City Council Special Meeting 7/17/2025

Good morning, everyone.

The July 17th, 2025 special meeting of the Seattle City Council will come to order.

It is 9.32 a.m.

I'm Sarah Nelson, president of the council.

Will the clerk please call the roll?

Council member Kettle?

Here.

Council member Rink?

Present.

Council member Rivera?

Present.

Council member Saka?

Morning, here.

Council member Solomon?

Here.

Council member Strauss?

Present.

Council Member Hollingsworth.

Council President Nelson.

Present.

Seven present.

Thank you very much.

All right.

If there's no objection, the council rules will be suspended to allow for public comment at today's special city council meeting.

Hearing no, I'm not seeing any objection, not seeing any on screen.

Okay.

Hearing no objection, the council rules are suspended and we will proceed with public comment.

So colleagues at this time, we'll open the public comment period.

Please note that because this is a special meeting of the city council, comments must relate to items on today's agenda.

How many people have signed up today?

We have 19 in person and five remote.

Okay.

Um, because this is a special meeting with only one item on the agenda, I will allow for two minutes per person and let's, um, start with 10 in person, go to remote, et cetera.

Okay.

Thank you very much.

Okay, the public comment period when moderated in the following manner.

Public comment period is up to 20 minutes.

Speakers will be called in the order in which they registered.

Speakers will alternate between sets of in-person and remote speakers until the public comment period is ended.

Please begin by stating your name and the item that you're addressing.

Speakers will hear a chime when 10 seconds are left of their time.

Speakers mics will be muted if they do not end their comments within the allotted time to allow us to call on the next speaker.

Public comment period is now open and we'll begin with the first speaker on the list.

I'll call the first two speakers so you can start lining up.

The first are Erica Chung and Catherine Gibson.

I just want to get really close to it.

Good morning, Madam President, council members.

My name is Erica Chung, and I'm here to enthusiastically support Dr. Julie Kang to strongly urge your nomination of Julie for the Seattle City Council position.

I've had the privilege of knowing and working alongside Julie for over 20 years, and during that time, I've come to admire her as a dedicated, thoughtful, and community-centered leader.

Her integrity, collaborative spirit, and deep-rooted commitment to public service make her an exceptional candidate to represent District 5 and the broader city of Seattle.

Julie's dedication to community service is both broad and deep.

I first met Julie while serving on boards of several civic organizations where we advocated for increased resources and opportunities for immigrant communities and organized cleanups for Earth Day.

But what truly sets Julie apart is not just her heart for service, but it's also her lived experiences and knowledge.

She brings strong business acumen and financial knowledge that are urgently needed, particularly now as the city faces significant budget shortfalls.

Julie understands how to make tough decisions with transparency and fairness.

She knows how to balance financial responsibility with maintaining vital community services.

Her experiences in managing budgets, supporting small businesses, and making data-informed decisions make her exceptionally well-suited to help guide the city through these challenging fiscal times.

Julie is also a bridge builder who brings people together across generations, cultures, and perspectives.

She is driven not by personal recognition but the desire to uplift communities.

Her investment in mentoring young adults and creating pathways for emerging leaders speaks volume about the kind of leader she is, one who lifts others as she leaves.

Before I conclude, I'd also like to submit for the record that we had 30, 377 supporters signed on to the Change.org petition supporting Julie Kang for the position.

Thank you for the opportunity to give my comments.

We have Katherine Gibson.

Following Katherine will be Sally Siriano.

Good morning, Katherine Gibson.

I rise in support of Dr. Julie Kang's candidacy for the District 5 Council seat.

I've seen Julie in action as an academic leader at Seattle University and as a community volunteer at the Seattle Rotary Club.

And as a concerned citizen of Seattle, to every endeavor, Julie brings openness, a genuine eagerness to listen, a commitment to practical, responsible, constructive, and inclusive solutions.

Her professional background and the mix of her lived experiences uniquely qualifies her for our, for your support.

As a 35-year resident of the City of Seattle, I have seen the evolution of this council.

When looking at the opportunities and challenges before the City of Seattle, I know Julie brings the best skills, perspective, and energy to this position.

I encourage your vote in support of Dr. Julie Kang.

We have Sally, and after Sally will be Nick Russo.

Good morning, counsel.

I'm Sally Soriano.

I'm a precinct committee officer in the Broadview neighborhood in District 5 and was Seattle School Board member for District 1, which encompasses most of District 5. I currently serve with Julie Kang on the 32nd Democrats Endorsement Committee.

Since Julie came onto the committee, I've always been tremendously impressed by her dedication to grassroots decision-making.

In our interview process, Julie poses insightful questions, which deepens the dialogue with candidates.

And so crucial to our committee work, she engaged in knowledgeably, collaboratively in our decision-making process.

It is clear to me, if chosen by the city council to fill D5 vacancy, Julie would bring her extraordinary depth as an educator, researcher, and a consensus Consensus builder, both to the council and to her constituents in our neighborhood.

I urge you to select Julie Kang for D5 position.

She is energized, exceedingly well informed and up to date on council issues and is ready to start work tomorrow.

Thank you.

After Nick, we will have David Woodward.

Good morning, council members.

I am Nick Russo.

I am from where the sidewalk ends, also known as the Fifth District.

I have zero interest in modern day politics of being somebody who fund raises most of the time and schmoozes powerful people.

I saw this as an opportunity to use my life experience and interest in political issues to help the community that I really love and have lived in for years.

The reason I focused on sidewalks is that they represent In a very real sense, a broken promise to the community.

These communities in Fifth District have virtually no sidewalks.

They were promised them when they were annexed into the city 60 to 70 years ago.

And at the rate we're going, it's going to be another 300, 400 years before they get them.

I think that there are ways to improve pedestrian quality that are really critical to making a healthy community that could be done for less money than the SDOT multi-million dollar per block schemes.

Overall, I see global warming as the biggest threat humans have ever faced, and I think it needs to become central to every decision that's made at every level of government.

I don't see that here.

I see the city still focusing on single-family housing and a car-centric community, and I think we need to start just stopping projects that Head in that direction.

I would love to serve this community and walk and talk with the members of the community.

Thank you.

After David, we will have Shuzhan Cho.

Thank you, members of the Seattle City Council, for this opportunity to comment on behalf of candidate Julie Kang.

I'm David Woodward, 48-year Seattle resident.

Also on the Seattle International Affairs Advisory Board appointed by you, and also the Chair of the Board of Taproot Theatre, which crosses over between Districts six and five, and you're my representative, Dan.

Also block watch coordinator since about 1986. So we have what we now call a block community rather than a block watch, and it's grown rather extensive, about 65 people in our block community, very active ones.

So I'm here to support the candidacy of Dr. Julie Kong.

I met Dr. Kong when she and I were both working in educational leadership roles at Seattle University a few years ago.

