Nine File for Emeryville City Council Vacancy

An unprecedented nine applications were submitted for the vacant Emeryville city council seat prior to last Friday’s 5 p.m. deadline. Council opted to fill the vacancy via appointment instead of holding a special election after balking at the estimated $157,000 cost.

Council is slated to conduct interviews with each applicant this coming Tuesday, February 21 at a Special 5:30 p.m. meeting. The city will be “on the clock” to fill the seat within the required 60-day period following the January 16 official resignation of former councilmember Ally Medina.

The list contains a few familiar names including two City Council candidates and one School Board candidate from last fall’s election. The applicant names appear below alphabetically and we’ve linked to their application posted within the meeting’s agenda.

1. Cole Albon
2. Brian Donahue
3. Brady Goodwin
4. Sukhdeep Kaur
5. Lindsey Pfeiffer
6. Stephanie Singer
7. Matthew Solomon
8. Eugene Tssui
9. John Woods

Applicant Sukhdeep Kaur might be considered a favorite for the appointment having recently campaigned for the position and gained the verbal support of influential Mayor John Bauters. Kaur would also fill the void of Watergate neighborhood representation where she resides.

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Each applicant will be allotted 14 minutes for their interview broken-down into the following segments:

1. Applicant self-introduction (3 minutes)
2. Council interview questions (3 questions – 2 minutes per answer; 6 minutes total)
3. Follow-up questions and comments from Council Members (1 minute each; 4 minutes total)
4. Applicant wrap-up and closing statement (1 minute)

Each applicant will be asked the following questions:

1. Why are you interested in serving on the Emeryville City Council?
2. What unique experiences or strengths do you possess that you can contribute to the benefit of the City?
3. Identify and discuss your top three policy priorities or objectives for the City.

After conducting these interviews, Council will use this process to adopt a resolution appointing one of the applicants. If council is unable to complete the interview process and make an appointment at the February 21 meeting, these interviews will continue at the March 7 meeting.

The appointed Councilmember’s term will expire in December 2024.

Feature Image thumbnails: Presumed LinkedIn profiles when publicly available (If we’ve errored, please alert us).