City of Olympia

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…

“We warned all of them that someone was going to get shot, that someone was going to get hurt,”Malika Lamont Saturday's shooting, and the assault of a pastor - fueled by a right-wing protester's reaction to a Black Lives Matter sign - were no surprise to Black leaders. “We warned all of them that someone was going to get shot, that someone was going to get hurt,” said local activist Malika Lamont of attempts to convince the city of Olympia that allowing armed militias and individuals on the city’s streets would lead to the unfettered violence that erupted Saturday in…

Pastor Tammy Stampfli was assaulted last weekend at her church by Trump supporters enraged over a Black Lives Matter sign. Last Saturday, Tammy Stampfli planned to make just a quick stop at Olympia’s United Churches, where she’s one of the pastors.  But when she and a friend arrived about 12:30 p.m., instead of what they and others typically find there, they encountered a violent clash between supporters of President Donald Trump and counter-protestors. After looking around for police and finding none and enduring a string of obscenities spewed by the pro-Trump crowd, Stampfli decided she’d had enough.  “I asked the…

What began as a gathering of Trump supporters ended in chaos, one person shot, and a local church pastor assaulted. https://twitter.com/MAGADownfall/status/1335403963252940803?s=20 United Churches Pastor Tammy Leiter Stampfli was shoved to the ground during the altercation, much of which took place on church property. As she began preparing for church services Sunday morning, she explained what happened in a Facebook post: "Yesterday I was knocked down in the church parking lot by Trump supporter. This was after being screamed at for being a pastor of "such a Church." I had stopped with another member to use the bathroom. There had been…