Lake Forest Park council appoints Ashton Alvarez McCartney to fill vacant seat

The Lake Forest Park City Council appointed Ashton Alvarez McCartney to temporarily fill the vacant Position 2 seat after a June 5 special meeting that included interviews with three candidates and a return from executive session.

The council convened the special meeting to interview candidates for the interim appointment and to discuss those candidates’ qualifications; the council said it might take action after an executive session conducted under state open‑meetings law. Mayor (presiding) said the panel would take public comment after interviews and then move to executive session “per the RCWs.” City attorney Kim Pratt later told the council that because six members were present, “a candidate has to receive 4 votes in order to be appointed.”

Why it matters: The appointment fills a seat the council said was recently vacated and comes as the city faces a projected budget shortfall and state mandates for middle housing. Council members used the candidate interviews to press for specifics on how an interim appointee would help with resident outreach, budget messaging and the compressed schedule for policy work.

Most of the candidates’ answers focused on the city’s projected fiscal issues and state middle‑housing requirements. Ashton Alvarez McCartney, who currently serves on the Planning Commission, emphasized community outreach and fiscal stewardship in her remarks. “The city has played such a vital and consistent role in my life, and I would absolutely love the opportunity to serve in this capacity,” McCartney told the council during her five‑minute introduction. She described outreach plans aimed at families with limited evening availability and suggested targeted education about budget choices and potential levies.

Other interview topics included the city’s financial position. Council members and candidates cited the city’s use of roughly $800,000 from a nearly $7,300,000 unallocated fund balance in the 2025–26 biennium and a projected shortfall of about $1.6 million for the 2027–28 biennium. Candidates proposed a mix of cost controls, renegotiated contracts, benchmarking of fees and modest rezoning or permit efficiencies to support long‑term revenue. Candidate Fayaz Meir, drawing on prior planning work, urged examining contracts and pursuing grants and public‑private partnerships; Richard Saunders emphasized technology and shared services as ways to reduce recurring costs.

The council accepted nominations and held two rounds of voting. In the first round McCartney received two votes, Richard Saunders two votes, Fayaz Meir one vote and Sebastian Quezada one vote; the council then eliminated the two candidates who received one vote each. In the final round the council voted to appoint McCartney. The city attorney confirmed the legal threshold (four votes of six present) before the vote; the final tally for the McCartney appointment was five in favor and one for the remaining finalist. The council instructed city staff to coordinate the swearing‑in and related administrative steps.

Public comment included a recommendation from resident Don Feeney who urged the council to appoint Richard Saunders, citing his long record of service and work on planning and town‑center efforts. “Richard has been an active member of … planning commission,” Feeney said during public comment.

What the appointment does — and doesn’t — do: The council’s action installs a temporary member to serve through the short interim period; it does not make long‑term policy changes. Council members repeatedly told applicants and the public that the interim appointee’s role is to help the council finish time‑sensitive tasks — notably compliance with state middle‑housing rules and near‑term budget decisions — and to help communicate those processes to the community.

Next steps: The city will schedule the appointee’s swearing‑in and expects the new council member to engage immediately in the council’s upcoming budget and land‑use conversations. The council said it would continue public outreach on budget choices and any proposals that might be put before voters.

(Reporting note: Article based on June 5 Lake Forest Park City Council special meeting; executive session was conducted under Washington’s open‑meetings statutes cited by council staff.)