NEWPORT — Four people have applied for the vacant seat on the seven-member Newport City Council created in May when Ryan Parker resigned. Councilors are looking to fill the position for the remainder of the term which expires in January 2027.
The four applicants are:
- Angel Aparicio, a business owner and auto collision technician in Newport;
- Ashley Bixler, co-manager of a multi-location, family-owned retail business who is the president of Yaquina View and Sam Case Boosters and is a member of the city’s budget committee;
- Mike Kloeck, a grocery manager in Newport. Kloeck is a former chair of the Newport Visual Arts Center steering committee and current member of the city’s parks and recreation advisory committee; and
- Sean Watkins, a retired digital art teacher and former technical director at George Mason University’s School of Art. Watkins is the former president of the Sunnyside neighborhood association in Portland.
Candidate interviews are scheduled for 4 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 2 during a council work session. Councilors are scheduled to deliberate during their regular meeting at 6 p.m. the same evening. The person elected is scheduled to be sworn in at the council’s Sept. 15 regular meeting.
- Shayla Escudero/Lincoln Chronicle