MY EDMONDS NEWS Posted: January 11, 2021
Neil Tibbott
Pledging “to help return trust and transparency to City Hall and lead our city through recovery,” former Edmonds City Councilmember Neil Tibbott on Monday formally announced his campaign to regain a seat on the city council in 2021.
“We live in Edmonds because it is an extraordinary and exceptional community,” Tibbott said. “I am running to protect the character and vitality of this great city and to address the many challenges we face. By working together, we can build a future that is inclusive and accessible for all our residents.”
Tibbott served on the Edmonds City Council from 2016 – 2020, where he served on the Parks, Planning and Public Works Committee and as a council liaison to the Citizens Economic Development Commission. He is also a former chair of the Edmonds Planning Board. He gave up his council seat to run for mayor, losing to current Mayor Mike Nelson in 2019.
MY EDMONDS NEWS Posted: January 6, 2021
Edmonds City Councilmember Adrienne Fraley-Monillas
The Edmonds mayor, human resources director and at least one city councilmember knew about domestic violence issues in police chief candidate Sherman Pruitt’s past before the council voted to confirm him on Dec. 8 as Edmonds’ new police chief.
My Edmonds News continues to investigate the police chief recruitment process, the confirmation and subsequent move by Mayor Mike Nelson to rescind the job offer. We have asked the mayor repeatedly to explain his actions; he has refused to be interviewed. Now, in response to new questions we wanted to ask Nelson, Human Resources Director Jessica Neill-Hoyson has issued a statement.
MY EDMONDS NEWS Posted: December 16, 2020
Laura Johnson
In its final meeting of 2020, the Edmonds City Council Tuesday night unanimously approved the city’s 2021 budget and also adopted two ordinances governing the operation of streateries and outdoor dining spaces.
In addition, the council elected Susan Paine as council president for 2021 and Laura Johnson as president pro tem. Paine, who served as council president pro tem this year, was the only candidate nominated for president. Both Laura Johnson and Vivian Olsen were nominated for president pro tem, with Johnson earning the majority vote from Paine, Adrienne Fraley-Monillas, Luke Distelhorst and herself.
The final 2021 budget
MY EDMONDS NEWS Posted: December 15, 2020
Editor:
There is plenty of common ground to be had regarding the appointment of Police Chief Pruitt. All parties seem to agree that there wasn’t enough transparency and that our mayor’s decision-making process wasn’t well articulated. Even when communication breaks down, it’s important to trust that the procedures were fair and in good faith. Ultimately we all agree in openness and fairness in process. Institutionally speaking, fair and transparent processes often have inequitable results. Our mayor (disagree with him or not) has been explicit in his values and steadfast, and it appears that his selection did make Equity a priority both in who he selected and how this important job will be performed.
MY EDMONDS NEWS Posted: December 11, 2020
Finance Director Dave Turley speaks to councimembers via Zoom Thursday.
Meeting for five-and-a-half hours Thursday night, the Edmonds City Council slogged through 41 proposed amendments to the city’s draft 2021 budget, then sent them off to be included for approval during next Tuesday’s Dec. 15 council meeting.
The amendments proposed by councilmembers were wide ranging, from adding $210,000 the city’s $500,000 building maintenance fund (approved) to “unfreezing” the positions of two police officer hires (rejected) to hiring a three-year temporary position at $140,000 annually to rewrite the city’s code (also approved). All of the proposals approved Thursday night will appear on the council’s Dec. 15 consent agenda.