The Snoqualmie City Council has chosen Cara Christensen to fill the Position 6 vacancy left by former Councilmember Sean Sundwall, who resigned in August.

Christensen, a lawyer, first moved to Snoqualmie with her family in 2014. She spent three years working on the city’s planning commission, between 2015 and 2017, before moving to London in 2019. She later returned to Snoqualmie in 2020, and resumed working on the planning commission in Jan. 2020. She has also worked as a lawyer in Washington and California and has a juris doctorate from the University of San Diego.

“I had the opportunity to work with Cara on the planning commission before coming on to council,” Councilmember Matt Laase said. “Cara brings a wealth of knowledge and a strong sense of commitment.”

Councilmember James Mayhew praised Christensen, and said adding a lawyer, another woman and a parent with young children will bring a greater diversity to council and allow it to better represent the community it serves.

“Her education and experience are additional things we have not seen for some time on council,” Councilmember Bob Jeans said.

Christensen was chosen out of a field of six applicants, who were interviewed by the council on Sept. 16. She was appointed via a 5-1 vote of the council, with councilmember Shepard as the lone no vote. Shepard said she wanted to appoint a candidate from the downtown area to the council.

“We don’t have anyone on council currently from downtown,” Shepard said. “Although [Christensen is] very bright, we have candidates who have lived here a lot longer so they have a lot of historical knowledge.”

Christensen will take her seat on the council at its next meeting Oct. 11 and will remain in her position until Dec. 2023. On her application for council, she listed her top three priorities as helping businesses through the pandemic, affordable housing and maintaining a high quality of life for city residents.

“I’m honored and looking forward to working with the city as well as the council and all the residents up on the ridge and downtown,” she said.