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Sunnyside council agrees to revisit clerk hiring policy, urges bilingual and community-rooted priorities
Summary
At a special meeting April 21, the Sunnyside City Council agreed to bring hiring-process policy back to a workshop after heated debate over whether to prioritize bilingual, local candidates for the city clerk role. The interim city manager described a statewide recruitment and a planned mentoring agreement.
The Sunnyside City Council agreed Tuesday to move further debate about the city's hiring procedures to a workshop, after councilors urged clearer priorities for recruiting a new city clerk and questioned aspects of the current process.
The discussion, opened by the mayor, focused on whether the council should set explicit expectations—such as favoring bilingual or community-rooted candidates—before permanent hires are made by the interim city manager. "We need to identify the priorities," the mayor said, urging the council to set a vision so staff can conduct business in alignment with community needs.
The nut graf: Councilors voiced two consistent concerns: community members said applicants had not been notified of status, and several councilors pressed for bilingual capability given the city's largely Spanish-speaking population.…
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