Twelve Mercer Island residents submitted applications to fill the City Council seat vacated by Tom Acker who resigned on Sept. 29 citing personal health concerns and family commitments.

Applicants include (in alphabetical order): Lisa Anderl, Elizabeth Buckley, Heather Cartwright, Jonathan Conradt, Darren Gold, Traci Granbois, Thomas Hildebrandt, Leslie Meagley, Matt Murphy, Daniel Odievich, Craig Reynolds and Kwan Wong.

The council will conduct public interviews of the candidates at a special city council meeting at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 6, at City Hall. The meeting agenda and candidate application packets were posted on Dec. 3 at www.mercergov.org/councilmeetings.

The council will vote to appoint one of the candidates to fill the vacant seat at a special city council meeting slated for 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 11. To be appointed, a candidate must obtain a majority vote of the council. The appointee’s term will begin on Dec. 18 and expire following the certification of the results of the Nov. 5, 2019, General Election.

Council meetings are open to the public and take place in City Hall (9611 SE 36th St.). Council meetings are also broadcast on local cable Channel 21 MI-Tv, and live on the city’s website.

The city of Mercer Island operates under a council-manager form of government. The seven-member city council serves as the legislative body of the city. The council is responsible for setting policy, adopting the annual budget, adopting laws, determining the services to be provided and the funding levels for those services and appointing citizens to its advisory boards and commissions.