Fife arts commissioners elect Kizito Sugimura chair, Bonnie Cha vice chair for 2025

FIFE, Wash. — The Fife Public Arts Commission elected Kizito Sugimura as its 2025 chair and Bonnie Cha as vice chair during its Jan. 15 meeting.

Commissioners accepted nominations from the floor and conducted roll-call and voice votes. The chair race concluded with Sugimura receiving recorded votes from three commissioners during roll call. "I will vote for myself," Sugimura said as the roll call proceeded.

Why it matters: leadership changes determine who will present the commission’s work plan to city officials and coordinate next steps on projects and community outreach.

What happened in the meeting

Nominations were opened from the floor. One commissioner nominated Sugimura for chair; commissioners then cast votes during a roll call. Commissioner Bonnie Cha said she would "vote commissioner Sugimura as chair" and also volunteered to serve as vice chair. Sugimura confirmed his self‑vote during roll call. The commission then moved to nominate and elect a vice chair; Maura (nominator recorded on the meeting record) nominated Cha for vice chair. During the vote, Char (Bonnie Cha) voted for herself and Kizito Sugimura reported voting for Cha; the chair and vice chair positions were announced as filled.

Commissioners and speakers relevant to this article

- Kizito Sugimura — Commissioner; elected chair, 2025. - Bonnie Cha — Commissioner; elected vice chair, 2025. - Nuzu Seguin Murat — Meeting host / Commissioner (facilitated nominations and voting).

Authorities referenced

- Commission bylaws / city procedures (not specified) — nominations and voting took place under commission rules; commission chair recited the roll-call procedure and voting expectations.

Actions

- Motion: Elect chair for 2025 (nomination from floor). Outcome: Kizito Sugimura elected chair (roll-call/voice votes recorded in transcript). Vote record includes recorded affirmative votes from three commissioners. - Motion: Elect vice chair for 2025 (nomination from floor). Outcome: Bonnie Cha elected vice chair (roll-call/voice votes recorded). Recorded affirmative votes available for at least two commissioners; outcome announced and accepted.

Context and next steps

The newly elected chair and vice chair will represent the commission for the year, including presenting the commission’s work plan to City Council on Jan. 28 and coordinating the February packet and meeting where commissioners will choose specific 2025 projects.

provenance:{"transcript_segments":[{"block_id":"seg_votes_chair","local_start":0,"local_end":220,"evidence_excerpt":"I would, might as well. Alright. I I will I will vote for myself.","global_start":1901,"global_end":1914,"tc_start":"00:31:41","tc_end":"00:31:54","reason_code":"topicintro"},{"block_id":"seg_votes_vice","local_start":0,"local_end":200,"evidence_excerpt":"Oh, I'll I'll vote for myself. Thank you. ... And I'll also vote for Bonnie Char.","global_start":1982,"global_end":1996,"tc_start":"00:33:02","tc_end":"00:33:16","reason_code":"topicfinish"}]} ,