Selection committee recommends two for appointment as King County Assessor

July 10, 2009

Summary

Story

 A Selection Committee empanelled by the Metropolitan King County Council today interviewed four applicants for King County Assessor and recommended two for the short-term appointment: Chief Appraiser Lynn Gering and Interim County Assessor Rich Medved.

The two recommended candidates will be re-interviewed Monday morning by members of the County Council at a special meeting of the Council's Committee of the Whole:

Special Committee of the Whole meeting
Monday, July 13
9:00-11:00 a.m.
Council chambers
10th floor, King County Courthouse

The Council is set to make the final appointment at its regular meeting on Monday afternoon.

Gering, Medved and two other applicants were interviewed today. The other two candidates were:

• Earl Bell, professor emeritus in the University of Washington’s Department of Urban Design and Planning, and
• Bob Rosenberger, a full-time appraiser for the assessor from 1984 to 2008.

The applicants were interviewed by a five-member panel of citizen experts, elected officials, and County staff:

• Duvall Mayor Will Ibershof, representative from the Suburban Cities Association,
• Jim Dierst, a member of Seattle-King County Association of REALTORS^®,
• Gary Melonson, Associate Director of Investments, Oppenheimer and Company,
• King County Executive Chief of Staff Noel Treat, and
• King County Council Chief of Staff Tom Bristow.

The panel evaluated the qualifications of eligible candidates against the following criteria:

• Demonstrated leadership skills;
• Appropriate education, training, and experience;
• Demonstrated proficiency in problem solving, interpreting statutory and regulatory requirements, conducting good public relations, and maintaining effective group and interpersonal relationships;
• Demonstrated ability to respond to public concerns about the policies and practices of the county Department of Assessments including, but not limited to, meeting with taxpayer groups, officials and individuals and attorneys to discuss assessment practices and issues, and to ensure that taxpayers’ concerns are reviewed and addressed;
• A commitment to maintaining the functions and structure of the county department of assessments without disruption during the election of a new County Assessor; and
• A commitment to the immediate business of the county Department of Assessments that would make it unlikely that the appointee would run for any elective office while serving as the appointed Assessor.

The five questions for which applicants had to submit answers were:

1. What are the duties of the King County Assessor as you understand them?
2. What do you consider the most important qualifications of an excellent county assessor, and why?
3. What are your qualifications for serving as county assessor?
4. Do you intend to run for the office of King County Assessor in the November 2009 general election?
5. Why are you interested in this temporary appointment?

Former Assessor Scott Noble resigned on June 18, a day before his sentencing on a felony charge of vehicular assault that required him to forfeit his office. Under the County Charter, Deputy Assessor Rich Medved is serving as Interim Assessor until an Assessor is appointed.

Whoever is appointed as King County Assessor will serve until the results of the next general election are certified in late November.