Snoqualmie council interviews three finalists for city administrator, emphasizes trust and strategic planning

Snoqualmie — The City Council spent its May 13 special meeting interviewing three finalists for the city administrator job, hearing hour-long panels from each candidate and then moving into executive session to evaluate applicants.

The council opened with a roll call and agreed on a single-hour format per finalist. Kim Johnson, the city's human resources director, told the council the job posting drew 807 views and 21 applicants, that phone screenings narrowed the field to 11, six were invited for in-person panels and three finalists remained for this round.

Andrea Leonard, the first finalist and deputy city administrator for Isiqua, framed her candidacy around deep operational experience in constrained budgets and cross-department coverage. Leonard stressed regular, proactive communication with the mayor and council: "I would like to have regular meetings myself with city council members...so it's my practice that if there's a city council meeting...I'll make several phone calls to city council members to say, 'Do you have questions?'", she said. She highlighted a recent regional effort to preserve a light-rail station in her city, saying aggressive local advocacy and cost‑sharing proposals helped keep the project in the transit board's proposal.

Rebecca Horner, who described two decades of public-sector leadership across jurisdictions, emphasized stakeholder processes and measurable strategic plans. Horner recounted creating an open Belleview Development Committee that brought developers and neighborhood groups together, which she said reduced permitting timelines and restored private investment: "We processed the most amount of permits that we ever had...permit timelines have reduced very dramatically," she told council members.

The final candidate, identified in the meeting as Sam, emphasized practical, results-focused leadership and organizational alignment. Sam described instituting more accessible, narrative-style budget documents and using a strategic framework to prioritize projects: "When something is being proposed...I need to find out if it fits within our strategic plan. If it doesn't, I'm not going to say no. I'm going to say...does our strategic plan need to be adjusted?"

Across interviews council members repeatedly pressed candidates on public-facing engagement, fiscal sustainability and regional cooperation. Several council members said they want a city administrator who will invest in staff leadership and communications while translating technical policy into clear, plain-language explanations for residents.

No formal vote on hiring occurred during the public meeting. After the final interview the council announced it would meet in executive session under state open‑meetings law to evaluate qualifications and discuss personnel matters.

The council is expected to announce next steps after the executive session; no timeline for a final appointment was stated during the meeting.