Former mayoral and council candidates want to succeed Dan Coursey

Former Washougal mayoral write-in candidate Paul Godin, and Adam Philbin, a Washougal City Council candidate, also from November of 2017, are among the 10 people interested in succeeding Dan Coursey on the Washougal council.

In addition to Godin, a Farmers Insurance owner-agent and substitute teacher in the Washougal School District; and Philbin, the security and risk manager for the Shriners Hospital for Children, in Portland, and former emergency medical technician in Bellevue, Washington; the other applicants include Marvin Toelupe, a territory sales manager for AutoZone and volunteer Boy Scouts advisor; Janice Ferguson, a Washougal Parks Board member since 1998 and chairperson of the Washougal Arts and Culture Alliance; and Roxy Cate, a Washougal resident for 26 years and former ground training manager for Horizon Air Industries.

The additional applicants are Lori Rose, a member of the Washougal Salary Commission and former director of finance for the Dublin San Ramon Services District, in Dublin, California; Donald Lowe Jr., a former continuous improvement manager at Insitu and Lockheed Martin; and coach of the Washington Timbers Football Club; and David Szyplinski, a project manager for Western Construction Services and former firefighter for the city of Andover, Minnesota.

Ernie Suggs, a co-founder and board member of the Washougal Schools Foundation and former Camas Community Education director, is applying for the City Council vacancy, along with Karen Susac, a former Chicago school teacher and University of Washington adjunct faculty member.

City Clerk/Finance Director Jennifer Forsberg said of the 10 applicants, several of them submitted applications and letters of interest Friday, April 13, the final day of acceptance, prior to the 5 p.m. deadline. The Clark County Elections Office confirmed their eligibility Monday, April 16.

To be considered as a potential city council member, a person has to be a registered voter in the city of Washougal and must have continuously resided within the Washougal city limits for a minimum of one year prior to the potential appointment.

The applicants will be interviewed during the next regular City Council meeting, at 7 p.m., Monday, April 23, in the council chambers at City Hall, 1701 “C” St.

The person chosen to succeed Coursey in Council Position 7 would serve until the results of the November 2019 general election have been certified.

Coursey, 64, resigned in late March, saying that, since he did not win the Washougal mayor’s race in November of 2017, he wanted to take advantage of “considerable professional business opportunities.” He is a contractor who sets up computer networks for large companies.

Coursey had served on council since January 2016.