Dembowski, Hall, and Ryu are finalists for county council

Updated 1-17-2013 5:21am

County Council set to interview candidates to fill Council District 1 vacancy

Candidate interviews to be conducted in Council’s Committee of the Whole

Metropolitan King County Council Chair Larry Gossett said the process to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Councilmember Bob Ferguson will begin with interviews of the three candidates recommended today by County Executive Dow Constantine.

 “Our goal is to get a Councilmember to represent the over 220,000 residents of District 1 as quickly as possible,” said Gossett. “We will have a thorough vetting of the candidates sent to us by Executive Constantine with the focus of filling the appointment with the best of those candidates.”

According to state law, The King County Executive is responsible for proposing three nominees to the Council. The three candidates transmitted to the Council by the County Executive, in alphabetical order, are:

• Rod Dembowski — Attorney, Foster Pepper PLLC
• Will Hall — Councilmember, city of Shoreline; Senior Legislative Analyst, Snohomish County Council
• Cindy Ryu — State Representative, 32nd District

The Council will conduct interviews with all three candidates at a meeting of the Committee of the Whole, the only standing committee on which all members of the Council serve.

“As Chair of the committee that will review the candidates, I am committed to ensuring the selection process is fair, thorough, and completed as swiftly and efficiently as possible,” said Council Vice Chair Julia Patterson. “I look forward to working with the Council in selecting the best possible representative for the residents of District 1.”

The eight remaining Council members have 60 days to appoint one of the three to represent Council District 1, which includes Shoreline, Lake Forest Park, Kenmore, Woodinville, the King County part of Bothell, north Kirkland, unincorporated areas between Bothell and Kirkland, and northeast Seattle.

If no candidate gets votes from five council members within the 60-day limit, new Gov. Jay Inslee must pick one of the three.

Constantine selected the three nominees from a list of five finalists selected by a citizens’ committee from 13 original applicants.

The appointee will serve through the November election, when District voters will choose someone for a full four-year term.

Dembowski, Hall and Ryu all have registered with the State Public Disclosure Commission as candidates for the position, a step that allows them to raise and spend money for the August primary and November general election. Candidates file for ballot positions in May. If three or more candidates file for the position, they will run in the primary, with the top two vote getters advancing to the November election. If only one or two candidates file, the position will appear only on the November ballot.

Dembowski has reported raising $63,936 and spending $3,752; Ryu has reported raising $31,710 and spending $2,639: and Hall has reported raising $3,070 and spending $120. Ryu is barred from raising money during the legislative session.

Ryu is in her legislative "election year" and is barred from fundraising from a month before the legislature convened and will not be allowed to raise money until after the session.

Follow the Council’s deliberations through Facebook and Twitter by signing up through the King County Council website.