Six candidates are looking to fill the central ward vacancy on the Bainbridge Island City Council since David Ward resigned at the end of last year.
The six that have applied for the position are Monica Aufrecht, John Green, Joe Levan, Greg Millerd, Gary Pettersen and Michael Scott.
The council will interview candidates during a public meeting this month before voting on and choosing the new council member to finish Ward’s term, which ends in December 2015. Council members serve four year terms, earning $1,000 a month. The mayor earns $1,250 a month.
MONICA AUFRECHT
Aufrecht is a college instructor who moved to the island in 2012. She earned a Ph.D in philosophy from the University of Washington, where she is now an instructor. She also teaches at Seattle Central College.
Last year, she served as a committee member for the Metropolitan Parks and Recreation District for the island, helping with the new Strawberry Hill Dog Park.
Aufrecht’s top three priorities on the council would be affordable housing, reducing pollution in Puget Sound and traffic and safety.
JOHN GREEN
Green owns and manages his own development and construction company on the island, where he has lived for 20 years. With his business he has worked with city planners, the public works department and city council, among other government agencies.
Green ran for the central ward position in 2011, losing in the primary election with 14.35 percent of the vote.
Green’s top three priorities would be the comprehensive plan, stormwater cleanup and fiscal responsibilities. He suggested “outsourcing” and raising the car tab fee, which is set at $20. Raising the car tab fee would require a vote from residents.
JOE LEVAN
Levan has lived on the island since 1995, and is an attorney currently working for the Municipal Research and Services Center in Seattle. He has provided legal services to multiple cities and served as interim assistant city manager of Maple Valley in 2007, where he also served as city attorney.
Levan earned two bachelor’s degrees from Seattle University in 1989, before earning his law degree from the same college a decade later.
He ran for the central ward position in 2011, losing in the general election to David Ward by about 1,000 votes.
Levan’s three priorities would be a smooth transition after Ward’s resignation, creating a safe and green community, as well as a more diversified economy.
GREG MILLERD
Millerd is a commercial real estate agent with Cushman & Wakefield, where he has been for about 20 years.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and mass community cation from the University of Wisconsin before earning a masters in business at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California.
Millerd’s top two priorities would be to evaluate the city’s current real estate portfolio and review having a joint police and fire station. “It makes no sense to me that both the fire departments and police department would have unique facilities,” he wrote in his application. The city council voted 5-2 against a combination station last fall.
GARY PETTERSEN
Petterson, who most recently worked for Boeing Everett plant, has served on the planning commissioner for Winslow and Bainbridge Island.
He worked most of his career as a draftsman and computer programmer throughout the greater Seattle area.
Petterson also served in the Army from 1967 to 1971.
His top three priorities would be keeping downtown Winslow pedestrian friendly, help resolve ferry traffic congestion and broadcasting city council meetings again.
Bainbridge Island Television, which use to broadcast council meetings, went off air in 2010. The meetings can be streamed lived from the city’s website or viewed on BKAT.
MICHAEL SCOTT
Scott, an attorney with Hillis Clark Martin & Peterson in Seattle, has lived on the island since 1989. And he served on the Bainbridge Island School Board from 2001 to 2004.
His law practice focuses on litigation between commercial disputes, as well as arbitration and mediation.
Scott’s top three priorities as a council member would be balancing development with open space, improving infrastructure surrounding the ferry terminal and maintaining economic business centers — downtown Winslow, Lynwood Center and Rolling Bay, among others.
