Tina Budell will resign next week from the Kent City Council because she is moving to Chicago for a new job.
Budell, in her third year of a four-year term, made the unexpected announcement at the Tuesday night council meeting.
“This is really hard for me,” Budell said. “I have accepted a full-time position with a large employer and I will be relocating to Chicago in July. I asked (her new employer) if I could serve on council until I relocate and was told by their attorney late last night due to conflict of interest because I make budgetary decisions, I have to resign.”
Budell has been hired as a business analyst for the vice president of cybersecurity at Bank of America.
Budell said her last day as a council member will be April 13. Council members are considered part-time positions, which pay $15,180 per year. Most members of the council work full-time jobs during the day.
“It’s a hard decision but after being a contractor for 11 years and going year to year with a different employer, this opportunity for long-term stability and planning for my future is probably the best for me even though I have made Kent my home for the last 12 years,” Budell said. “It was the hardest decision to leave Kent and walk away because I already had started to work on my reelection.”
Voters elected Budell in November 2015 when she easily defeated Hira Singh Bhullar. Budell replaced Deborah Ranniger, who decided not to seek reelection after 12 years in office. Budell got her first exposure to city government as president of the North Park Neighborhood Council. North Park sits just north of Kent Station and east of the accesso ShoWare Center.
Budell has worked as a contractor for several companies.
“This is a huge opportunity for her at this new job and her career. …I am excited about that,” Council President Bill Boyce said. “The sad thing about it is Councilmember Budell has been a really integral part of this council. We all have different ways of looking at things and she opened my eyes to a lot of things. …It really helped us think differently and I am going to miss having her on the council.”
Boyce said city leaders will start the process to replace Budell. Residents will be asked to apply for the position and the council will appoint a replacement. The details will be announced soon.
“We have a process already in place that we have used for quite sometime and it will be a similar process,” Boyce said.
Budell said she had a choice of five cities to move to, but Seattle wasn’t one of them.
“So I chose a city where I would be close to family,” she said in an email Wednesday. “It doesn’t hurt that I get to see the Cubs and still get to see my Mariners when they come play both teams (Cubs, White Sox). I also still get to root for the Seahawks and Sounders.”
Budell said leaving Kent is going to be difficult.
“The relationships with people here are very near and dear to me,” she said. “My Friday night family dinner at Country Burger will come to an end, my weekly Sunday meals at Rinconsito will end, my trips to Carpintinos and McLendon, Reber Ranch all stop when I leave. It’s those interactions with the people here that I will miss.”
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