Lacey City Council to screen 29 applicants for vacant seat 

Twenty-nine people applied to fill the Lacey City Council seat vacated by Nicolas Martinez-Dunning, but not all of them are guaranteed an interview after council members split over how to narrow the field. 

The council backed a preliminary yes or no poll after a debate over what constitutes a fair screening process at a work session on Tuesday, Sept. 22. Council members will review the poll results before publicly deciding the final interview list on Oct. 6. 

Martinez-Dunning resigned on Aug. 18 amid a bid for a seat on the Thurston County Board of County Commissioners in the Nov. 3 General Election. He is challenging incumbent District 5 Commissioner Emily Clouse in the race.

The 29 applicants are: 

• Lytrell Scott, construction worker and self-described civil architecture advocate 

• Aram Wheeler, 22-year banking professional, who served two years as chair of the Lacey Parks, Culture & Recreation Board 

• Michael Steadman, former 12-year Lacey City Council member and commercial real estate business owner 

• Kim Sauer, business diversity program manager at the state Department of Enterprise Services and 2025 chair of the Lacey Commission on Equity 

• Paul Froehlich, VA Puget Sound physical therapist and Army Reserve lieutenant colonel 

• Heather Johnson, former Washington State Patrol communications officer 

• Hillary Thompson, security operations officer for a state agency 

• Lawrence Blanton, retired Los Angeles Police Department criminalist 

• Reginald Osborne, 20-year Army veteran with 34 years in information technology 

• Rosillo Frias, payroll, human resources and finance professional 

• Jin Mi Williams, small business owner, educator and Washington State Board of Cosmetology member 

• Tiana Kleinhoff, property manager with about 26 years in real estate 

• Spencer Zeman, Intercity Transit employee, who served on the Lacey Planning Commission 

• Christopher Barr, telecommunications project manager 

• Clinton Wathen, paramedic and Thurston County Medic One training coordinator 

• Steve Fraidenburg, public employee for state, tribal and local agencies for more than 25 years 

• David Redman, program supervisor at the Shelton Veterans Village tiny-home housing site 

• Brandon Stephens, Lacey Human Services Commission chair and owner of Premier Homes NW 

• Robert Lane, Lacey planning commissioner and Combined Fund Drive manager for the Washington Secretary of State 

• John My, benefit specialist at the state Employment Security Department 

• Theresa Rustemeyer, biotechnology executive recruiter 

• Cheryl Sparkuhl, program and event specialist with the Secretary of State's Productivity Board 

• Jordan Pelton, territory sales manager at Integrated DNA Technologies 

• Charles Beck, former Washington State Legislature research analyst 

• Andrew "Nat" Dunn, purchasing employee at Sensory Tool House 

• Evette Temple, banker with 38 years of experience 

• Marcus Humberg, communications manager at the state Department of Transportation 

• Jonathan Herring, Lacey Commission on Equity member and small business owner 

• Cecilia Candida Zamprelli-Jones, administrative professional with more than 35 years of experience 

Competing views 

Council member Lenny Greenstein said the appointment should not be handled like conventional hiring because council members normally win office through elections.

“Since we’re making that decision for the people, I think we owe it to the people to interview all of them,” Greenstein said. “They stepped up. They want to serve.” 

Council member Ryan Siu raised a similar concern about how to screen applicants who already meet the legal qualifications for office. 

Deputy Mayor Malcolm Miller also favored interviewing the full field. Although he did not want a two-day process, Miller said nothing in the application packet gave him a reason to eliminate anyone before an interview. 

Mayor Andy Ryder and Council members Carolyn Cox and Maren Turner favored narrowing the crowded field.

Ryder questioned whether council members could meaningfully assess 29 candidates over a roughly 10-hour interview process.

City Manager Rick Walk then estimated about 25 minutes per interview and said hearing from all 29 could require a second day. 

Cox compared the process to city hiring, noting that meeting minimum qualifications does not guarantee an interview. 

“I think it’s too big a group to interview,” Cox said. “I’d like us to find a fair way to narrow it down to 10 to 12 at the most.” 

Turner worried about candidates appearing late in the schedule, arguing council fatigue could shortchange them. 

“It’s not fair to the people on the second day or the people at the end of the day,” Turner said. “They don’t get the same consideration. You’re tired.” 

Screening vote 

A proposal to interview all qualified applicants failed on a 3-3 tie, with Greenstein, Siu and Miller in favor and Ryder, Cox and Turner opposed. 

The council found a majority for the screening poll, with Ryder, Cox, Turner and Siu in favor, while Greenstein was opposed and Miller abstained.

Siu changed course after supporting interviews for all qualified applicants, favoring council support as a basis for narrowing the field instead of selecting a fixed number of finalists. Turner favored a four-vote threshold for interviews. 

The poll itself will not determine who gets an interview, and Ryder cautioned the field could remain large. 

“We may go through this whole process, and it still may be 20 plus. We just don’t know,” Ryder said. 

Interviews are anticipated on Oct. 20, less than a month before the Nov. 13 adjusted deadline for council action. If no appointment is made by then, authority over the appointment transfers to county commissioners. 

If the county does not fill the vacancy within 180 days, the city or county may petition the governor to make the appointment.