Sequim council appoints Kelly Berger to fill Council Position 1

Kelly Berger was appointed to the Sequim City Council's Position Number 1 after council members nominated candidates and cast hand votes at the Feb. 10 meeting.

Councilor Dan Butler opened nominations and named Kelly Berger. Deputy Mayor Rachel Anderson nominated another candidate. The clerk called for votes and announced, “Kelly Berger is our new appointed council member.” Berger then took the oath of office before the council and audience.

The appointment followed two executive sessions the council held earlier in the meeting to review public-employee performance and to discuss the qualifications of a candidate for elective office under Washington’s open-meetings law (RCW 42.30.110(1)(g) and RCW 42.30.110(1)(h)). The mayor stated the council would take final action at the regularly scheduled meeting that evening.

During the swearing-in, Berger recited the oath: “I, Kelly Berger, do solemnly swear or affirm…that I will faithfully and impartially discharge the duties of this office to the best of my ability.” The mayor and council recessed for a short period after the oath.

No roll-call vote tally by name was announced in the record; the clerk reported the outcome verbally and administered the oath immediately after the appointment.

Sequim’s Code of Ordinances establishes the council’s process for filling vacancies; the council followed the nomination-and-majority vote procedure described by the city clerk before nominations began.

The council continued with its posted agenda after the recess.