Nice and Hsieh in the spotlight at council meeting

Published 4:30 pm Wednesday, December 3, 2025

In front of a packed room at the Dec. 2 Mercer Island City Council regular meeting, newly elected councilmember Julie Hsieh participated in her first meeting and Mayor Salim Nice ran his final meeting.

At the Mercer Island Community and Event Center, city clerk Andrea Larson administered the oath of office for Hsieh while Nice was recognized for his eight years of council service and contributions to the community. Councilmembers elected Nice — who chose not to file for re-election in November — to serve a pair of two-year mayoral terms from 2022-2025.

Hsieh’s swearing in was the first order of business at the meeting and took place nearly a month after voters had their say in the general election. She defeated Adam Ragheb for the Position No. 7 seat, which had been occupied by Daniel Becker since June 3.

Becker was appointed to serve on the seven-person council in the spot of councilmember Daniel “Jake” Jacobson, who passed away on March 30 following a medical emergency. Becker, whose appointed term expired on Nov. 25, ran unopposed for Nice’s open Position No. 2 seat in the Nov. 4 general election.

Becker and fellow councilmembers and incumbents Ted Weinberg (who ran unopposed for Position No. 4) and Lisa Anderl (who beat Johana Beresky for Position No. 6) will be sworn in at council’s next regular meeting on Jan. 6. Also at that meeting, council will elect the new mayor and deputy mayor for the 2026-2027 term.

A day after the Dec. 2 meeting, Hsieh shared her thoughts about joining council for the first time in front of a full house at the community center.

“I’m so honored to serve our community on city council, and I’m ready to do so with dedication, thoughtfulness and compassion,” she said. “I’m really very much in our community as a volunteer and just participating in a bunch of events. So I’ll continue to engage with our community members to hear what matters to Islanders.”

Hsieh aims to bring Islanders closer together and will hold regular community coffees to meet with and discuss issues with locals. Her next gathering will be from 10:30 a.m. to noon on Dec. 15 at ASA (2690 76th Ave. SE, #101).

With a background as a family doctor, Hsieh will continue to champion the Mercer Island Youth and Family Services program in helping lend a hand to youth, schools, families and seniors in the community while deepening community engagement.

When it came time to honor Nice at the meeting, Deputy Mayor David Rosenbaum touched upon some of the city’s accomplishments with Nice at the helm within a robust three-page document.

While Nice served as mayor, council met 238 times, adopted 212 ordinances and 151 resolutions and reviewed more than 1,500 agenda bills, including ensuring that more than $7 million in federal stimulus funds were invested locally; joined forces with emergency management volunteers and city staff to go door-to-door to check on residents during the 2024 November “bomb cyclone” windstorm; Climate Action Plan adoption; led the city through the 2023 water supply emergency water valve replacement and much more.

Rosenbaum noted that Nice, “testified virtually or in writing over a hundred times on bills in Olympia, led the city in hiring lobbyists in Olympia to expand Mercer Island’s influence, and helped secure a total of $4.7 million in state funding for Luther Burbank Park waterfront improvements and the new Mercer Island water supply pipeline.”

Glowing comments flowed from councilmembers as they each took turns discussing Nice’s council journey: Anderl said he was a wonderful leader who was accessible and generous with his time. Weinberg said it was an honor working beside Nice. Wendy Weiker said she can’t thank him enough for his friendship, leadership and dedication to the community. Craig Reynolds said that Nice handled a tough job — in some contentious times — with grace and candor. Hsieh wished Nice the best in all of his future endeavors and looks forward to seeing him continue to be engaged on the Island. Rosenbaum said that he’s impressed with Nice as a person and a policymaker who has an incredible depth of knowledge and intellectual curiosity.

City Manager Jessi Bon took her turn at the mic and said to Nice, in part, “The fingerprints you’ve left behind for us will guide us for decades. I think about the transformative work you did on the financial policies.”

Bon added: “Salim, it’s been an honor to work with you all these years, and thank you for trusting me to be your city manager.”

Nice said that everyone’s thoughts, sentiments and relationships mean the world to him. The memories and moments while serving on council have touched his life.

“This has been a huge honor for me, just to be able to serve this community. This is a community that has given me a lot, given my family a lot,” he said. “When you set out to serve in local government in a place that has given you a lot, you can bring a lot of heart to it when it’s given you what this community has given to me. And so I would just say to anybody that wants to serve or thinks to serve, go out and do it, particularly if you have some connection with the community.”

* Following tradition, Mercer Island City Council’s second meeting in December — scheduled for Dec. 16 — has been canceled due to its proximity to the holidays.