I greatly appreciate her accountability and work ethic and was just so impressed with her as soon as I had first met her.

Dr. Kong is truly dedicated to her own family, her colleagues, and the people of our city.

She has deep expertise in many important arenas, including education, organizational development, finance, policy, small business, multicultural community development, and neighborhoods.

She's worked at University of Washington, by the way, in some very strategic roles.

Dr. Kang is great to work with interpersonally, and also knows how to work on a large scale to develop and implement policy while taking into account diverse perspectives.

She's exactly the type of leader I most want to see in local government.

Someone I know will be accountable to me, as well as the needs and interests of everyone in the city.

I'm grateful that Dr. Kang is willing to represent us all on the Seattle City Council.

Thank you very much.

After Sujong will be Patti Lee.

Good morning everyone.

It's truly a joy to be here today to share my support for Dr. Julie Gang, a candidate for Seattle Council District 5. I first met Dr. Gang when I was a graduate student in Seattle University, and naturally she became my mentor.

What stood out to me then, and it still does, is how she balanced her professional responsibilities with mentorship and her volunteer work.

Over 30 years, Dr. Gang has helped students to grow.

She replies to every email from students asking for guidance.

She empowers them to lead projects, and she helps them to achieve their milestones.

That kind of impact speaks volume about her ability to bring people together across generations, across communities.

The heart, the vision, the leadership she's shown in her education and community building, she'll bring all of that and more to the City Council.

Thank you.

After Patty, we'll have Judy Yu.

Good morning, council members.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity today.

My name is Patty Lee, and I'm here to talk about my friend, Dr. Julie Kang and why she is a great choice for the vacant District 5 City Council seat.

I first met Julie almost 20 years ago when she was leading Korean Storytime at the Shoreline Public Library.

After going to the first story time with my daughter, I felt a huge sense of gratitude towards her that someone would take the time out of their busy schedule to organize, implement, and lead a program like this.

For the first time, I felt that I was actually seen and represented.

But most importantly, I was struck by her love for serving our community and by her ability to get others involved, including me.

Since that early time, I have seen her genuine passion for serving the community as she continued to be involved with and lead numerous community organizations, whether it was her volunteer work as a principal for the United Seattle Bellevue Korean School, Founding and chairing the Board of Local Community Bank, her work with the King County Citizens' Election Oversight Committee, mentoring students and educators, and organizing volunteers for Earth Day Park cleanup, to name a few.

She has a passion and innate ability to bring people together to work towards the common good.

Personally, I know that Julie has a good and caring heart for people, and with her great leadership skills and experience, she would be an excellent addition to the City Council.

Thank you for your time.

After Judy will be Mindy Lee.

Good morning, Madam President, council members.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak today.

My name is Judy Yu.

I live in District 7, and I'm here to address the issue of the open appointment in District 5. So you know this, Seattle is a beautiful and complex city, and we're facing some hard truths.

Families are being priced out of their neighborhoods, homelessness continues to grow, and too many feel unsafe and unheard.

Climate change is hitting harder each year, and our young people are wondering if their voices even matter.

These challenges are deeply connected, and they won't be solved by one person, one department, or even one policy.

They require coalition building, bringing people together that don't always agree, but who care deeply about the city and are ready to work side by side.

So let's work towards real lasting progress.

Dr. Julie Kang is exactly the kind of leader Seattle needs at this moment.

She spent her life bridging communities, whether it's advocating for Korean American voices, serving on equity boards, or mentoring K-12 educators.

At Seattle University, she has worked with numerous organizations to build connections across silos.

At the YMCA, she leads outreach that brings people in from the margins.

Julie builds coalitions not for credit, but because that's who she is, someone who believes everyone deserves to belong, to be heard, and to help shape the future of this city.

Seattle needs heart, vision, and a steady hand.

Please consider Dr. Julie Kang when thinking about your next appointment to the City Council.

Thank you.

After Mindy, we'll have Julie, and after Julie, we'll go to remote speakers.

Good morning.

My name is Mindy, and I'm here to share how Dr. Jula Kang has impacted my life.

As a mentor, I first met Dr. Kang in middle school at a Korean school event.

She truly saw us, bicultural students navigating two worlds.

She shared her own stories of being raised by a single mom, and she reminded me of my own single mom, a small business owner, and that she was doing her best, which meant everything to me.

I got to know her better when I spent four days with her and other students and elders in the community.

She was always reminding us that civic engagement is important, we have to vote, and we have to be at the table.

She took a group of us Korean Americans to DC for the Korean American Grassroots Convention to meet our elected officials and to experience democracy in action.

She was able to fundraise that trip so that everyone who wanted to go was able to participate, which was really empowering to be there.

Unlike most Korean adults I knew, she always checked up on her mental health.

She even went back to school to earn a master's in clinical mental health studies to be able to support us youth better.

Because of her, I found the courage to return to school after COVID.

I now live in Seattle, work for District 4, and I work downtown.

So most recently, she invited me to her Rotary meeting where my CEO was speaking, which was amazing because I typically do not work in a space to meet with him.

Dr. King isn't just a mentor, she helps empower youth like me and reminds us that we are the hope for a better future.

Thank you.

Julie King and then we'll go to remote speakers.

Good morning.

Thank you so much for allowing me to speak.

My name is Julie King.

I'm seeking your appointment for the Seattle City Council District 5 position.

As a passionate public servant for the last 30 years, I'm prepared to join you and to do the hard work as a team player.

Thank you for the hard work you've already done so far.

I look forward to addressing the major budget gap, finishing the comprehensive plan, and tackling the ongoing public safety needs with you.

I want to also acknowledge and thank my supporters from many organizations, including ACRS, Korean American Coalition, Impact 100 Seattle, Seattle 4 Rotary, Northwest Girl Choir in District 5, small business owners, student mentees, neighbors in District 5. I also want to thank the almost 400 neighbors who couldn't join us today in person, but signed the action plan to nominate and appoint me for the position.

We're on this journey together.

I look forward to working with our council members and Seattleites to find solutions to the challenges we're facing in Seattle.

Thank you.

Okay, we'll now move to remote comments, and our first remote commenter is Becky Kelly.

Please press star six when you hear the prompt that you have been unmuted.

After Becky will be Hilary Loeb.

Good morning, Chair Nelson and Council Members.

My name is Becky Kelly.

I'm a District 5 resident for, have been for the last 30 years, and I'm here to speak in support of Dr. Julie Tang for the District 5 appointment.

I had the pleasure of serving with Julie on the board of directors and the racial equity committee of the Northwest Girl Choir, which both of our daughters participated in, and there I got to see some of the qualities that will make Julie a great council member.

She would bring great insight, she would ask hard questions, and she helped the board work through hard issues together, including as we were going through a process of Really grappling with racial equity and how we could transform our organization to be a more equitable and inclusive and welcoming organization.

