Above: Dr. Karen Johnson of Olympia has announced her application for appointment to the Olympia City Council. File photo.
By
Janine Gates
In a video released at https://vimeo.com/147920545 Dr. Karen
Johnson introduces herself to the community and shares why she is seeking appointment
to the Olympia City Council. The video is three minutes and twenty-five seconds.
The Olympia City Council is accepting
applications for Councilmember Position #4, which will be vacant January 1 due
to the election of Cheryl Selby as Mayor. The person who is appointed will
serve for approximately 23 months, until the November 2017 General Election
results are certified.
Johnson has lived in Washington State
since 1997 and in Olympia since 2005. She works for the Washington State
Department of Social & Health Services as the agency's Strategic
Initiatives Executive.
Johnson is president of the
Olympia-Centennial Rotary Club, a co-founder and president of the Black
Alliance of Thurston County, a member of the Thurston Thrives Governance
Committee.
In the video, she explains that she is an
ordained minister, a hospital administrator by training, and has a doctorate in
urban management.
Her focus will be on homelessness, downtown economic development, and fair and impartial policing.
“I see Olympia as a diamond in the rough
and the reason why I want to be a city councilmember is so I can help polish
this beautiful diamond in the rough. I envision Olympia as a city that is
beautiful, productive, and thriving – a place where all its residents want to live
and work and play and stay….” says Johnson.
Johnson says her strengths are inspiring
trust, working collaboratively, and having good common sense.
In what seems to be an unprecedented approach, Johnson also has a website, www.AppointKarenJohnson.com, urging supporters for her appointment to contact current city council members.
The annual stipend for the council position
is $16,640. Signed applications and required documents must be received by the city council’s assistant at Olympia City Hall, 601 4th Avenue East, no later
than 5:00 p.m. on Monday, December 14, 2015.
Interviews will be held at 5:30 p.m. on
January 4, 2016, (and January 6, 2016, if needed) in the Olympia City Council
Chambers, 601 4th Avenue East. The sessions will be open for public viewing and
taped for replay on TCTV.
For more information about the vacancy or to apply, go to www.olympiawa.gov
To
read an October 4, 2015 article about Dr. Karen Johnson and the Black Alliance of Thurston
County, go to Little Hollywood, www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com
and type key words into the search button.
