East Wenatchee City Council Selects Replacement Councilor

East Wenatchee has a new city council member after the council appointed Lacy Stockton to the seat in a special meeting Tuesday evening. 

The council interviewed six candidates over the course of an hour and 10 minutes, and announced Stockton as their choice after a 20-minute executive session. 

Stockton, a marketing strategist with Chelan County PUD, said the biggest challenge facing the city of Wenatchee in a word is "Growth."

"We have a lot of new residents coming into the area," said Stockton. "We have a lot of new industry coming into our area. And while our geography isn't changing, our metro area and the needs are. So, this is an opportunity for to sit down and say 'What do we want this to look like?'" 

Stockton will serve out the term of Sasha Sleiman. Sleiman resigned her position during the city council March 5 meeting, having announced her intention to do so at the February 20 meeting.  

The council then approved the application process for a replacement councilor at their March 13 meeting and received qualifying application packets from the eight people seeking the seat on April 10. 

Those candidates included:   

• Sally Brawley, former Eastmont Parks Executive Director of Parks and Recreation
• Ettore Castellente, retired Douglas County Fire District 2 Board Commissioner and retired fire chief  
• Richard Edwards, retired USDA Forest Service employee and retired contractor   
• Jenny Pratt, former YWCA North Central Washington CEO/Executive Director and current consultant with JLB Solutions  
• Nathan Scott, Resident and Private Business Owner/Employer  
• Lacy Stockton, Together Wenatchee Founder, Chelan PUD Energy Efficiency Marketing Strategist  
• Kevin Van Reenen, Neigel Vintners President  
• Greg Wright, former Snohomish County Planning Commissioner and current McLean Real Estate Group managing broker 

After further review, only seven candidates were determined to be qualified under Washington law, and Van Reenen was removed. Also, Castellente withdrew from the running for reasons unknown, which means the remaining six candidates were interviewed. 

Stockton will serve for the rest of Sleiman's term which ends on Dec 31, 2025. She will be sworn in as a councilmember at the council's next meeting, which is scheduled for May 7. 

During the Tuesday night interview process, Stockton said she would be leaving her position with Chelan PUD this week to concentrate on heading her own consultancy firm.