Bellevue City Council on March 18 voted to appoint Claire Suma Dewaria to City Council Position 5, effective April 1, 2025, contingent on Councilmember Zahn’s resignation on March 28.

The council interviewed five finalists at the March 18 meeting before recessing to executive session to review candidate qualifications. Deputy Mayor Malakoutian moved the appointment; a second was made on the floor and the motion passed by voice vote.

The appointment fills a seat expected to be vacated later this month. Mayor Robinson opened the meeting by explaining the interview and selection process; the council heard three-minute opening statements and additional questions from members for each finalist. The five finalists interviewed in council chambers were Vishal Bhargava, Claire Suma Dewaria, Diyala Ezzedine, Jaskaran Singh Saral, and Eric Drever. The council followed the preannounced order and timing for each interview, then held a study session and executive session before returning to the chamber to act.

Council members emphasized that the appointed member will stand for election in November, so the appointment covers the interim until voters decide the seat’s long-term holder. The motion the council approved instructed city staff to effect the appointment contingent on Councilmember Zahn’s formal resignation on March 28.

No formal roll-call tally was read into the record at the time of the vote; the council approved the motion by voice. The council clerk will publish the formal minutes and any completed forms once the resignation and appointment paperwork are finalized.

The council thanked all finalists for their applications and noted the selection was difficult because of the field’s qualifications. The mayor invited those not selected to run in the November election.

Details recorded at the meeting show the interview process was public and followed procedures announced at the start of the session, including a 3-minute opening statement and a time-limited question-and-answer period for each candidate.

The council’s action is administrative and internal: the seat will be filled under the council’s appointment authority and the state open-meetings statute cited at the meeting (RCW 42.30.110) governed the executive-session discussion of candidate qualifications. The council will place the successor on the April meeting roster once Zahn’s resignation is received and administrative steps are completed.