UPDATED 2/16/19.
In a meeting of 12 Commissioners from 4 counties in LD13, Alex Ybarra was chosen to represent the District. Alex is the first Hispanic ever chosen to represent LD13.
Standing Room Only
There was standing room only as the twelve commissioners from four counties met in a Grant County Courthouse conference room Monday evening Jan. 14 to decide who would be appointed to serve Legislative District 13, Position 2. Incumbent Matt Manweller resigned in disgrace and at the behest of the Republican Party, thus creating an open seat that the commissioners were tasked with filling.
Three Choices
The three candidates under consideration were Danny Stone of Ephrata, Alex Ybarra of Quincy, and Ian Elliot of Ellensburg. According to this article in the Daily Record from last October, Stone was ranked first by the commissioners going in to this meeting.
Each candidate was allowed 5 minutes to make their final pitch to the commissioners . There were no follow-up questions by commissioners and no discussion in the open meeting.
Two Votes
The vote was conducted in two steps, each preceded by an Executive Session. The first vote was to reduce candidates from 3 to 2. Ybarra received 5 votes, Elliot 4, and Stone 3. After a ten minute Executive Session, the commissioners returned and a second vote was taken. Ybarra received 8 votes and Elliot 4. iFiber OneNews posted a short video of the meeting here.
In both votes, the Kittitas County Commissioners voteden bloc for Elliot. Click here to review meeting minutes, including how all commissioners voted [obtained through public disclosure request].
You can review the League of Women Voters Observer Report of this meeting here.