11 file to be Pasco City Council's newest member

Eleven people filed applications hoping to be the Pasco City Council’s newest member.

The deadline was Friday, with one application reportedly arriving at the last minute.

The city has been under pressure to increase its Latino representation, so the list of candidate names released Monday included their race, as well as their gender, occupation and length of time living in Pasco. Latinos make up 32 percent of the city’s voting population and 56 percent of the its overall population.

Three of the applicants identify as being Hispanic and one person said she is Asian. Two left the “race” category blank, while the rest said they are Caucasian.

Now, Deputy City Manager Stan Strebel is trying to get a process in place so Mayor Matt Watkins and the five other council members can decide who they want to interview.

The interviews will be at a public meeting.

The applicants are:

▪  Tawney Carrier, a self-employed attorney, who has lived in Pasco for nine years.

▪  Reed Child, retired, has been in Pasco four years.

▪  Chi Flores, an assistant store manager with Lowe’s in Pasco, is a three-year Pasco resident.

▪  Roberto Garcia, a senior industrial engineer in Hermiston, has lived in Pasco eight years.

▪  Kara Kaelber, a 13-year resident, is education director with the Franklin Conservation District and an adjunct professor at Heritage University.

▪  Zahra Roach, the “chief operating officer of her household,” has lived in Pasco for 24 years.

▪  Philipp Schmitt, a Franklin County farmer, has called Pasco home for six years.

▪  Simon Serrano, an attorney/adviser for the Department of Energy, is going on 15 months in Pasco.

▪  Paul Seuberlich, an 11-year resident, is retired.

▪  Timothy Snider, a radiation protection support manager, has been in Pasco nine months.

▪  Andrea Tullos, an eight-year resident, is a Bruker AXS Handheld Logistics coordinator.

The council has three more weeks to appoint a replacement for the late Mike Garrison, who was first elected to the council in November 1987, died July 27 after a recent diagnosis of leukemia.

Even though Garrison represented District 2 in central Pasco, the newest member will be selected from District 4.

That’s because District 4 was left without a designated council member when the district boundaries were redrawn in early 2015, causing two other council members to shift districts.

City officials said the issue would have corrected itself with the next election.

Council members agreed with their attorney’s advice in September and voted unanimously to fill the vacancy from northwest Pasco, which means Councilman Bob Hoffmann now officially represents District 2 and Councilman Saul Martinez is in District 3.

A majority of District 4 is north of Interstate 182 to the northern boundary of the city limits. It extends to Broadmoor Boulevard on the west and Road 52 on the east, with a small section coming in to Road 68 Place/Convention Place.

The district also runs south of I-182 to Argent Road, around Road 68.

The person appointed by the council will face election in 2017.

This story was originally published October 3, 2016 at 8:22 PM with the headline "11 file to be Pasco City Council's newest member."