Redmond Encourages Residents to Apply For Vacant Council Position

 

Redmond Encourages Residents to Apply for City Council Position #1 Vacancy

The City will host an optional Council Information Session at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 2. for community members to ask questions and learn more about the responsibilities of being a Councilmember. Meet in Council chambers. 

REDMOND, WA – The City of Redmond today announced the official process and expected timeline for filling City Council Position #1, encouraging community members interested in public service to apply for the role, which is vacant following the resignation of Councilmember Osman Salahuddin.

The vacancy will be filled by a replacement voted on by members of the current City Council; Mayor Angela Birney will cast the deciding vote in the event of a tie. The City Council reviewed recruitment procedures at last night’s Committee of the Whole meeting.

The application is currently open and can be found here.The application period will run through noon on Friday, Jan. 2, with Council reviewing applications on a rolling basis.

Councilmembers serve as the legislative branch of the City of Redmond’s government, providing direction to the Mayor on policy goals and objectives for long-term vision based on community values and needs. Council is responsible for adopting the City’s budget, setting fees, accepting grants, and overseeing financial and performance measures; adopting codes, zoning, and standards in city law and regulations; approving contracts, real estate transactions, claim settlements, and interlocal agreements; approving pay ranges and union contracts; advising the Mayor to support staff implementation of policies; and representing the majority position of the Council to the public.

The first round of in-person interviews will take place on Tuesday, Jan. 13, followed by final interviews with the top 4 candidates and Council voting on Tuesday, Jan. 20. Should a majority vote be reached on Jan. 20, the final preferred candidate will be sworn in that evening.

Serving on City Council requires a range of obligations, including but not limited to: meeting every Tuesday from 4:30 – 10:30 p.m.; participating on regional committees; attending public events, celebrations, and activities; completing public records training; submitting annual financial statements in accordance with the State’s financial disclosure laws; extensive reading on a wide variety of unrelated topics that impact the City; making sound decisions on various topics that impact the community based on reading and listening to city staff; reading and building an understanding of the City’s budget and process, Community Strategic Plan, Redmond 2050, and items adopted by previous councils.

Interested community members must apply no later than Jan. 2; the application can be found here. Applications are welcome from any City of Redmond resident – i.e., residing in the 98052-zip code – interested in serving on City Council. Applicants must be age 18 or older and be registered to vote in the United States. Residency, age, and voting status will be verified by the City upon submission.For questions about applying for this City Council vacancy, please contact Stephanie Lorntzen of the City’s Human Resources Department at slorntzen@redmond.gov.