City Council Member Peter Steinbrueck took what has traditionally been a secret, behind-the-scenes process public Saturday when he posted his preliminary list of 10 candidates for city council position No. 9—the seat formerly held by Jim Compton, who resigned last month—on the Stranger’s Slog. (Steinbrueck expanded his list to 13 two days later.)

On Sunday, his colleague Nick Licata followed suit, posting his own list of 18 finalists.

Monday afternoon Council Member Richard Conlin made his top 18 public on Slog.

The council heard from 101 candidates for the position on Thursday, January 13, at a nearly six-hour public hearing. Steinbrueck said he chose to post his list on Slog because he was dismayed at the lack of public process planned for such a major decision. Under the current schedule, council members will come up with lists of 18 finalists individually and present them tomorrow, Tuesday, January 17; those lists will be narrowed down to a list of 12 finalists Tuesday afternoon. On Thursday, council members will split into two groups and interview those candidates, after which they will have one week to make their selection.

Steinbrueck is also calling for a public hearing on the council’s top three picks; currently, no public hearing is planned. Council members are barred from talking to each other about their choices, but they are allowed to discuss them in a public forum, such as Slog.

Steinbrueck’s, Licata’s, and Conlin’s lists are below; names that appear on more than one list are in bold.

Peter Steinbrueck’s 13 Finalists

Peter Holmes
Ven Knox
Joann Frances
Juan Bocanegra
Robert Zappone
Javier Valdez
Gail Chiarello
Stella Chao
Roger Valdez
Mark Hinshaw
Ross Baker
Alice Woldt
Denise “Cookie” Bouldin

Nick Licata’s 18 Finalists

Juan Bocanegra
Peter Holmes
Dolores Sibonga
Robert Zappone
Gail Chiarello
Harriet Walden
Sally Clark
Sharon Maeda
Stella Chao
Jack Whisner
Bruce Bentley
David Bloom
Jan Brucker
Thomas Whittemore
Verlene Jones
Bruce Herbert
Ross Baker
Alice Woldt

Richard Conlin’s 18 Finalists

Ross Baker
Bruce Bentley
Russ Brubaker
Stella Chao
Gail Chiarello
Sally Clark
Bookda Gheiser
Lee Hatcher
David Hopkins
Verlene Jones
Ven Knox
Sharon Maeda
Kate Mortenson
Sara Patton
Darryl Smith
Roger Valdez
Venus Velasquez
Thomas Whittemore

barnett@thestranger.com