The Yacolt Town Council plans to interview, select and swear in two new members at its meeting tonight.
The mayor and three members currently on the council will interview seven applicants to fill the vacant No. 1 and No. 5 seats on the five-member council.
Position No. 1 was previously held by Cindy Marbut, who was hired as the town’s clerk/treasurer. Position No. 5 was held by Ron Madler, who died recently.
The town accepted applications through Jan. 31 to fill the vacancies. The seven candidates for the seats are all residents of Yacolt, have lived in the town for at least one year and are registered voters, Marbut said.
The council will interview each candidate for 15 minutes. The council will then adjourn to executive session to discuss the candidates before returning to the public meeting to announce its selection for Position No. 1. Marbut will then administer the new council member the oath of office.
The council will repeat the process to select a person for the other position.
The terms for both positions are set to expire this year, so the seats will be on the November ballot, as will the mayor’s position.
The seven candidates are:
• Jerry Newell, who is involved in various community organizations.
• Jeff Carothers, who is active in the community through military organizations, sports and his church.
• Barbara Case, whose deceased husband served as the mayor of Yacolt in the past. Her goal is to make sure the town is fiscally responsible.
• Jimmy Robertson, whose father was a former mayor of the town. Robertson is a utility inspector for the city of Vancouver and has experience on several committees.
• Richard Urias, who works for CenturyLink of Washington in Yacolt and has experience serving on committees and boards.
• David Ayers, who has lived in the town for 31 years and is proprietor of Red Fir Inn.
• Jesse Ervin, who is active in the community and wants to be involved in making good decisions for the community.
The town council meeting begins at 7 p.m. in Town Hall, 202 W. Cushman St.
