After Bob Sternoff resigned from his Position 2 seat on the Kirkland City Council in March, the council was forced to make a quick decision to appoint a new council member by April 16.

Shelley Kloba is one of 17 candidates vying for the seat.

Background: Kloba, age 46, lives in the Juanita neighborhood and has lived in Kirkland for more than 11 years.

She received her Bachelor’s of Science in Kinesiology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Later she graduated with honors at the Seattle Massage School.

She is the owner of Shelley Kloba Massage and Personal Training in Kirkland and is also employed at The Donaldson Clinic as a massage therapist.

Experience: Kloba is the legislative director for the Washington Sate PTA, a board member of the Kirkland Park Board, a trustee of the Lake Washington Schools Foundation, a community advisor for the EvergreenHealth Medical Center and a secretary and board member of the Washington Massage Alliance for Health.

She was also a force behind the Yes! For Great Kirkland Parks campaign, a member on the Lake Washington Citizens Levy Committee and a member of Gov. Jay Inslee’s Education Advisory Group.

Reason for running: Kloba believes the experiences she’s acquired have solidified her ability to listen to many different perspectives and arrive at a common goal. Through her past endeavors, she believes she’s displayed a strong commitment to public service within the Kirkland community. With those experiences, she hopes to further give back to the community that has given her so much pleasure.

Top issues facing the city: Kloba recognizes the controversy with the region-wide EMS levy is something that needs to be resolved soon. But in the long-term, she says balancing growth while retaining Kirkland’s aesthetics is important.

In addition, she can’t ignore the transportation and traffic issues in Kirkland, in which technology or growth management may be the answer.