Seventeen applied to serve a nearly two-year stint on the Spokane City Council

Jan. 8—Seventeen people have submitted applications to fill a seat on the Spokane City Council vacated by Betsy Wilkerson, who had represented south Spokane but won election in November to the citywide position of City Council president.

The wide array of candidates includes two pilots, current and former City Council staff, consultants, community organizers and more. They are Michael Addams, Barry Barfield, Jamie Bartlett, John Cross, Ayden Franklin, Alexander Gibilisco, Shane Gronholz, Sarah Hunter, Patrick Lang, Barbara Liliana Navarette Lorenzo, Anna Marie Martin, Mary Ann McCurdy, Travis Melcher, Timothy O'Brien, Scott Rasmussen, Kathryn Sheehan and Michael Tillis.

Wilkerson won election as City Council president in November, vacating her seat representing south Spokane that's also represented by Paul Dillon, who won election in November as well. Whoever is appointed by the City Council to fill Wilkerson's seat will remain in that position until the 2025 general election is certified.

Council members will recommend their top applicants by Jan. 11. Those who advance to the next round will be publicly interviewed at a Jan. 18 study session, with a potential appointment vote scheduled for Jan. 22.

Two of the applicants for the open seat, Barfield and McCurdy, applied for another south Spokane seat that was vacated by Lori Kinnear when she was appointed to serve temporarily as City Council president in July. Barfield withdrew his application at the time after learning of a death threat sent to the City Council and mayor's office in August. Ryan Oelrich was ultimately chosen to fill that position.

Here's a look at the applicants.

Michael Addams

Addams works as a lecturer for Eastern Washington University and previously worked as a director for the Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys. Addams serves on the Court Appointed Special Advocate Partners organization and previously served on Teen & Kid Closet and as chair of the Washington State Bar Association committee and in other capacities for that organization.

Barry Barfield

Barfield worked for more than three decades for Gonzaga Preparatory School in roles ranging from bus driver to his current role as an administrative assistant. He is the current administrator of the Spokane Homeless Coalition, volunteers with Hospice of Spokane and leads Spokane Urban Plunge. He previously served as chair of the board of the city's Community, Housing and Human Services department.

Jamie Bartlett

Bartlett works as the director of the Lincoln LGBTQ+ Resource Center at Gonzaga University and previously worked as lecturer for Eastern Washington University. Bartlett worked or volunteered with Main Market Co-op and Team Rubicon USA, and previously volunteered with Twin Cities Pride in Minneapolis.

John Cross

Cross works as a supervisor for Comcast and previously worked as a general manager at TJ Maxx. He volunteers with LinkedIn Advisors and previously with the Hayden and Spokane Valley chambers of commerce.

Ayden Franklin

Franklin is currently employed as an accounting tutor at Spokane Falls Community College. In his application, he noted his time with the Boy Scouts between 2015 and 2021, volunteering with a neighborhood's little free library and volunteering for Wikimedia and Wikipedia.

Alexander Gibilisco

Gibilisco is the City Council's first equity manager, hired in 2020 to help ensure city laws and policies are equitable and inclusive. A Guatemalan immigrant who came to the U.S. when he was 10, he previously worked with Tacoma as a program development specialist. He serves on the Latinos en Spokane board and the Innovia Grants Committee, and previously served as a grants reviewer for Spokane Arts.

Shane Gronholz

Gronholz works as the current affairs specialist for the Spokane Public Library system and previously as a lecturer at Gonzaga University. He serves with the local NAACP chapter, Kiwanis Club of Northeast Spokane and Braver Angels.

Sarah Hunter

Hunter works as a registered nurse at Deaconess Hospital and previously worked as a nurse for Castle Medical Center in Kailua, Hawaii. Hunter serves with the Spokane River Keepers doing cleanup work and previously volunteered with the YMCA's Camp Reed and as a volunteer firefighter in 1997 and 1998.

Patrick Lang

Lang is a pilot for Southwest Airlines and former director of operations for the Washington Air National Guard.

Barbara Liliana Navarette Lorenzo

Better known in the community as Lili Navarette, she works as a community development officer for the state Commission on Hispanic Affairs and previously as director of public affairs for Planned Parenthood for Greater Washington and North Idaho. She volunteers on the Spokane Immigrant Rights Coalition, Hispanic Business/Professional Association and Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network. In 2020, she served as "activist in residence" at Eastern Washington University.

Anna Marie Martin

Martin is a grant writer and project coordinator who owns and operates her own business, SpokAnna. She worked for the Spokane City Council as the American Rescue Plan Act program manager for three months in 2022. She serves with the Inland Northwest Unitarian Universalist Community, Franklin APPLE and the Puget Sound Grantwriters.

Mary Ann McCurdy

McCurdy runs her own consulting company, McCurdy Consulting, and worked as the Eastern Washington representative for then-Gov. Gary Locke from 1997 to 2005. She has served with various civic organizations, such as the Lands Council, Rotary Club 21 and others.

Travis Melcher

Melcher worked until December as a customer success engineer for American Family Insurance and previously worked as a systems engineer and technical support engineer for Itron, which works with cities to optimize energy and water management. Melcher serves with the Inland Empire Football Official Association and previously served with the Unity Spiritual Center and the Japanese American Citizens League.

He became an advocate for local police reforms after the death of his mother, Beverly Saruwatari, which the family believed resulted from trauma related to a 2009 arrest.

Timothy O'Brien

O'Brien works as general counsel for Inland Power and Light and previously as the labor relations director for Spokane County. He has previously served on the Spokane County Domestic Violence Consortium, Neighborhood Oriented Prosecuting Attorneys and the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

Scott Rasmussen

Rasmussen worked until November as the CDC programs director for Americares, a global health and development nonprofit headquartered in Connecticut. He previously worked as the executive director for Hands of Peace and has served with Spokane's Sister Cities program and with RISE Northwest.

Kathryn Sheehan

An inactive member of the state bar association, Sheehan currently works as executive director of the Community Building Foundation doing consulting and grant-making, and as director of the Saranac Building LLC, which manages the Saranac Commons, Main Market, Community Building and others. Through that latter role, Sheehan manages the Magic Lantern Theatre.

Sheehan previously worked as investigator, educator and interim executive director for the Fair Housing Center of Washington.

She serves on the Washington State Building Code Council, University District Public Development Authority, University District Development Authority and Community Technical Advisory Group of Spokane Public Schools. Sheehan previously served on the Human Rights Commission's Office of Civil Rights Taskforce, Greater Spokane Progress, Tenants Union of Washington State and as chair of Priority Spokane.

Michael Tillis

Maj. Michael Tillis served as a tanker pilot for the U.S. Air Force and works as a first officer and pilot for United Parcel Service. He volunteers with the Mobius Discovery Center, Central YMCA in Spokane and YMCA of the Inland Northwest.