Fifteen applicants for a single empty city council seat were whittled to five tonight, as the council handpicked their top choices to go through to a final interview.
The council seemed to favor those with campaign experience — all but one of those chosen has run for a city council seat in the past.
The six members met for an hour in a closed session to discuss the applicants’ qualifications, debating little as they settled on their five: Bart Hansen, Paul Harris, Anne McEnerny-Ogle, Eric Olmsted and Lee Rafferty.
They will be interviewed on Jan. 25; the council will pick one of them through a majority vote. The appointee will fill Position 4, which was vacated by the election of Tim Leavitt as mayor.
Leavitt called the 15 applicants “diverse and wide ranging” and said the council had “a healthy discussion” during the closed session on the characteristics they desired in a future member.
The council said they were looking for a candidate who works well in a team, would work hard and be committed to their duties as a city councilor, has a sincere interest in serving the community and also has a working understanding of the city and community.
Councilor Jack Burkman also noted that the winner of the spot must be “someone who is electable,” as they will have to run for office for the November 2010 election, which is required under city charter, and again in November 2011, when Leavitt’s term expires.
The five interview candidates are:
? Bart Hansen, 34, an office services manager for Clark Public Utilities. He ran for the seat vacated by Councilor Pat Jollota, but lost in the August primary, with Burkman winning the position. He is a member of the Vancouver Public Schools Management Advisory Task Force; Clark County Mural Society and Leadership Clark County.
Quotable: “On a personal level, I want the community in which I am raising my family to achieve all things possible within the city’s available resources, or essentially the same experience I had growing up in Vancouver.”
? Paul Harris, 56, works in the retail paint business and is a former member of the Evergreen school board. A longtime Boy Scouts volunteer, he unsuccessfully challenged Rep. Deb Wallace, D-Vancouver, for election to the state Legislature in 2006. He also ran for a 17th District House seat in 2004, but was defeated in the Republican primary by incumbent Jim Dunn. In 2003, Harris beat Leavitt and two other candidates in the city council primary, but lost to Leavitt in the general election.
Quotable: On being on the Evergreen School Board: “I grew a lot from this experience and have wanted to get more involved in the community again. I have ran (sic) for office on several occasions and look forward to that experience again this coming year.”
? Anne McEnerny-Ogle, 56, a retired mathematics teacher. She lost the November council election to incumbent Jeanne Harris. She is a past member of the Vancouver Planning Commission; chairwoman of Shumway Neighborhood Association; the former chairwoman of the Vancouver Neighborhood Alliance; and a member of the Portland/Vancouver I-5 Transportation and Trade Partnership.
Quotable: “I believe I have the skills to weave together diverse people and their efforts in creative new ways to reinvigorate Vancouver as we face complex new challenges.”
? Eric Olmsted, 45, is a self-employed technology consultant. In 2005, he challenged council incumbent Jeanne Stewart but lost in the general election. His civic activities include serving on the board of the Greater Vancouver Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Vancouver Rotary Club, Partners in Careers and the Vancouver Farmers Market. He is endorsed by Democratic Rep. Jim Jacks and former Democratic Rep. Val Ogden.
Quotable: “To put it simply, I care deeply about the city of Vancouver, its future and the future of its citizens.”
? Lee Rafferty, 58, the former owner of Spanky’s Family Consignment. She was endorsed by the Vancouver Firefighters Union, Fort Vancouver National Trust President Elson Strahan and others. She’s a member of the Vancouver Downtown Association; chairwoman of the VDA Economic Restructuring Committee; the board chairwoman of Gifts for Our Community. Rafferty was also named one of Clark County’s “most powerful women” in 2007.
Quotable: “My only intention is to bring the very best that I have to this opportunity and work hard to help bring good solutions to tough problems for the citizens of Vancouver. The only way to do this is to meet the people, listen to their concerns and ideas and be creative.”
The 10 people who applied but were not chosen for an interview were: Shane Gardner, Don Houston, John Jenkins, Francis (Frank) L’Amie, Kathy Marshack, Steven Nitsch, Debbie Peterson, Charles Stemper, Michael Teefy and Marc Zimmerman.
