The 2011 version of "Who Wants To Be A Metro Councilor?" is officially underway, with the application form to represent District 6 now posted on Metro's website and a possible candidate forum put on the calendar.
The District 6 council seat became vacant with the Jan. 15 resignation of former Councilor Robert Liberty.
The process to select Liberty's replacement could include a candidate forum on Feb. 22, six days after a public hearing on the vacancy.
If the council decides to hold a forum among finalists for the vacancy, it would be held at 5 p.m. Feb. 22 in the council chamber at the Metro Regional Center. The public is invited to submit questions for the forum.
Metro Council President Tom Hughes said a forum could be valuable, particularly if the field of potential candidates is small.
"It's not a bad format to give the members of the council some idea about how well they express themselves in public, how much do they know about what they're doing," Hughes said. "It becomes a little less valuable if you have 47 people."
The public hearing on the vacancy is scheduled for 5 p.m. Feb. 16 at the David Douglas School District's headquarters, at 1500 SE 130th Avenue in Portland.
On Feb. 24, the Metro Council is scheduled to vote to select the new councilor, who will serve the remainder of Liberty's term.
Councilors will simultaneously write their choice to join the Metro Council, with each councilor's vote reported in the minutes from the meeting.
Two candidates have publicly announced their intention to apply for the vacancy – Bob Stacey, Liberty's next door neighbor who lost the November race for Metro Council President by 1,003 votes; and Bob Shiprack, a former state legislator.
As of Wednesday afternoon, no candidates had actually applied for the vacancy. The deadline for applications is Feb. 9.