After Bob Sternoff resigned from his Position 2 seat on the Kirkland City Council in March, the council was forced to make a quick decision to appoint a new council member by April 16.

Elise Spring Vitus is one of 17 candidates vying for the seat.

Background: Vitus, 37, lives in the Totem Lake neighborhood and has lived in Kirkland since 2001. She studied music at the University of Oregon and also studied English and Education at the Northwest University.

Experience: She was selected to the advisory board for the Houghton neighborhood Comprehensive Plan update. She has also attended the Central Houghton Neighborhood Association meetings for the past five years and is familiar with issues facing residents in that area.

She is a founding member of the Kirkland Wildlife Habitat Team that focuses on educating people about habitats and how to grow friendly gardens to support wildlife. She is also certified with the CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) Program.

In addition, through her work at the Kirkland Children’s School, Vitus has worked with several local organizations, including the Eastside Audubon Society, Hopelink and Eastside Baby Corner.

Reason for running: Vitus is looking for a better way to serve the Kirkland community.

“I think Kirkland is already a wonderful place and I’d like to see it grow even more wonderful,” she said. “I’m thinking long-term too. I don’t have an agenda. I don’t own property or a business. I’m a working professional and I want Kirkland to be a great place for everybody.”

Top issues facing the city: One of the major issues facing the city is what to do with the Cross Kirkland Corridor.

“It would be really great to have a transportation corridor for people but I don’t know what would be the best solution for it yet,” said Vitus. “I think the real important thing is to make sure there is a lot of cooperation between our city and other areas and encourage a ton of public feedback throughout the process.”

Other issues facing the city she said include focusing on the Totem Lake Business District and balancing the overall needs of the big communities, such as downtown Kirkland, Houghton and the annexed areas.