Battle Ground narrows applicants for Council position 4 to four interviewees

Battle Ground City Council members on Jan. 21 selected four candidates to advance to interviews for the vacancy in City Council position 4, voting by paper ballot after nominations at a special meeting.

The council voted to advance David Terry, Jeannie Kuipers, Ryan Heasley and David Palmer to the interview stage; Amy Vail did not receive enough votes to advance. The council convened the special meeting to accept nominations and collect ballots; interviews and any subsequent appointment were scheduled to follow.

Council members opened the floor for nominations and then took signed paper ballots. The clerk announced results in nomination order: David Terry received four yes votes and advanced to interviews; Amy Vail received two yes votes and did not advance; Jeannie Kuipers and Ryan Heasley each received unanimous yes votes from the five members present and advanced; David Palmer received four yes votes and advanced. Mayor McCoy said earlier in the meeting he must recuse himself from any vote on one potential nominee, Mr. Hauser, because of a business relationship; that candidate was not among the nominees that advanced.

Why it matters: The selection of interview candidates moves the council toward filling the seat left vacant on Council position 4. The process used paper ballots and public vote announcements; the clerk said candidates will be contacted about interview topics and scheduling.

What the council did - Opened nominations and required a second for each nomination or elected to interview all applicants. After nominations closed, the clerk collected signed paper ballots and read results aloud. The clerk told nominees who advanced that they would be contacted with interview topics and scheduling information for the interviews.

Quotes and procedural notes - The clerk: “The clerk will contact you tomorrow with a list of interview topics, potential interview topics and questions, and to invite you to the interviews and provide you with scheduling information.” - Mayor McCoy noted a recusal: he said he must recuse himself from any vote involving Mr. Hauser because of a business relationship; Mr. Hauser was not among the nominees advanced to interview.

Next steps The council will hold interviews with the four candidates named above; the clerk will schedule and provide suggested questions and topics to candidates.

Speakers - Mayor McCoy — Mayor, government - Shane Bowman — Deputy Mayor, government - Council Member Desrosier — Council member, government - Council Member Davis — Council member, government - Council Member Overholser — Council member, government - Clerk — City clerk, government (identified in meeting) - David Terry — Applicant, citizen - Amy Vail — Applicant, citizen - Jeannie Kuipers — Applicant, citizen - Ryan Heasley — Applicant, citizen - David Palmer — Applicant, citizen - Mr. Hauser — Mentioned by Mayor McCoy (recusal), citizen

Authorities - {"type":"statute","name":"RCW 42.30.110(1)(h)","citation":"RCW 42.30.110(1)(h)","referenced_by":["council-position-4-interviewees-selected"]}

Actions - {"kind":"other","identifiers":{},"motion":"Open floor for nominations for appointment to City Council position number 4; collect signed paper ballots to determine which nominees advance to interviews","mover":null,"second":null,"vote_record":[],"tally":{},"outcome":"consensus_note","notes":"Nominations opened; paper ballot votes collected and read aloud by the clerk. No appointment made at this meeting; interviews to follow."} - {"kind":"other","identifiers":{},"motion":"Result: David Terry advances to interviews","mover":null,"second":null,"vote_record":[{"member":"Mayor McCoy","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Council Member Desrosier","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Council Member Davis","vote":"no"},{"member":"Council Member Overholser","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Deputy Mayor Bowman","vote":"yes"}],"tally":{"yes":4,"no":1,"abstain":0},"outcome":"approved","notes":"David Terry advanced to interviews."} - {"kind":"other","identifiers":{},"motion":"Result: Amy Vail does not advance to interviews","mover":null,"second":null,"vote_record":[{"member":"Deputy Mayor Bowman","vote":"no"},{"member":"Council Member Overholser","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Council Member Davis","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Council Member Desrosier","vote":"no"},{"member":"Mayor McCoy","vote":"no"}],"tally":{"yes":2,"no":3,"abstain":0},"outcome":"failed","notes":"Amy Vail did not advance to interviews."} - {"kind":"other","identifiers":{},"motion":"Result: Jeannie Kuipers advances to interviews","mover":null,"second":null,"vote_record":[{"member":"Deputy Mayor Bowman","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Council Member Overholser","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Council Member Davis","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Council Member Desrosier","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Mayor McCoy","vote":"yes"}],"tally":{"yes":5,"no":0},"outcome":"approved","notes":"Jeannie Kuipers advanced to interviews."} - {"kind":"other","identifiers":{},"motion":"Result: Ryan Heasley advances to interviews","mover":null,"second":null,"vote_record":[{"member":"Deputy Mayor Bowman","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Council Member Overholser","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Council Member Davis","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Council Member Desrosier","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Mayor McCoy","vote":"yes"}],"tally":{"yes":5,"no":0},"outcome":"approved","notes":"Ryan Heasley advanced to interviews."} - {"kind":"other","identifiers":{},"motion":"Result: David Palmer advances to interviews","mover":null,"second":null,"vote_record":[{"member":"Deputy Mayor Bowman","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Council Member Overholser","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Council Member Davis","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Council Member Desrosier","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Mayor McCoy","vote":"no"}],"tally":{"yes":4,"no":1},"outcome":"approved","notes":"David Palmer advanced to interviews."}

clarifying_details - {"category":"recusal","detail":"Mayor McCoy said he must recuse himself from any vote involving a candidate named Mr. Hauser due to a business relationship","value":"true","source_speaker":"Mayor McCoy"} - {"category":"process","detail":"Council used paper ballots; ballots must be signed; clerk collects and announces results","source_speaker":"Clerk"}

proper_names - {"name":"Battle Ground City","type":"other"} - {"name":"David Terry","type":"person"} - {"name":"Amy Vail","type":"person"} - {"name":"Jeannie Kuipers","type":"person"} - {"name":"Ryan Heasley","type":"person"} - {"name":"David Palmer","type":"person"}

community_relevance - {"geographies":["Battle Ground City"] ,"funding_sources":[],"impact_groups":["City voters","Council constituents"]}

meeting_context - {"engagement_level":{"speakers_count":11,"duration_minutes":75,"items_count":1},"implementation_risk":"low","history":[]}

searchable_tags:["appointments","Council vacancies","interviews","Battle Ground City"],

provenance:{"transcript_segments":[{"block_id":"seg-4531.605","local_start":0,"local_end":130,"evidence_excerpt":"Business item today is city council position number 4 vacancy, selection to interview candidates. For transparency, there is 1 candidate I do need to recuse myself from.","tc_start":"4531.605","tc_end":"4549.47","reason_code":"topicintro"},{"block_id":"seg-5179.6","local_start":0,"local_end":55,"evidence_excerpt":"I misspoke. The candidates are David Terry, Jeannie Kuipers, David Palmer, Ryan Heasley. The clerk will contact you tomorrow with a list of interview topics...","tc_start":"5179.6","tc_end":"5206.3804","reason_code":"topicfinish"}] ,"salience":{"overall":0.62,"overall_justification":"Fills a city council vacancy and advances candidates to interview stage; procedural action with local governance impact."}}]},{"id":"c-tran-light-rail-discussion","headline":"Battle Ground council delays firm stance on light rail after C TRAN bylaw debate","shortSummary":"Council members expressed opposition to funding light rail but stopped short of a formal prohibition, delaying a final position to a March meeting and asking for more information about funding scenarios and area impacts.","body":"Battle Ground City Council members discussed language in C TRAN’s bylaws that would limit or permit discussion of funding for…