LONGVIEW — The six people who applied for the vacant seat on the Woodland City Council will be interviewed during a special council meeting Monday night.
City Administrator Peter Boyce said city rules require the council to interview every applicant who meets the criteria for holding elected office. The number of applications for the seat is slightly higher than during the previous appointment process in 2018, when four people applied.
Two of the applicants are returning names from last year’s elections. The best-known candidate is Janice Graham, who was elected to the city council in 2017 and ran a write-in campaign for a different council seat in November. Keith Bellisle is the president of the Woodland Planters Day Committee. He ran against J.J. Burke for a council seat.
The other four applicants are:
- Melissa Doughty, a long-term substitute teacher for the Woodland School District.
- Edward Linnett, a retired U.S. Air Force officer.
- Robert Richardson, an engineer and former governor of the Woodland Moose Lodge.
- Karen Shattuck, a mortgage loan processor.
At the start of Monday’s meeting, the city council will randomly draw the order of interviews and ask each applicant the same 12 questions. The council can enter executive session to discuss the qualifications of each candidate, but the nominations and vote for the appointment will take place during an open session.
