Issaquah council approves accelerated timeline to fill Council Position 2 vacancy

The Issaquah City Council on Dec. 1 approved an accelerated process and timeline to fill the vacant City Council Position 2 seat after Council Member Zach Hall's departure, authorizing staff to post an application period of approximately four weeks, host an applicant information session, and schedule verbal presentations and a question-and-answer session in January. The motion to approve the timetable as amended passed unanimously, 6–0.

City Clerk Tisha Gieser explained the timeline would begin Jan. 1 (the 90-day statutory window to fill the vacancy) and proposed a compressed schedule to allow an appointee to participate in a Jan. 31 council retreat. The proposal shortens a historically seven-week application window to roughly four weeks and includes: a public applicant information session, written application with six core questions (with leadership to review final wording), verbal presentations with a randomized order and a subsequent Q&A session; council leadership will determine the final Q&A questions and whether to narrow to finalists prior to individual questioning.

Council discussed presentation length (several members suggested five minutes), outreach (targeted letters to boards and nonprofits) and options to sequester non-questioned applicants during Q&A for apples-to-apples comparisons. Council President and others recommended that leadership finalize logistics and that the city clerk provide regular updates on application counts. The council approved the process as amended.

City staff will post the application and begin outreach; council leadership will review the final application questions and timing, and staff will report back with application counts at the halfway and near-final points.