Richland council announces finalists for vacancy

The new Richland City Hall features a mid-century modern style designed to capture the history and spirit of Richland civic architecture. The water feature in front of the building features a 1940s valve that diverted drinking water from the Columbia River. Courtesy Architects West

A Realtor, dietitian, contractor, chemist and an individual with a long career at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory are among the top five candidates the Richland City Council will interview for its open seat.

Council members selected the five finalists from a pool of 24. Interviews will be conducted publicly during a special city council meeting at 3 p.m. Jan. 27. The interviews will not be available for city residents to watch remotely.

The five candidates are:

Britt Creer is owner and manager of construction and development firm Urban Range LLC and previously worked for federal contractors including CH2M Hill, ARES Corp. and Energy Solutions. He was on the board of the Richland Housing Authority for nearly 20 years.
Samantha Mason is a dietitian at Kadlec Regional Medical Center and Meals on Wheels, as well as an adjunct instructor at Columbia Basin College. She is currently a member of the city’s Parks and Recreation Commission.
Kyle Palmer is a Realtor who was a board member of Windermere Group One for four years and chair of the education committee for the Tri-City Association of Realtors. He served on the city’s planning commission and is currently a board member for Friends of the Richland Library.
Andrew Rice is a retired chemist who most recently worked at Energy Northwest’s Columbia Generating Station.
Todd Samuel is the current research group manager for the building systems group at PNNL. He has worked at the national lab for 30 years. He is a member of Leadership Tri-Cities Class 12, as well as a board member of the Benton-Franklin Workforce Development Council and Mid-Columbia Symphony Society. He also sits on the city’s planning commission and code enforcement board.

Council members will go into a closed-door session following the interviews to deliberate and make a selection.

If one of the finalists is selected, that will be voted on in open session, with the new member being sworn in on Feb. 3. The new council member will remain on the council until the November general election.