Plans to replace outgoing Clark County Councilor Eileen Quiring O’Brien are shaping up, but several questions remain — mostly around the timing of events.
One of the most pressing questions is when she will leave the council.
Quiring O’Brien announced Feb. 2 that she was stepping down as the council chair effective immediately, and she said she would resign from the council by the end of the month. However, that may no longer be the case.
“I said my expectation is that my last day will be March 1. I said I had not yet transmitted an official letter to the county manager with my resignation and the date. So I would like to make this statement publicly: There is a chance that March 1 won’t be my last day,” Quiring O’Brien said during the council’s meeting Wednesday.
She recommended that the council continue to move forward with finding her replacement, even though she has yet to submit her resignation letter to County Manager Kathleen Otto.
Clark County Chief Civil Deputy Prosecutor Leslie Lopez addressed other questions during the meeting.
“There are a couple of questions to consider. One is what is the effective date of the vacancy for Councilor (Quiring) O’Brien?”
Lopez noted that Revised Code of Washington 42.12.010 states the vacancy occurs upon the effective date of the resignation. For example, if Quiring O’Brien’s last day on the council is March 1, Lopez said, the effective date for filling the position would be March 2.
While the council cannot interview candidates, hold a public hearing for the nominees or take a vote until the vacancy occurs, Lopez said, the council can start looking.
“There are some things that can happen before then,” Lopez said. “The list of nominees can come out, there can be some background information, but interviews, which would need to take place in an open public meeting, and a vote — which would also take place in an open public meeting — could not occur until March 2.”
Seat eligibility
Lopez said the next issue to resolve is the process itself. As the county charter was amended by voters to make the council positions nonpartisan, Lopez said, the council needs to look closely at the statutes that explain how to fill those offices.
There are two state statutes that refer to nonpartisan offices. Of those two, Revised Code of Washington 36.16.110 would apply to Clark County. The statute says the person appointed to the position must be from the same legislative district as the county officer whose office was vacated.
When voters approved a charter amendment to add a fifth legislative district in November, Quiring O’Brien — who was elected as the at-large representative — became the representative for that district. However, she does not live in District 5.
Who will be eligible to fill the District 5 seat could depend on the county redistricting committee’s progress. The committee held a public hearing on a proposed map Monday and next meets Feb. 16. If the committee reaches consensus, the new map will go to the county council for review and approval. The council can make changes but is limited to changing no more than 2 percent of the population of any district, and any changes must be approved by a two-thirds majority (four votes).
If all that work is completed and a map approved before the council votes on Quiring O’Brien’s replacement, the new map boundaries could change who is eligible for the seat.
“Unless and until that redistricting committee sends their map to us and we approve that or another map, the existing map is the one that was voted on in November 2021,” Quiring O’Brien said during the meeting.
She said what could happen shouldn’t be taken into consideration now or hold up the process.
“If that decision (on my replacement) would be made before the council gets a map to approve, that person is qualified to sit as a councilor for the remainder of the term regardless of what the new map is,” Quiring O’Brien said.
Lopez agreed, saying that if the council votes on a replacement before the revised district map is approved, that person selected would remain in the position until the end of the term in 2022.
“If the council had not yet picked someone to represent District 5 but instead just had nominees, if the map changes before the vote, then that individual (may) not be able to sit as a council member,” Lopez added.
Should that happen, Chair Karen Bowerman said she would want to add other qualified nominees to ensure the council has three candidates to choose from.
The county council next meets at 6 p.m. Feb. 15. For an agenda and links to any county council meeting, go to https://clark.wa.gov/calendar.
