HomeMy WebLinkAboutSpecial Council Aug 5 2021Whatcom County
Council (Special)
COUNTY COURTHOUSE
311 Grand Avenue, Ste #105
Bellingham, WA 98225-4038
(360)778-5010
Minutes - Final
Thursday, August 5, 2021
12:45 PM
Virtual Meeting
VIRTUAL MEETING (TO PARTICIPATE, SEE INSTRUCTIONS AT
www.whatcomcounty.us/joinvirtualcouncil OR CALL 360.778.5010); MEETING
START TIME REVISED TO 12:45 P.M.
COUNCILMEMBERS
Rud Browne
Barry Buchanan
Tyler Byrd
Todd Donovan
Ben Glenbaas
Carol Frazey
Kathy Kershner
CLERK OF THE COUNCIL
Dana Brown -Davis, C.M.C.
Council (Special) Minutes - Final August 5, 2021
Call To Order
Roll Call
Council Chair Barry Buchanan called the meeting to order at 12:46 p.m. in a
virtual meeting.
Present: 7 - Rud Browne, Barry Buchanan, Tyler Byrd, Todd Donovan, Carol Frazey, Ben
Elenbaas, and Kathy Kershner
Absent: None
Announcements
Special Order of Business
1. AB2021-474 Interviews of District Court Judge applicants
Councilmembers and Cathy Halka, Council Legislative Analyst, discussed
how to go about asking the questions.
Frazey moved to have Council staff call out the questions. The motion was
seconded by Kershner.
The motion carried by the following vote:
Aye: 6 - Browne, Buchanan, Byrd, Donovan, Frazey, and Kershner,
Out of the meeting: 1 - Elenbaas
They discussed what to do in the ten minutes following the interview
questions for each candidate.
Byrd moved to do up to 8 minutes of follow-up questions and 2 minutes of
closing statements. The motion was seconded by Browne.
The motion carried by the following vote:
Aye: 6 - Buchanan, Byrd, Donovan, Frazey, Kershner, and Browne
Out of the Meeting: 1 - Elenbaas
Halka asked if they needed assistance with timing the interviews.
Clerk's note: Elenbaas joined the meeting at 12:52 p.m.
Chris Quinn discussed with Councilmembers whether this meeting was
being broadcast live to the public and the applicants and whether the
meeting should not be broadcast live to be fair to all the applicants.
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Council (Special) Minutes - Final August 5, 2021
Byrd moved to request that applicants log off and then join the meeting at
their set time and that they not watch the other interviews. The motion was
seconded by Kershner.
Dana Brown -Davis, Clerk of the Council, gave input on how they might
proceed in light of how meetings are recorded and broadcast.
Councilmembers discussed the motion.
The motion failed by the following vote:
Aye: 2 - Byrd and Kershner
Nay: 5 - Donovan, Elenbaas, Frazey, Browne, and Buchanan
The Councilmembers held six 20-minute interviews with the following
District Court Judge applicants:
• Lisa Keeler
• Royce Buckingham
• Melissa Nelson
• Jeffrey Lustick
• Angela Anderson
• Shoshana Paige
Council staff asked the following questions of each candidate in identical
order:
1. What do you believe are the central attributes of a good judge?
2. Why do you believe you possess those qualities and what experience
do you possess that demonstrates those qualities?
3. What ideas do you have for office and caseload management of the
district court?
4. What is the most cost-effective thing the County could do to
maintain or enhance the effectiveness of the district court?
5. What role should district court judges have in regards to establishing
budget priorities with the County Council and the law and justice
system in the County?
6. What changes would you like to make to District Court that could
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Council (Special) Minutes - Final August 5, 2021
Adjournment
help the people you will be interacting with each day?
After the six interview questions asked by staff, Councilmembers asked
each candidate follow-up questions and candidates were allowed to give a
closing statement.
After all of the interviews, Halka gave a summary of the next steps, and she
and Councilmembers discussed the process for voting.
This agenda item was DISCUSSED.
The meeting adjourned at 4:11 p.m.
The County Council approved these minutes on September 14, 2021.
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WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL
WHATCOM COUNTY, WA
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