And Julie always showed up.

You've heard that from so many speakers, but I laughed when she and I were talking about this position and said, you know, I don't think it would be long before she's the hardest working council member.

It's not a competition.

I know you all work incredibly hard, but you would find yourself really appreciating, I think, having someone like Julie who will just Be there every time.

As I interviewed Julie when I learned she was stepping up to serve, I was struck by her commitment to results and accountability.

She has a rigorous academic and educational background.

She's going to commit to measuring things and making sure that investments of critical public dollars and time are actually delivering the results that you're seeking.

And she prioritized, and I wrote this down, equity and human dignity and providing care.

And doing all those things at once, as you know better than anyone, is so hard.

And I know that Julie has the right skills and orientation and background to do that incredible balancing work that you all do.

She told me that she tells her students to step up and be brave, and she's trying to do that now, and I'm so grateful she's stepping up.

She would be a fantastic council member for District 5. Thank you.

Thank you.

Next speaker is Hilary Loeb.

After Hilary would be Christine Ryu.

Good morning, Madam President and council members.

My name is Hillary Loeb and I've resided in Seattle for close to 30 years and I currently live in District 4. I'm grateful for the opportunity to speak today as I'm currently visiting family out of state.

I have had the pleasure of knowing Dr. Julie Kang for over 20 years and wanted to share a couple of reflections about her strengths.

Julie has been a colleague and friend as we are both career educators.

Julie is one of the hardest working entrepreneurial individuals I have ever met.

Her career in education spans multiple successful roles in teaching and leadership, and through her work, she has developed programs that have met the evolving needs of educators across King County.

Her business acumen has also been nurtured through collaboration with university faculty and over 10 years of board service founding a community bank.

Julie strives for cultural competence in everything she does.

Her tri-lingualism in Korean, Spanish, and English, and years of equity-centered community leadership will serve the council well in District 5, where close to three in 10 residents are Black, Indigenous, or people of color.

In sum, Seattle needs leaders like Dr. King, leaders who are knowledgeable, compassionate, and accountable.

I hope that you will most I seriously consider her candidacy as a finalist for the Open City Council position.

Thank you again for your time.

Next speaker is Christine Ryu followed by David Haynes.

Hello and good morning.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to speak and support Dr. Julie King.

My name is Christine Ryu.

And transparently, I was born and raised just north of Seattle, but I've been a resident of Seattle proper for over a decade.

I feel so fortunate to have crossed paths with Dr. Julie King.

I'm inspired by Julie's genuine care about the well-being of our community.

And what I've learned over the years is that Julie's consistent.

She shows up and she is 100% present.

She is present.

She listens.

and follow through with action.

She's always encouraged me to engage and give back to the community.

Undoubtedly, she inspires many others to act to support our community.

When I wanted to do more to help the community, but I didn't know where to start, Julie would meet with me one-on-one, coffees and lunches to provide encouragement and be a founding board to create a path that was authentic to myself while serving the community.

The City of Seattle would benefit greatly from Dr. Julie Kane as a City Council member.

Julie is consistently accountable and a collaborative team member, as demonstrated by her deep experience as a researcher and educator.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Next speaker is David Haynes.

Go ahead, David.

Hi.

District 5 has one of the worst neighborhood locations in this country when it comes to the godforsaken Aurora Avenue corridor and the John Lewis pedestrian bridge that forces you to walk parallel to the highway for too long, designing another modern third world piece of infrastructure that should have been called location inhalation what causes leukemia cancer.

The representatives of District 5 and City Hall have completely failed to address the scourge of evil.

In fact, previous counsel didn't run for re-election because the district voters revolted once they realized that societal, implosive failures and racist bad policies justified kicking out Deborah Juarez, who had a real bad attitude and disdain for council business, always complaining it takes too long, not really caring because she had more important things to do, like enjoy the accoutrements of power, bragging about her free Kraken jersey and free hockey tickets.

All while weaponizing the Council Dias by circumventing the integrity of civil engineering science by voting to approve unsafe tiebacks to hold up unsafe walls at Climate Pledge Arena, where ex-Council President Bruce Harrell thought it more important to allow the Kraken to violate the Memorandum of Understanding, denying the people a 21st century, first-world quality, world-class arena looking the other way on OVG Going from 15 feet down to 40 feet below street level, all to keep a 1960s ugly cracked concrete rooftop that ruined the quality of the whole project.

And then to top it off, council approved the $100 million tax break for a Hollywood multi-billionaire corporation.

Just think how much more Seattle would have benefited if the Kraken had to pay their fair share instead of being given freebies as if they needed incentives to co-opt the ownership of Climate Pledge Arena, only to ruin it with a 1950s era's Voice-polluted cement eyesore with a fancy couch.

We don't need to repeat the failures of the past council, especially having experience creating the very spinning policies, priorities that exacerbated public safety crisis, the homeless crisis.

That was our last remote speaker, so now we'll return to in-person comments.

Okay, we'll start with Brent Butler and then Brandon Monsoon.

Thank you, Chair and members of Council.

My name is Brent Butler, and I'm one of the 22 candidates.

You've received my resume and my cover letter.

I'm very glad to be here, and I also wanted to thank you for Your service to the community that we acknowledge is so important for not only the safety of those residents like myself of District 5, but citywide.

In my application, I recognize that some of the concerns you identified are in a crisis level.

And when I say a crisis level, I did allude to what we see as concerns about health, what we've seen as concerns primarily regarding affordability, and what we've seen with regards to the homeless epidemic.

In the 1990s, I moved to Seattle.

That was my first experience.

And in that period of time, we recognized a vibrant city.

As a Brooklynite originally, I recognized, fortunately, the affordability that Seattle offered.

It was unique.

It was something that I cherished, and that enabled me to live here safely and comfortably.

In returning, I recognize that we have a challenge, and that challenge is to address that affordability crisis.

I recognize that the comprehensive plan that's in creation right now is an opportunity.

I've recognized that some of the partners that we have in the community is another opportunity.

I recognize that being able to work together to develop some things that are created will enable us to address a lot of the community needs.

At that juncture, I just wanted to close with just one statement.

So I will wait in the galley.

I'm very eager to meet more of the community.

Thank you very much.

Next we have Brandon.

Following Brandon would be, I believe it's Alan Bond, if I'm not mistaken.

Good morning, Madam Chair and Council.

My name is Brandon Monson.

I'm one of the candidates for the District 5 vacancy.

I just wanted to spend my two minutes here giving you a little bit more information about myself.

I grew up in a poor working class family.

My father was a landscaper.

My mother was a bartender.

And when I was 20 years old, I was actually homeless.

I lived on couches and in my car.

I utilized Pell Grants and student loans to get out of that situation.

