Jeanne Kuipers appointed to Battle Ground City Council and sworn in

The Battle Ground City Council appointed Jeanne Kuipers to fill City Council Position 4 following a public interview process and a closed-session evaluation under state law. Kuipers was sworn into office and took her seat for the remainder of the meeting.

Council held interviews with four finalists earlier in the evening (Ryan Heasley, Jeanne Kuipers, David Palmer and another David). After the interviews the council entered executive session under RCW 42.30.110(1)(h) to evaluate candidates’ qualifications; the mayor announced a 20‑minute executive session starting at about 8:35 p.m. Following the executive session the council returned to open session and opened the floor to nominations for the vacancy. The council received a single nomination for Jeanne Kuipers; the nomination received a second. Because there was only one nominee present, the council took a voice vote. The chair called for those in favor to say “aye”; the motion carried and Kuipers was declared appointed.

Kuipers then took the oath of office at the meeting. The oath was administered on the record and Kuipers signed the attestation provided by the city clerk. Council members and staff thanked all applicants for participating in the selection process and encouraged continued civic engagement.

The appointed term will expire when the election certification for the seat takes effect (the council discussed procedural dates related to certification), and candidates were told Kuipers intends to run to retain the seat if she chooses. The council did not record a roll-call tally with named votes for the appointment; the meeting minutes record the appointment by voice vote and the swearing-in on the record.