Mindy Chambers

Olympia Planning Commissioner Yen Huynh was chosen last night to fill the seat left vacant by Jessica Bateman who was elected to the WA State Legislature last November. Olympia City Councilwoman Yen Huynh Six council members voted unanimously Tuesday night to name her to the seat after a rigorous four-hour meeting, in which they interviewed all seven finalists and used a new ranked-choice voting system to select the winner. On her application, Huynh listed her top priorities as: Public health and safety, citing “concerns raised about police accountability; the wellbeing of our houseless community; and the current COVID-19 pandemic with…

Meeting with 22nd Legislative District Caucus set for January 7th. Topping the city of Olympia’s list of 2021 legislative priorities are three very visible issues in our community: people experiencing homelessness, housing affordability, and the open carrying of weapons during rallies and protests. Council members will be discussing them with 22nd District legislators beginning at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, January 7. You can see the meeting via Zoom, https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85701101554 The city is asking: For state support in addressing homelessness and assistance in providing affordable housing, mental health, and chemical dependency services. The city says it has the highest percentage of rent-burdened…

Olympia will have a new City Council member this week. On Tuesday, January 5, the councilwill choose from seven finalists for the position, likely using a system that will be new to them – ranked-choice voting – as proposed by member Lisa Parshley. “It can be very difficult if you can only vote for just one,” Parshley said. In past appointments, council members would interview the candidates, discuss them, and then vote for their favorite. In the ranked-choice system, the council members will rank each applicant as first choice, second choice, etc. The process will be administered by Thurston County…

Olympia Council picks seven to interview for Bateman's seat By mid-January, the Olympia City Council will have a new member. “I have never seen a more diverse pool, a more experienced pool,” said Council Member Jim Cooper, who with Council Member Dani Madrone and Mayor Cheryl Selby formed a subcommittee that has recommended seven people advance to the next round of interviews for a seat that comes open at the end of the year.  All of the council members spent hours scouring 28 applications before rating the candidates. The seven were chosen based on those scores. While their diversity is…

Evaluations will begin Friday of the 29 applications for an Olympia City Council seat that will open up on December 31. The city has posted the applications in the agenda for its Friday meeting, scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. The agenda may be found on this page: https://olympia.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx, where people interested in watching the proceedings also can find the Zoom link to the meeting.  The 29 applicants come from very diverse backgrounds. They responded in writing to questions ranging from their opinion on the city policy documents, their ability to problem-solve and how to address issues of race and…