Now I have a master's in public policy, and I've worked at every level of government, city, county, federal, Congress, and I was in leadership at a food nonprofit.

When I heard Kathy Moore was resigning, I spun up a campaign and have knocked 500 doors in District 5. I've held two town halls.

I've talked to 20-plus business owners.

I've been at the Lake City Farmers Market every Thursday.

And what I've been hearing is that the community wants someone who's going to be in the community, who's going to be accountable to the community, and who's going to create policy from the community up, not the policymaker down.

I've spent my entire career working with communities, advocating for communities and working within bureaucracies to get things done for people, to deliver results for working class families.

I would love to bring that passion and expertise to this council.

And if any of that sounds good to you, or even if it doesn't, I'd really appreciate if one of you would nominate me to get me through this process so I can continue to advocate for District 5. And continue to speak for those that don't have a voice and continue to tell my story.

So thank you all very much for your time.

I believe it's Alan Bond.

And then after Alan will be Monte Anderson.

Hello, my name is Alan Bond.

I'm a union business representative for IOTC 15 here in Seattle.

I represent workers across the street, including city employees at Seattle Center and Langston Hughes with Arts and Culture.

I am a former teacher in Seattle Public Schools, and I have taken that experience, and I stopped that when I became a parent and was a stay-at-home parent for a while.

So I have looked at the needs of our community from many different perspectives over the years and have, in each of those spaces, sought out leadership roles in the community, from being a chair of the preschool co-op in Ballard in District 6 to working as a business agent for my union.

I have represented diverse views.

I am a queer parent of queer children.

And I think it's important that we provide resources for our community to protect our youth.

Right now, with my wife being a federal employee, it is a challenging time in our country, and it is important for us to support all of our community members, be they citizens or not, and make sure they are safe in our city.

I think over the next year with FIFA coming, we're going to have an incredible challenge with transportation, with the size of our city basically doubling with guests, and the number of live events doubling as well.

I hope to bring my experience in live events to help with that and help look at the planning for how we are going to manage and leverage that.

In terms of District 5, I live really close to Aurora in Bitter Lake.

That is a community that is dear to my heart.

My teenage children take the bus and all the good and bad that that entails.

And I would love to be able to help look at how we can provide resources to make that as safe as possible.

Thank you.

Following Monty, I believe it's...

I want to say Nick Jenks, but I can't confirm.

It's speaker number 15. Thank you.

Good morning, everybody.

Good morning, council members.

I'd like to first thank everybody that I've seen here applying for this job.

Everybody knows how hard it is to put yourself out there.

So kudos to everybody that signed up for this.

I know it's a tough process.

And also, I'd like to say that I like the arena.

I like the roofline.

I think it falls in line with the Seattle Center, and I think it was a beautiful project.

And it was done with a lot of labor hours here in Seattle and has brought a lot of value and business to this community.

But the point at hand here is I'm here to talk about Deborah Juarez.

We have a great city council now, but we have a chance now, almost like a sports analogy, to bring back somebody who we thought was a real all-star.

She understood everything.

Apprenticeship for us.

She understood taxes.

She understood what got businesses here.

She understand how to talk to people about building in this city.

Not just arenas, but road projects.

She understood sidewalks and drainage.

She gets it all.

So the fact that she left on her own terms, she was highly regarded by people in her own district, and we have a chance for her to come back and work with this amazing council that we have now, I think is a blessing.

Like I said, on a personal note, she has always been engaged after she retired too.

You know, you see some people in public service, then they leave and just go off to something else.

Even after she retired, she was always calling, asking questions.

What could we do?

How can I make talking about road safety and stuff that was going on at Olympia that could help where she lives?

So once again, I'm here to talk about Deborah Juarez and endorse her and think she'd be at Excellent addition to the City Council and she has endorsement of all 25,000 now of us City Building Trades members here in Seattle.

So thank you for your time and have a good time.

I believe it's Nylou.

Is that correct?

The next speaker is Nylou?

Okay, thank you.

Following Nylou will be Shane McComber.

Good morning, council members.

My name is Neeloo Jenks, and I'm asking for your vote to represent District 5, a district that deserves strong, responsive leadership.

District 5 faces real challenges, from housing and transit to public safety and connection.

I ran for this position two years ago in 2023 with deep community support because I saw an affordability crisis that was driving my neighbors out of the city, and I want them to stay.

Seattle is not dying.

It is growing especially due to climate change.

We have water.

And it means we need a comprehensive plan that is not delayed but that embraces the reality that Seattle is growing and needs to grow in a way that does not displace my neighbors, especially as District 5 is one of the most at risk of displacement.

We must also build our shelter capacity because having people living on the streets is unacceptable.

District 5 is one of the most diverse areas in Seattle, yet no one on this council has lived experience from Asian, refugee, Muslim, or Middle Eastern communities that I come from.

In fact, we have never had a Muslim or Middle Eastern person represent this city.

I understand the systems, fears, and hopes that many families carry when trying to build a life here.

Representation matters, not just symbolically, but in how policies are shaped and whose needs are prioritized.

I bring that perspective along with years of community service and organizing, from volunteering in our schools and leading on gun violence prevention efforts, to working on access to democracy and uplifting civic participation.

I believe deeply in service, in collaboration, and in getting things done.

District 5 needs someone who sees its people, reflects its diversity, and shows up for the long haul.

District 5, I am here for you and I will fight for you.

I know we are a vibrant and important part of this city to be able to serve you if honored with this opportunity.

Thank you for your consideration.

And then after Shane, we'll have Yazan

Hi, council members.

My name is Shane McCumber.

I'm also a candidate.

I did also run for the seat in 2023. I am here today not to specifically advocate for myself, but I'm to advocate for us to not have a caretaker during this time.

We're an incredibly pivotal moment where we have to make a lot of changes for this city's future.

And having somebody for 16 months when we are looking at a federal government that wants to exterminate our compassion When we have to implement a comp plan in a district that is so fearful and concerned about what change means for them.

We need somebody that will be part of making sure that people are brought along on this and are part of the conversation.

And that means looking to the future.

And a caretaker is going to be in a place where they don't want to leave a legacy.

They are only there to get us to the next election.

So we have many great candidates.

Neelu is great.

Brandon is great.

Julie Kang is great.

There's many people on this list that can be a great advocate for D5.

I want us to make sure that we're building for the future, and 16 months is too long for us to not have that voice.

So thank you all for everything that you are doing.

I look forward to working with you whether or not I get this seat.

I'm not going away anytime soon, and I do hope we hear more from you in the future.

Thank you very much.

We have Yuzhan, sorry, it might be Vader his last name, and then we have Onis Sumner.

Good morning, members of City Council.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak today.

My name is Yaz Kader.

I live in District 5, and I am currently on the Executive Board of the 46th Legislative District Democrats.

