Hiiraan Online
Sunday October 14, 2018
SEATTLE, WA (HOL) – A Somali-American woman has been appointed as a council member for the US city of Sea Tac, in one of rare success stories for the small Somali community in the southern King County of Washington State.
The appointment of Amina Ahmed who fills a vacant council position comes after the city’s ruling body interviewed 12, out of 15 applicants at the public meeting, after three aspirants, Craig Baker, JD Hill Jr and Mario Coluccio withdrew.
Ahmed who has been a resident of SeaTac for 5 years will complete the current unexpired term. Before her appointment, she has also worked as Human Services and Non-Profit Executive and has owned her SeaTac business since 2002.
The Somali-American woman has been chosen by the city council in a 6-0 unanimous vote from group of 12. She will be sworn in by October 23 at Regular Council Meeting after which she will serve through the certification of the November 2019 General Election.
She succeeds Mike Siefkes who stepped down In September, thus creating the vacancy.
With a 29,130 population, SeaTac, a 10 square miles city which is located approximately midway between the cities of Seattle and Tacoma has a seven-member City Council elected by the residents.
The Council chooses from among themselves who will serve as Mayor and Deputy Mayor for a two-year term. The Mayor is recognized as the head of the City for ceremonial purposes and is the chair of the Council Meetings.
As the newest council member, Ms. Ahmed becomes of of the leaders and policy makers elected to represent the community dealing with issues acting in response to the needs and wishes of the residents and businesses.