Talent council appoints Nicole Grider and Haley Martin to fill two seats

The Talent City Council on June 17 appointed Nicole Grider and Haley Martin to fill two open council seats following interviews with five applicants and a two-round rank-choice ballot.

Alex Campbell, the city manager, described the process in a staff presentation and said each candidate would have two five-minute blocks to answer set questions. Councilors discussed procedures for follow-up questions and agreed not to use them in order to keep the process fair and efficient.

Nicole Grider won the first round of rank-choice tallying after votes were reallocated; Haley Martin prevailed in a second round. Councilor Perry Miller moved to appoint Martin to seat 2 "per the authority provided in section 21 of the city charter," and later moved to appoint Grider to seat 3; both motions passed by roll call.

Both appointees repeated the oath of office led by City Recorder Hector Flores. Grider joined remotely due to illness and Martin was present for the ceremony.

During their interviews, the candidates described priorities that informed council deliberations. Grider, a former councilor and current Together for Talent chair, stressed evaluation of public projects for community and environmental impacts and proposed using grants to protect public amenities in larger developments. Martin emphasized small-business support, expanding the urban canopy and post-fire resilience.

Council members thanked all applicants, noting the strength of the candidate pool, and encouraged those not appointed to consider committee or commission service.

Next steps: the two councilors will be seated immediately and will serve until the first council meeting in January 2027, after which the seats will be filled according to the regular election schedule.