I'm here to voice my strong support for the appointment of Nilou Jenks to the open seat on our City Council.

In a time when trust in our local government is built on transparency, representation, and service, Nilou stands out as somebody deeply committed to our community's values.

She has consistently shown a dedication not only to being present, but to truly listening to all voices, especially those that have been historically underrepresented.

As someone who is Middle Eastern descent, I have felt attacked by our current presidential administration.

We have seen a Muslim ban that has disproportionately affected people of color from the Middle East.

Providing NILU an opportunity on the city council gives us a voice here in our city for our concerns to be addressed at a local level.

What really matters.

Over the last few years, we have seen a rise in conflicts for what many consider to be our homeland.

This may seem far to some.

However, many here in Seattle, this affects them very close at heart.

I want somebody who will protect not just my rights, but everyone's rights.

Nilou is that person.

Appointing Nilou is a chance to reflect the diversity and strength of our city.

I urge you to consider not only Her dedication to this position for 16 months, but well beyond that.

This appointment can be a vital message about who is shaping our future in this city and who is represented.

Thank you so much.

Following Oney will be Shannon Grimes.

Hi, good morning.

My name is Euni Sumner and thank you for your service and everything you do for our Seattle community.

I'm here today to speak in strong support for Dr. Julie Kong and ask you to appoint her to the City Council.

A little bit about me.

I am a proud daughter of Korean immigrants.

My father served in the Korean War as a translator for the U.S.

Army and then came to the U.S. on scholarship and became a teacher for 44 years.

My mother was a professional basketball player in Korea in the 50s at a towering five-five, and she had to come to the United States to learn English and find a new profession.

I was born in a small town in Connecticut, and it was mostly Irish and Catholic, and diversity meant whether you went to St. Teresa's or Christ the King Church, and my parents were told to stop speaking Korean to me.

I spent most of my career in New York, Boston, and Chicago, and then relocated to Seattle 20 years ago with Washington Mutual to lead the M&A, the Mergers and Acquisition Group, and Venture Capital Group during very challenging times.

My now husband followed shortly, and he worked at the Seattle PI.

Seattle's the first place where I felt true Asian American representation, and it really inspired me to get involved.

It's pretty incredible that it's almost 17% in the representation in the Seattle community.

However, I do find it to be a gap in our city council.

But through a lot of the involvements in the Asian American community, this is how I met Julie.

She seemed to be everywhere I was, and I joked that sometimes I thought I had an air tag on me and she was tracking me.

I first met Julie when she was the teacher and co-founder of a school teaching kids Korean language and culture.

I was looking also for help at the house, someone who was speaking Korean, and behind the scenes she was helping me with the Korean KSA organization.

I became very involved in the Asian Counseling Referral Service, where I served two board terms.

And she was also there bringing her entourage to support us.

Thank you.

Thank you today for your support.

Next we have Shannon.

Following Shannon will be Sean.

Hello, council.

My name is Shannon Grimes.

I'm here to say a few words in support of Nilo Jenks for the vacant city council position.

I've had the pleasure of working closely with Nilo over the past year and a half as we've both been advancing ranked choice voting here in Washington, as well as other democracy reforms like democracy vouchers here in Seattle.

Nilou is thoughtful, kind, energetic, and committed to making the world and her community a better place, from small actions like careful, patient driving to large-scale reforms and solutions like upgrading our elections.

In our legislative work, I've been able to see how she holds strong to her values but also embraces continual learning.

She isn't afraid to adapt her views or hold a nuanced position on a complex topic.

Although her work is focused mostly on elections, she's also engaged in many other issues from climate to housing to bridging cultural divides.

Nilou makes an effort to connect with many different people and is communicative, considerate, and genuinely a joy to have as a colleague.

She works hard, not afraid to put in late nights or extra activities.

I know that she would dedicate herself fully to the council.

I'll be sad to lose her close collaboration if she is appointed to this position, but I know that she will be a huge asset to City Council, to the people of District 5, and to our wonderful city overall.

So I recommend her strongly for this position.

Thank you.

And Sean is our last registered speaker.

Thank you.

I just rise today in support of Deborah Juarez for getting her seat back, basically, because she did a lot of heavy lifting here when times were really, really tough.

And I don't know the circumstances as to why she left, but as this thing's headed more in the right direction, you see the vibrancy of Seattle starting to come back.

It kind of makes sense that she would be included in this.

So that's all I really have to say.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak today.

Okay, we've reached the end of our public comment period.

We've finished everybody on the list and we will now proceed.

If there is no objection, the agenda will be adopted.

Hearing no objection, the agenda is adopted.

Will the clerk please read item one into the record.

Agenda item one, selection of city council vacancy position, district five finalist.

Okay, we've been through this twice before colleagues and what most of us had and on Tuesday I emailed every council office the voting procedure that we're going to go through today and I heard no dissent or confusion.

So I will now proceed to agreeing on that procedure and then move forward.

Okay, I move to adopt the voting procedure to nominate City Council position District 5 finalist to be as follows.

As president, I will open nominations to select City Council President District 5 finalists from the list of applicants.

Council members will be called on in order of this week's roll call and will have the opportunity to provide comments and nominate one applicant.

Seconds are not required for nominations.

An applicant will need to be nominated by a council member for them to move forward in the council vacancy appointment process.

After nominations are closed, those finalists will move forward in the council vacancy appointment process.

Is there a second to the voting procedure?

Second.

The voting procedure has been moved and seconded to adopt the voting procedure to select finalists.

Are there any questions on the voting procedure?

Councilmember Strauss.

Thank you, Council President.

Just confirming we'll have an opportunity to make some remarks before we go through the presentation of choosing.

Absolutely.

Thank you.

Okay.

It's been moved and seconded to adopt the voting procedure.

I'm not seeing any other questions.

Will the clerk please call the roll on the adoption of the voting procedure to nominate finalists for the City Council District 5 position?

Councilmember Kettle.

Aye.

Council Member Rink.

Yes.

Council Member Rivera.

Aye.

Council Member Saka.

Aye.

Council Member Solomon.

Aye.

Council Member Strauss.

Yes.

Council Member Hollingsworth.

Yes.

And Council President Nelson.

Aye.

Eight in favor, none opposed.

The motion carries and the procedure is adopted.

All right, now we'll go through, well, we'll proceed with the selection of the City Council Position 5, Position District 5 finalists from the list of applicants.

This week's roll call starts with Council Member Kettle.

Council Member Kettle, you're recognized to provide comments and make a nomination.

Thank you, Council President.

And to Councilmember Strauss's question, so we can make general comments before putting forward a name, as opposed to going through making general comments and then just...

Right, this is your individual time to comment and then put forward a name.

Okay, I just wanted to make sure I was in sync with what Councilmember Strauss was saying.

All right, thank you.

I really want to appreciate everyone being here and the public comments made, particularly those from the candidates themselves.

