Tacoma City Council has selected six finalists for a vacant seat. Here’s who they are

The Tacoma City Council has whittled the number of candidates for its vacant at-large council seat to six.

The finalists are Andrea K. Capere, Silong Chhun, Olgy Diaz, Sara Irish, Carlos Lugo-Gonzalez and Tisha Marie Wosencroft. They will be interviewed at 5 p.m. Monday for 20 minutes each. The council will select the new council member at its Aug. 9 meeting and they will be sworn in the following week.

The Position 7 seat became open when Conor McCarthy resigned from council on June 22 for a job at Comcast.

In a June discussion, the council agreed it wanted the new member to be able to come up to speed quickly and to be interested in running for council when the term expires in December 2023.

The council members voted on their top four candidates. The council voted to change its rules to have four finalists with the ability to increase the number of finalists if desired.

Diaz received six votes, Lugo-Gonzalez received five votes, Capere received four votes, and Chhun received four votes.

Council member John Hines asked to include Irish in the list because of her work on the Tacoma Public Library board. Deputy mayor Catherine Ushka also asked to add Wosencroft, noting her involvement on the Tacoma Police Department’s Chief Advisory Cabinet. Irish and Wosencroft both received three votes from council members.

The other ranked candidates received two or fewer votes.

Council members Joe Bushnell and Sarah Rumbaugh said they preferred to have only four finalists.

Rumbaugh said before the vote that the change puts her in a bad position because it seems she doesn’t like Irish and Wosencroft. Bushnell said he wanted to stick with the process but would be happy to hear all the finalists out.

The council voted to allow for six finalists, with Rumbaugh and Bushnell voting no.

Diaz is the government affairs director for Forterra.

She said she has broad experience in government and navigating systems working on policies like conservation and reproductive and immigrant justice. She said her experience has made her best suited to be a member of council. Diaz said her parents were predominantly Spanish speaking and that she had to help them navigate medication instructions, red light-camera tickets and school forms. She said she wants to work to innovate businesses for economic development, address homelessness and housing affordability, and provide city services residents want and need.

“I want all of our communities to thrive and I have the expertise needed to help enact budgets and policies with that success in mind,” Diaz said. “I also have the experience running for City Council before and consider myself trilingual in English, Spanish and bureaucrat. I understand the constraints cities have on their revenue options and believe we can find a path forward on needed investments and the hard decisions ahead.”

Lugo-Gonzalez is deputy director of external affairs and community engagement at Washington Department of Natural Resources.

He said as the city faces many challenges, such as a public-safety crisis, homelessness and affordable housing, it needs comprehensive solutions that require innovation, an understanding of system-level problems and engagement with the city’s diverse communities. He said in his job, he has written budget legislation and crafted public policy incorporating the views of individuals.

“This next decade will bring many challenges, but also great opportunities,” Lugo-Gonzalez said. “As Tacoma continues to grow, we must work strategically to ensure our city can equitably address and mitigate the problems that plague our neighbor to the north.”

Capere is communications coordinator for Indo-Pacific programs at Cultural Vistas.

She said she was born and raised in Tacoma, and in the 1990s her family was displaced because of high housing costs and suffered from extreme poverty, homelessness and addiction. She said she has dedicated her life to service, like operating a food bank and mutual-aid station and working on anti-poverty programs at the Washington State Community Action Partnership. As a council member, Capere said she wants to expand the Guaranteed Income Initiative, provide guidance developing the missing middle outlined in the Home in Tacoma Project and provide safe transitional housing solutions for residents living in encampments.

“As a proud queer woman living and thriving with a disability, I strive to be a trustworthy representative for Tacoma’s most vulnerable populations,” Capere said. “I realize the opportunity to be appointed comes with a lot of responsibility and a great deal of trust, and I promise to always listen, stay open, maintain and grow a culture of respect, centering equity and inclusion in all that I do.”

Chhun is digital communications manager at Pacific Lutheran University.

In his application letter, Chhun wrote that as a refugee and first-generation naturalized U.S. citizen, he has an understanding of the challenges of community concerns, including systemic racism, immigration, environmental justice and poverty. He said Tacoma is at crossroads with crime, caring for unhoused people and addressing public trust and that solutions need to be tailored to the needs of the city’s residents.

“My desire and advocacy for a strong community have afforded me the privilege of forming relationships with nearly every facet of Tacoma’s various communities, from the arts community to the immigrant and refugee communities to the business communities,” he said in his letter. “Through these relationships and earned trust, I’ve been given the opportunity to learn about the needs and concerns of each of these communities, which has allowed me to understand better how I can best serve Tacoma.”

Irish is community engagement specialist at Molina Healthcare.

She said she moved to Tacoma 26 years ago and as an immigrant, the city has been safe and her home. She said she wants others to experience the same. Irish said if she is appointed, the council can embrace and encourage those who don’t feel like they belong. Irish said she is involved in boards, manages projects and creates and implements policy systems while working in diverse settings.

“Things are not perfect but better than many other places,” Irish said. “It has not been easy. I must work more than my peers to prove that I am capable, experienced and worth it. The love I have for this city is motivating me to apply for this position. I know I will be a great addition to this council.”

Wosencroft is a realtor and founder of LegallyBLACK.

She said Tacoma is struggling through some serious hardships: increased costs of living, crime, unfair use of land laws, lack of creative spaces for youth and safety concerns for people of color and LGBTQ residents. She said she welcomes criticism, is a person of action and integrity, recognizes when to follow and listen to experts and seeks to be held accountable.

“My character, commitment, experiences and willingness to learn and direct involvement in projects and committees serving this city makes me uniquely qualified and the best person for this seat,” Wosencroft said.

The council will accept community feedback on the finalists beginning Monday until noon Friday.