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.

Michelle Goerdel is one of 17 candidates vying for the seat.

Background: Goerdel has lived in Kirkland for 20 years. She has a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Washington in Economics.

She is the current owner and president of Biz Loan Link, located in Kirkland.

Experience: She served as co-chair on the programming committee for Win with Washington, was a past president on the board of the Kirkland Chamber of Commerce, was the founding member of the Hopelink Eastside Leadership Council and a member of the Kirkland Park Board. Goerdel was treasurer of the Kirkland Performance Center, founding chair of the Eastside Transportation Choices and was a member in several other Kirkland committees.

Reasons for running: Goerdel said she has always been interested in finding ways to serve her community and has done so by being involved in nonprofits, city boards and commissions.

“I want to be a significant part of growing a vibrant Kirkland with a thriving and stable employment base, which supports our fabulous neighborhoods and schools,” she said in her application.

Top issues facing the city: Goerdel said planning is an issue in Kirkland and that neighborhoods feel they are not being considered in the “rush for growth.”

“This is not an easy problem to solve but it’s worth the time if we can decrease the consistent outcry from constituents and at least some of the resulting lawsuits that occur,” she said.

In addition, Goerdel thinks there needs to be “robust outreach” to attract and retain small and mid-size businesses, while keeping in mind the future expenses.