I do recognize the other strong support that was here, but I do recognize, too, that there's support across the District 5 community, even if they're not here represented either in person or remote.

And that's very important.

I do believe out of the 22, we have a very strong set of candidates.

I've gone through them.

And, you know, clearly there's pretty much everyone could, you know, serve on the council.

And then there's, you know, there's a top tier too that I look in terms of the education, the experience, and the background.

That would be very good candidates for the City Council.

And as Council President noted, this is our third time.

For some of us, this is our third time going through this process.

I do believe that we should have like a good quorum of people.

I don't think we necessarily need all eight, but a good strong four to six candidates to, you know, to have a good Robust public forums, which will be coming up between now and final selection, and then also the opportunity to meet those finalists in our offices, which is the norm.

So I look forward to meeting all those that do get nominated today.

I'm really thankful, again, looking at this list of people like Deborah Juarez, as Mr. Anderson noted, or Mr. Burry, who is here today, and his strong background.

Clearly, Dr. Cain has a strong background and strong support.

That's clear.

But I'm also partial to Mr. Robert Wilson, given his strong background.

And then, obviously, as well, Ms. Jenks, Ms. Nula Jenks, amongst all the others that are here adjusting my mic stand.

And with that, and just to take the suspense out of this, Council President, my nomination will be Deborah Juarez.

Okay, the next on the, thank you very much.

I will just read the roll call order so the audience knows what order we're going in.

We've been through this already once this week, but okay, so it was Councilmember Kettle, now it's going to be Rink, then Rivera, Saka, Solomon, Strauss, Hollingsworth, and me.

Okay, Councilmember Rink.

Thank you, Council President.

As one of the citywide representatives, I've been reflecting a lot about my time in District 5 and the organizations serving our communities that work out of District 5, the conversations I've had with residents, and thinking about my time also on the ground, walking on streets without sidewalks, connecting directly with residents, and wanting to really center all of those experiences and voices as we've been considering this really critical employment process.

And District 5 has been historically under-invested in so many ways, and I'd be remiss if I didn't say as Chair of City Light really centering how District 5 continues to be disproportionately hit by outages, even just naming the outage from last night, which impacted 21,000 City Light customers, many of whom in District 5. And reflecting to the bomb cyclone event from earlier this year, which our city did not receive our FEMA request of millions of dollars to be able to fill.

And I want to thank, again, the City Light crews who worked really hard to restore power.

But again, noting that District 5 was disproportionately hit and continues to be hit.

Um, by city light outages and that is due in large part because of underinvestment and that's something that, that certainly needs to be remedied.

That paired with the tremendous need for sidewalks within the district, I know I've walked the streets myself, it's not safe.

Um, and we know that we are a long way from really accomplishing our vision zero goals and being able to achieve street safety in that way.

I'm thinking about the time I've spent walking along Aurora with the Aurora Reimagined Coalition, a coalition of amazing folks really rethinking about what that corridor means for our city.

It's a corridor that we put a lot of expectations on, but it's one that there's certainly a lot of appetite to reimagine.

And I'll close with two final points, which is we know all of these issues paired with just the urgency and the new climate we're in with the federal government have changed things for our neighbors.

And it was voiced during public comment today about how District 5 is home to many of our immigrant neighbors.

Really looking for someone who's going to champion the needs of our immigrant communities, because the reality is our neighbors are being disappeared from our streets right now, and there is tremendous fear.

And so looking for someone in this position who can really champion That community and is not afraid to speak truth to power in that way is really, really important.

And someone who's going to be a strong communicator in this role to make sure that information is getting out to impacted communities in a timely and regular manner.

So for all of these reasons, Um, I will be putting forward Neeloo Jenks' name today for consideration for a finalist, and I look forward to learning more about all the finalists as we go through this process, and I want to thank again everyone who applied for this.

Stepping up into a leadership position, especially right now, is a brave thing to do, and so I want to thank everyone who has applied for this role.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Okay, Councilmember Rivera.

Thank you, Council President.

Thank you to all the candidates who have stepped up to represent the D5.

I'm encouraged by the number of people who, excuse me, I'm encouraged by the number of people who stepped up and for their willingness to serve.

I want to also thank all the folks that came here today to either speak about their putting their own names into the hat or for the folks that came to to support someone who has put their name forward.

As the closest partner to D4, the D5 representative is really important to me.

I'm looking for someone that will really listen to all voices in the D5 and who will work with all of us on the tough work that we need to do here on the Council.

These are really tough jobs, and I very much respect and admire everyone's willingness to serve.

Twenty-two really great candidates, many qualified candidates.

Obviously, we can only pick one.

My nomination will go to Julie Kang.

Thank you.

Councilmember Saka.

Thank you, Madam Council President.

So many great candidates already off the board, but first and foremost, good morning, everyone.

Honored to be able to come to you today, virtually live and direct from Vancouver City Hall.

I am, as a council member, we are a policymaker and a lawmaker.

We are policy makers and we are advocates for our community and oftentimes, especially at the district level, we are your leader in chief of the various communities and organizations and individuals within our respective communities.

And today, this past week, I've had the opportunity to be the cheerleader in chief of the West Seattle Little League team.

The 10U team is playing tonight.

And Vancouver for the championship at the state level.

Vancouver is hosting the tournament.

So that is why my daughter also happens to be playing.

And that is why I'm coming to you remote.

But I appreciate the comedy and courtesy from our colleagues in the Association of Washington Cities member, the City of Vancouver, for allowing me to host me at their City Hall.

Any of it.

And so many great folks already off the board, but great folks remain on the board as well.

Kind of what I'm speaking in a new colleague for District 5, someone who is going to truly prioritize the needs of District 5 residents first and foremost, as everything that they do, the residents and people of District 5, top of mind.

Front and center for all they do.

And leads me to my second point.

I think someone who is best able to demonstrate that are folks who have an awareness that We have a unique problem here in the city and District 5 is the worst off from a missing sidewalks perspective.

So 27% missing as chair of the Transportation Committee.

I know that Our city has a 27 percent missing sidewalk gap across the city and as public comments are mentioned earlier under the current pace of construction well then before we took office about over a year ago it would have taken over 500 years to construct thanks to the leadership of this council including now former council member Moore we provided a generational investment through the generosity of owners provided a generational investment in constructing new sidewalks because of that 27 percent district 5 has about 32 percent the highest proportion followed by my council district in district 1 and then councilmember solomon's district district 2 so there's a critical need we need to do more uh and i think the person so i'm looking for a good Co-champion and good partner and doing all we can do as a city to better invest in the construction of new sidewalks and also addressing sidewalk repair along the way because that's really important as well.

And because it's not just about prioritizing it as a as a policy.

It's not just about speaking to it.

