Whittier : Field Down to 9 in Search for New Council Member
The City Council decided this week to interview nine candidates from a field of 44 who applied for a vacant council seat.
The seat became vacant when Councilman-elect Larry Haendiges resigned after admitting he filed three false police reports during the election campaign.
The council must fill the seat by June 23 or call a special election.
The finalists are: Lee Strong, the former mayor, who finished fourth in his bid for the council in April and owns a consulting firm that specializes in city planning; Owen Newcomer, a Whittier City School District trustee who teaches at Rio Hondo College; R. F. Valdez, owner of a local bookshop; businessman Thomas Barnes; attorney Michael Magnuson; Joan M. Nay, administrator at USC; Janet R. Henke, former school board member and retired teacher; Frederic A. Bergerson, professor of political science at Whittier College, and psychologist Anthony A. Lopez.
The council also confirmed Tuesday the nomination of John Smith IV to fill a vacancy on the Planning Commission. Haendiges once occupied the seat but resigned after the City Council election. Smith is a longtime ally of council members Helen McKenna-Rahder and Michael Sullens and shares their interests in neighborhood and historic preservation.
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