Lynnwood finally has a fully staffed city council following councilmembers’ unanimous decision Monday to appoint Jessica Roberts to the vacant No. 5 position. This is the second time in a month the council has done so, after Rebecca Thornton stepped down after being appointed to the position last month. 

“I’m thrilled and excited to serve the city of Lynnwood,” Roberts told Lynnwood Today following the meeting. As a councilmember she plans to focus on increasing density along the city’s high-traffic streets to build public transit ridership and help guide the city toward reaching its climate goals, she said.

“Improving pedestrian and bicycle safety is also at the top of my list,” she said.

The council also confirmed Jared Bond, who up until now was the city’s deputy public works director, to serve as the city’s public works director following former Director Bill Franz’s retirement in December. Bond has served in the public works department for over 20 years, Mayor Frizzell said.

Roberts is set to take an oath of office on March 17, holding office until November, when she must run for re-election if she wishes to retain the seat, in accordance with state law.

Roberts has a bachelor’s degree in humanities with an emphasis in communications and history from Washington State University. Her professional background is in customer service and project management and she currently works as a customer service representative for a local plumbing company.

More information on Roberts and the other candidates can be found here. 

Roberts is set to take the seat vacated by Altamirano-Crosby when she unexpectedly resigned in January, following her  to the county’s Public Utilities District Commission in November.

There were 19 applicants for the vacant seat, and only five, alongside Roberts, remained for the final voting round: Per city code, eight of the 19 applicants were selected through a point-based system to move forward to the interview process in February, but three of the eight dropped out prior to Monday night. 

The council used ranked-choice voting to select a new councilmember. In the preliminary vote, each individual councilmember ranked the candidates based on who would be their first, second and third choice to fill the vacancy. Using a point-based system, the candidates with the highest points moved to the next round of voting until only one candidate remained. 

First choice (3 points): 

• Josh Binda: Lashgari
• Nick Coelho: Leutwyler
• Patrick Decker: Leutwyler
• Derica Escamilla: Roberts
• George Hurst: Leutwyler
• David Parshall: Wright

Second choice (2 points):

• Josh Binda: Baum
• Nick Coelho: Lashgari
• Patrick Decker: Roberts
• Derica Escamilla: Baum 
• George Hurst: Wright
• David Parshall: Roberts

Third choice (1 point):

• Josh Binda: Roberts
• Nick Coelho: Baum
• Patrick Decker: Baum
• Derica Escamilla: Wright
• George Hurst: Roberts

— Contact Ashley at ashley@myedmondsnews.com.