’ state committeeman. He comes with the recommendation of Port Commissioner Eric LaBrant, Moeller and five others.
Moeller recommends Pond with “no hesitation. As someone who understands what it means to be on the city council, I know Michael takes this position and this community very seriously, and will make the city council his number one priority.”
