Published January 3 2018
During the first meeting of 2018, the City Council elected John Chelminiak as Bellevue’s new mayor. Soon after in a separate vote, Lynne Robinson was selected by her colleagues to be deputy mayor. Each will serve a two-year term, running through the end of 2019.
Mayor Chelminiak was first elected to the council in 2004 and has been a champion for human services, economic competitiveness and growth management. He previously served as deputy mayor in 2006 and 2007 and 2016 and 2017. He represents the council on the Bellevue Convention Center Authority Board and the coordinating board of All Home (formerly King County's Committee to End Homelessness). He and his wife, Lynn, reside in the Vuecrest neighborhood.
Deputy Mayor Robinson joined the City Council in 2014 and was reelected to a new term in 2017. Her prior public service includes time on the Parks & Community Services Board, which she chaired from 2011 to 2013. She has also chaired the Bellevue Network on Aging. Currently she is the council liaison to the Human Services Commission and represents the council on the Eastside Human Services Forum Executive Board. She has lived in the Woodridge neighborhood with her husband, Dan Watson, since 1997.
The city's seven councilmembers are elected citywide to staggered four-year terms and select a mayor and deputy mayor internally every two years. The mayor presides over council meetings and study sessions, helps set the meeting agenda, represents the city at public events, and acts as the primary spokesperson for the council.
Piper appointed to the Human Services Commission
Later in the evening, councilmembers unanimously voted to appoint Benjamin Piper to a partial term on the city’s Human Services Commission. His term will expire on May 31.
The commission advises the council on human services planning and program funding. Membership consists of Bellevue residents with one ex-officio member from the Bellevue Police Department. Commissioners are appointed by the mayor with council approval and serve four-year terms. The ex-officio member is appointed by the city manager.