Executive names citizen panel to evaluate applicants for King County Council vacancy

King County Executive Dow Constantine named a 13-member panel on Friday to help evaluate applicants for appointment to the seat being vacated by King County Councilmember Bob Ferguson.

Following his election as state Attorney General, Ferguson will be sworn into office on Jan. 16, 2013. A total of 13 district residents submitted application materials to be considered for the appointment.

The Citizen Advisory Committee will evaluate those applicants based on their qualifications, including leadership skills and budget experience, their knowledge of issues facing King County, and their knowledge of issues specific to the residents of Council District 1.

By Dec. 21, the advisory committee will forward the names of qualified candidates to Executive Constantine. Under state law, when the position becomes vacant on Jan. 16, the Executive will transmit three names to the County Council for consideration. The Council has 60 days to fill the position from the date it becomes vacant.

Eleven of the 13 panelists are residents of District 1. The members of the Citizen Advisory Committee named today are:

• George Allen, Co-Chair (Seattle) — Senior Vice President for Government Relations, Metropolitan Seattle Chamber of Commerce
• Kathe Fowler, Co-Chair (Kirkland) — Board Vice President - Washington Environmental Council; Board President-Elect - Kirkland Performance Center
• Susan Boundy-Sanders (Woodinville) — Councilmember, City of Woodinville; Vice President, Plymouth Healing Communities; Technical Writer and Project Manager, Insight Global 
• Sam Chung (Lake Forest Park) – Attorney; Partner, Lee Anav Chung LLP
• Dave Freiboth (Mercer Island) — Executive Secretary, M.L. King County Labor Council
• Beretta Gomillion (Kenmore) — Executive Director, Center for Human Services
• Michael Hatzenbeler (Seattle) — President & CEO, PROVAIL
• Karama Hawkins (Shoreline) — Attorney, Stender Whaley PLLC 
• Behnaz Nelson (Seattle) — Deputy Executive Director, Professional and Technical Employees, Local 17 
• Ken Noreen (Shoreline) — Music educator; former President, Shoreline Public Schools Foundation
• Mian Rice (Seattle) — Small Business Manager, Port of Seattle
• Dwight Thompson (Lake Forest Park) — President and CEO, Rehabilitation and Evaluation Services, Inc.; former Councilmember, City of Lake Forest Park
• Javier Valdez (Seattle) — Program Manager, Historically Underutilized Business Program, Seattle City Light

The 13 applicants for the District 1 Council seat are:

• David Baker — Mayor, City of Kenmore

• Dennis Behrend — Bond agent, Lacey OMalley Agency; English teacher, Mercer Education Group, Inc.

• Tiffany Bond — former Parks and Recreation Commissioner, City of Woodinville; Principal, BrandBond

• Rod Dembowski — Attorney, Foster Pepper PLLC

• Chris Eggen — Councilmember, City of Shoreline; Analyst, Applied Physics Laboratory

• Ken Goodwin — Commissioner, Woodinville Water District; member, King County Investment Pool Advisory Committee

• Will Hall — Councilmember, City of Shoreline; Senior Legislative Analyst, Snohomish County Council

• Bob Ransom — Commissioner, Ronald Wastewater District; former Councilmember, City of Shoreline

• Cindy Ryu — State Representative, 32nd District

• Keith Scully — Planning Commissioner, City of Shoreline; Attorney, Newman Du Wors

• Sarajane Siegfriedt — Member, King County Board of Equalization; former candidate for State Representative, 46th District

• Chuck Sloane — Deputy Ombudsman, King County Office of Citizen Complaints – Ombudsman; Board Chair, Municipal League of King County

• Naomi Wilson — Grants Specialist, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

The appointee will serve in office until certification of the next general election in November 2013.