Committee to invite clerk candidates to council meeting and hold executive-session interviews before a council vote

At the Rules & Public Policy meeting on Nov. 5, the committee discussed how to fill the clerk‑of‑council (clerk of counsel) position. The chair said she had received three candidate names and had invited one (Jillian) to introduce herself to the committee. Jillian described her local roots, leadership experience and interest in transparency: "My name is Jillian, and I have lived in North College Hill for my entire life, almost 23 years," she said.

Members debated whether to post a formal job announcement and take resumes or to conduct short executive‑session interviews of the candidates. Several members preferred a quick executive‑session review of qualifications and resumes rather than a drawn‑out public application process; one member argued that discussing candidate qualifications in open session might be unfair to applicants and therefore recommended deliberation in executive session prior to a council vote. The chair agreed to ask the interested individuals to attend the next council meeting so each can be introduced and — if members prefer — meet the committee in executive session one at a time before the council votes.

No formal appointment was made at the committee meeting. The committee’s direction was procedural: invite the candidates to the next council meeting, add an executive‑session item to the council agenda for candidate review and proceed with a public vote during the council meeting after executive session consideration.