City residents put their bids in for Council seat

A stay-at-home mom, an attorney and a middle school teacher are among the seven finalists for the vacant Kent City Council position.

And, rounding out the list of job descriptions for council hopefuls, a former Kent councilman, a small-business owner, a King County manager and a college instructor are also in the running.

The vacancy comes as the result the April 30 death of Councilman Bob O’Brien.

The seat is an at-large position, as are all Kent Council posts. This means they are not restricted to representing one part of town.

The City Council will meet 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at Council Chambers at City Hall, 220 Fourth Ave. S., to choose from the candidates.

The decision will come after an interview process, where the Council will talk to each for about 15 to 20 minutes at the public meeting. While the meeting is open, the other candidates will be asked to wait outside until their interview time.

After an executive session to discuss the candidates, the Council will make its vote that night, Council President Debbie Raplee said. It takes a simple majority vote by the Council to appoint a replacement. A 3-3 vote would be broken by Mayor Suzette Cooke.

The appointed resident will be sworn into office at the beginning of the July 15 Council meeting and start work that evening. He or she will serve until an election is held in November 2009. The appointed Council member also will be eligible to run for the position.

Following is a brief background on each candidate based on information from applications they supplied to the Council for the position.

• Nicole Byzinker: A stay-at-home mother, Byzinker is a former Kent School District teacher and a resident of the city for almost five years. She has served the past year as treasurer for the MOMS Club of Kent.

• Jamie Danielson: An attorney with Hanis Irvine Prothero of Kent, Danielson practices family law, trusts and estates, and land use. She grew up in Kent and has lived here 26 years. She serves on the board of the Domestic Abuse Women’s Network of Tukwila.

• Dennis R. Higgins Jr.: A client services manager of the King County Geographic Information Systems, Higgins previously lived in the Kent Northeast (Panther Lake) potential annexation area. He serves on the city of Kent’s Lodging Tax Advisory Committee.

• Jon K. Johnson: A former Kent councilman from 1977 to 1997, Johnson is employed by PACCAR Inc., which builds trucks. Johnson serves on the city of Kent’s Land Use and Planning Board. He first ran for the Kent City Council at age 19 in 1975, but lost the election by 34 votes.

• Dana Ralph: A Kent small-business owner, Ralph has lived in the city for 35 years. She serves on the city of Kent’s Land Use and Planning Board. She is the chairwoman of the Kent Arts Commission.

• Michael Sealfon: A medical lab technician instructor at Renton Technical College, Sealfon has lived in Kent for 15 years and is a career Army officer. He is a former safety officer and technical director for LabCorp of Kent, a clinical laboratory.

• Rashmee Sharma: A middle school teacher in the Tukwila School District, Sharma has lived in Kent since 1996. She immigrated to the United States in 1990 from India. She is chairwoman of the Indian Arts and Heritage Society of Seattle.

The current six Council members are Raplee, Ron Harmon, Deborah Ranniger, Les Thomas, Elizabeth Albertson and Tim Clark.

Council members cut the list of candidates to seven from 15 after a review of applications during an executive session at the June 17 Council meeting.

Council members are paid $1,146 per month for the part-time positions. The Council meets on the first and third Tuesdays of each month. Council members also serve on at least two city committees.

Government in action

The Kent City Council will meet 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall to interview candidates for the vacant Council post. The meeting is open to the public. Info: 253-856-5712.