It's about making difficult decisions, including finding resources and appropriating resources, which we've Started to do, made great strides in doing the last year and a half, but more work continues.

And as the worst off council district, I'm looking for a partner to continue that work in any event.

Also someone who is very collaborative, collaborative obviously with their colleagues, the council, collaborative with the executive department, Like governing partners, same with the city attorney's office, same with the municipal court branch.

And first and foremost, someone, again, who's going to prioritize their constituents.

And that is going to dominate and underlie every single thing they do.

Again, excellent, excellent candidates.

I appreciate everyone who has taken the time to apply and put yourself out there like this and open to praise and open to scrutiny as well.

It's very clear to me that you care deeply about your community.

It's very clear to me you care deeply about our city.

And for that, I'm forever grateful.

Every last one of you, whether you make it in advance to the next stage or not, You all stepped up to the plate, and I thank you, and I know the city thanks you as well.

So I really appreciate.

Shout out to the people on the issue of new sidewalks.

Shout out to the folks that specifically mentioned sidewalks in various contexts in their application materials.

Katie Haima, Mark Mendez, Nathan Schroeder, and Nick Russo, by my quick tally.

And I really appreciated reading their applicant materials.

A few others I like, including some who are off the board.

Julie Kang, in no particular order, by the way.

Julie Kang, Deborah Juarez, Justin Simmons, Nathan Schroeder, Robert Wilson, Nilou Jenks.

And appreciated the comments from Nilou earlier about the need for various voices and perspectives.

Just for clarity, though, there are currently sitting people from immigrant and refugee backgrounds on this council.

I, for one, am a proud son of a Nigerian immigrant.

And in Nigeria, there is The religious beliefs are roughly split, 40% to 40% Christian and Muslim, and the other 20% roughly being indigenous beliefs.

But my now late grandfather was a Muslim, and he had earned the honorific title of Alaji.

Basically a male who has taken the holy pilgrimage to Mecca.

So I'm proud of my immigrant and Muslim background.

I'm a Christian non-practicing these days, but that perspective is well represented now.

We can always obviously add more in any event.

So again, I applaud everyone who has taken the time to apply.

This is a tough job.

Which leads me to my next point.

In earlier, because this is my third time doing this and the third time for most of us, in earlier iterations, especially the last one, I had very strong feelings about this notion of a caretaker versus someone who would like to or at least consider running on a more permanent basis for the seat permanently.

This is a tough job.

That's still the case now.

But because this person would be enrolled for six, seven plus months before they had to make a decision to run, if that's what they so choose, before I had strong feelings, especially the last go around, I had very strong feelings that I personally I do not want someone who is going to serve in the role and then go ahead and run.

It's just not setting the city up for success, not setting their constituents up for success given the short turnaround.

But because of the much longer duration, protracted duration nature of this appointment and then the final election, I'm less Still maybe slightly preferred, but I'm less rigid, less strong feelings about that.

I'm just looking for the best candidate to do the job.

And I think some excellent names have already been called off the board.

But one, That hasn't yet been called, and I really like because this person has worked and succeeded at very high levels in big tech.

This person is a veteran of the United States military, in particular the Navy.

So if this person happened to serve in terms of diversity of views and experiences, that would make, if this person happens to Ends up on as an appointee on this council.

This person would be the fourth veteran and the third Robert.

Maybe that's an abundance of Roberts.

But in any event, I nominate Robert Wilson to move forward.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Council member Solomon.

Thank you very much, Madam Chair, Madam President.

Again, I do want to express my gratitude for everyone who's put their name forward.

Again, this ain't easy.

I know.

Been there.

And I want to express my gratitude to all of you that I've had an opportunity to meet with And get to know a little bit better and learn a little bit better about your backgrounds, your passion, what drives you, why you want this job in the first place, right?

So again, you know, appreciate you all coming forward and putting your neck out there.

When I think about my own journey in getting here and what I'm hoping to accomplish with my colleagues while I'm here, I'm also thinking about who can I work with in D5 that'll help us get there.

Someone who shares a passion for the community.

Someone who is looking to get some stuff done.

And someone who actually knows how to navigate around city systems.

So for those reasons, I am going to be nominating Katie Hema for consideration.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Councilmember Strauss.

Thank you, Council President.

District 6 shares a border with District 5. I spent a lot of my life growing up in District 5. It's got a special place in my heart.

Even after the most recent gerrymandering of our districts, District 5 took part in one of my favorite parts of District 6. And I still serve those residents because, again, we as district council members serve all Seattleites.

Even just last night there was the power outage that affected so many customers and residents in District 5 and it impacted District 6 as well.

I'd like to give a special thank you to Evie Kettle for the good intel because it takes a community.

I received that notice from a community member who didn't even live in District 5 or District 6. And through that, we were able to get the real-time information about what was going on with that vault fire.

And again, thank you, Council Member Rink.

I was able to receive that information only because you had specifically requested it already.

So this is how a community all works together.

And what I see in District 5, is a community that is isolated in many ways, from I-5 and 99, even Holman Road, to a certain degree, Greenwood, Northgate Way.

We've got 145th that is a state route.

You know, Lake City Wait is a state route.

You know, Holman area is so different than Pinehurst.

Victory Heights is different than Meadowbrook.

Matthews Beach as the neighborhood is different than Blue Ridge.

Matthews Beach as the park is different than Carkeek.

Crown Hill is so different than Lake City.

Maple Leaf, even though so close, is different than Greenwood.

And even Northgate is so different than Licton Springs, and they are still connected by only a quarter mile.

Bitter Lake is different than Howler Lake.

The banks of Lake Washington are different in such stark ways than Aurora Avenue.

We have in these next few months the ability to do some real important placemaking in Pinehurst with the new light rail station that is named Pinehurst.

That area is going through significant change and this is a placemaking opportunity.

It was a real pleasure to get to speak to so many folks over the last few weeks, and yesterday I was able to speak to 11 people.

I left two voicemails.

Shane, if you want to chat later, feel free to give me a call back.

Sorry we didn't get a chance to talk before this.

And to the eight people that I wasn't able to connect with, I'm sorry, but let's feel free to connect again in the future because what I'm seeing here is that There is such energy from across all of these isolated pockets of intense community and really the bridge building across these physical manmade barriers of roads and other barriers needs to happen.

Four people I talked to live along Aurora.

One person grew up on Aurora.

One person's working on the future of Aurora.

I have seen folks who have run for this office before, spoken to folks and heard that public safety is important.

Their kids walking to school is important.

Speaking to Nathan about the issues of operating a small business, Brandon has already had town halls for this.

There's such energy.

The district is bursting with energy.

Alan Bond has the ability to bring some really important knowledge set about the fact that in the next year, we're gonna have 800,000 people come through our city in three to six months.

Our city only has 800,000 people.

What's that gonna do to all the live events that need to occur?

