The resignation of Metro Council President Lynn Peterson in March set in motion a chain of events that will lead to a new councilor joining the regionally elected body soon for a term lasting less than six months.
FILE - The Oregon Metro Regional Center on Southeast Grand Avenue in Portland, Ore., Saturday, Jan. 5, 2019.
Bradley W. Parks / OPB
Three applicants have submitted their names for consideration for the limited-time role, as of July 1: Miles Palacios, Joshua Manous and Jerika Ferguson. The chosen applicant will serve the remainder of Councilor Juan Carlos González’s District 4 term, which expires at the end of the year.
González resigned from his District 4 seat representing Hillsboro, Forest Grove and North Beaverton June 2 in order to step into his new role as council president seven months early.
González was elected council president in May’s primary election but got a head start in the role to fill the vacancy created by Peterson’s resignation. Peterson, who served as Metro president from 2019 to this past March, resigned to become Lake Oswego’s city manager.
Two days after González was sworn in as president, the council officially declared his District 4 seat vacant. They began accepting applications for the limited-duration position June 9.
While the council is expected to go through its mandated vetting process to fill the vacant seat, there is one applicant who would seem to have an advantage.
In May, Palacios won the election to serve District 4 for a four-year term beginning Jan. 4, 2027. If the council follows the same logic it used in appointing González to the president’s position — when they let the voters’ decision in the May election inform their choice — odds are they will select Palacios to begin his role early as well.
The council will interview applicants at a meeting July 9 at Beaverton City Hall. The council could choose to make the appointment and swear the chosen candidate in at the same meeting. The appointment must be made by Aug. 31, according to Metro’s charter.
