The Kirkland City Council voted Councilwoman Amy Walen as the new Kirkland mayor at the first Council meeting of 2014 on Tuesday evening.
Councilwoman Penny Sweet took the seat as Deputy Mayor, making this her second time holding that position.
“I am honored to follow in the foot steps of some of the dedicated public servants that have served Kirkland,” Walen said at the Council meeting. “We have a stellar line of previous mayors and I’m going to work very hard to live up to the legacy that they’ve left.”
Walen said she was very thankful for Councilwoman Doreen Marchione’s service as Deputy Mayor because “her experience, wisdom and regional connections” served the city well. But Walen is excited to have Sweet’s energy, enthusiasm and work ethic as she fulfills the Deputy Mayor position.
Sweet was Deputy Mayor for the first two years of her first term in 2010.
“I loved it but I really didn’t know what I was doing,” Sweet said. “My second term, I’m really excited because I think, particularly with Amy coming on board with so much energy, we’re going to do a whole lot of great things to keep Kirkland the special place that it is.”
Walen, Position 5; Sweet, Position 3; new Councilman Jay Arnold, Position 1; Councilwoman Shelley Kloba, Position 2, and Councilwoman Marchione, Position 7, took the Oath of Office administered by City Clerk Kathi Anderson, as Councilmen Toby Nixon and Dave Asher watched nearby.
Walen and Sweet both began their terms on Council in January 2010.
Both have served on the Planning, Housing and Economic Development Committees.
Walen has also served on the Finance Committee and the City/School District Coordinating Committee, while Sweet has served as the chair of the Public Safety Committee and vice chair of the Disability Board.
Kirkland City Council meetings are typically held on the first and third Tuesday of each month at City Hall in the Council Chambers at 7:30 p.m. Public comment opportunities are available at the beginning of the regular meeting and at the end if the meeting reaches that point before 10 p.m.
For more information about the Kirkland City Council members, search visit “Meet the Council.”
Penny Sweet congratulates Amy Walen moments after being elected. RAECHEL DAWSON, Kirkland Reporter