Speaking to Brent about age-friendly, the ability to age in place, that knowledge set has changed how I approach my policymaking and I just can't thank you enough for all of the improvements that you've already made to our city.

Jed has already operated budgets larger than the city of Seattle and Ansel's bringing neighbors together to bridge divides on important topics.

I also noticed that there are other leaders in District 5 who didn't apply.

Colleen Echohawk comes to mind.

Patience Malaba comes to mind.

Becca Poppy comes to mind.

And, you know, we also have a couple of folks such as Neeloo Jenks, you've run before as well.

We had a great long conversation and Deborah Juarez who's already sat in this seat.

Today for this process, I'm not going to be putting forward another name.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Moving on to Councilmember Hollingsworth.

Thank you, Council President.

I do believe Councilmember Strauss is the only person that went to high school in District 5. Is that correct?

Yes.

I like his, I don't know.

I think I'm pretty sure.

So I just wanna heartfelt thank to everyone who took the time to participate today in this District 5 vacancy.

Your willingness to step forward and share your ideas and put yourself out there is super deeply appreciated.

And I know that it takes courage and commitment to do this, and also your contributions, whether you're speaking, showing up, and demonstrating how much that you care about this community is greatly appreciated.

It's hard.

to put yourself out there.

And we always say, don't read the comments and that's not what you wanna do.

But District 5 in Seattle holds like a really vital place in our community because it is a district of working class families.

It is a district of our immigrant population.

It's vibrant neighborhoods, it's hardworking families, it's local businesses, it's schools, parks.

It has a deep history of resilience and progress And I always talk about the two districts that sit on the edge of our Boundaries, District 2 and District 5, which happen to be the most underserved, excuse me, under-resourced neighborhoods and under-resourced communities where we have an opportunity to continue to fill those resources for those communities, but also not push those communities out as well, which is important.

And we've seen that in different neighborhoods, particularly District 3, Central District and other places where It's becoming more unaffordable in our city.

There's other places in Seattle that have become home to folks.

And as we are continuing to resource them, we don't want those families that have made those places special to be pushed out at all.

And I think the district also represents the heartbeat and community spirit of Seattle values.

That's why it's important to me that for this process, someone who understands the budget process that we are going to take up immediately in the last part of the year, someone who's going to jump right into the comprehensive plan where we're building about the future and the growth.

We also have a lot of end-of-the-year legislation that comes our way at a very fast pace.

Some of the issues that are on Aurora that we've heard from folks, whether it's stabilizing and cleaning certain stuff up, and then it's also thinking about the future, like Council Member Rink said, of re-imagining what Aurora could be.

And most importantly, what I would like to hear from candidates is our future.

We talk a lot about our issues that we have in our city, but also the hope.

There are a lot of things to look forward to in our city, and people want a little hope.

And the way to do that is centering our youth and our kids and our families.

Because when our babies are safe, our families are safe and our cities are safe.

So someone who's thinking about our youth, we have to start being a younger city for our kids because that, is going to be the future of our city.

And when you think about empires or cities that all were successful, it was because of the young people in their city, particularly the kids and the youth.

And so that's what's important to me.

I will say that I had a list of folks and those have all been nominated.

And so I will not be putting forth a nomination today because I believe that the group of candidates that we have is, I feel comfortable with those.

So thank you.

Thank you very much.

Okay, I'm the last one here.

So despite reporting that may have indicated otherwise that came out prior to all of the applications being made available to us, this is going to be an open and transparent process where we are keeping the needs of the constituents of District 5 front and center of our decision-making process.

Personally, I have I've endeavored to meet with everybody who has contacted my office who has asked for a meeting and was interested in applying.

I've met with small business owners from Lake City who have been talking about their needs and of course I've been I've had a lot of conversations about the comp plan update and also just the needs of District 5 in general.

And before Council Member Moore departed from City Council, I did get her read on what the needs of the district are as well.

So I was impressed by the breadth and the quality of all of the applicants and I want to thank all of them for putting themselves out there to be considered.

I also want to thank all of the community members who've reached out and come to speak today on behalf of the candidates they feel strongly about.

We owe it to the D5 constituents to consider their needs and interests and how they would like to be represented.

One thing I was looking for during this process is someone who would be interested in running again in 16 months.

And I have said this with every vacancy that we've filled the previous two.

And here's why.

I believe that the decisions that someone makes while they are filling a vacancy are very important and have long-term consequences.

And it's my view that the best thing for D5 is to appoint somebody that the voters would have an opportunity to hold accountable at the ballot box.

But that is not, that's not a necessity in my book, but it is a preference that I brought to each one of these processes and I'm just trying to communicate the things I think about when I'm looking at these applications.

With all that being said, in recognizing that many excellent candidates have already been nominated as finalists, I would like to nominate Jim Bury.

Mr. Bury is an exceptionally well-qualified candidate with nationwide city and county administrator experience.

He has seen how local governments can work well in different systems.

He has dealt with many of the similar challenges we face here in Seattle today.

And he will be at the very least a valuable perspective through the next two weeks of the appointment process.

So whatever happens in the end, I anticipate that having his voice amongst us is a valuable asset for us to take in mind just given the breadth of his experience.

So that is my recommendation.

And if there is, as we've reached the end of our comments, I'm not seeing anybody raising their hands.

Each council member was provided an opportunity to nominate a city council position five, position district five finalists.

Nominations are now closed.

Will the clerk please read the final list?

Nominated by Council Member Kettle, Deborah Juarez.

Nominated by Council Member Rink, Nylou Jenks.

Nominated by Council Member Rivera, Julie Kang.

Nominated by Council Member Saka, Robert D. Wilson.

Nominated by Council Member Solomon, Katie Hyma.

And nominated by Council President Nelson, James N. Burry.

Thank you very much.

Okay, pursuant to City Council Municipal Code 393, finalists are required to participate in the community-organized public forum and the July 22nd City Council Meeting to be eligible for appointment to the City Council District 5 position.

The public forum is scheduled for Monday, July 21st from 5.30 to 7.30 p.m.

at the North Seattle College Auditorium.

The vacancy website has been updated to include the location details.

All right, a recap of the next steps of the City Council District 5 vacancy process are as follows.

Finalists are required to participate, as I'd already said, in the forum and to be eligible for appointment.

And then we will have the opportunity as the last couple of times to ask questions of the candidates ourselves at a special meeting to further Uh, to elicit further information that didn't come out in either one-on-one conversations or the forum.

And then on July 28th at 9 30 AM, the council will hold another special meeting to appoint an eligible finalist to fill the city council district five position.

Are there any, is there any further business to come before council?

All right.

Seeing none, we've reached the end of today's agenda.

Our next regularly scheduled City Council meeting will be held on Tuesday, July 22nd at 2 p.m.

Hearing no further business, it is 1053 and we are adjourned.