The Yakima City Council has unanimously chosen Tom Dittmar to fill a vacancy on the Council created by Sara Bristol’s resignation from the District 2 seat at the end of last year. Dittmar will be sworn in at the start of the Council’s January 21st business meeting.
Dittmar was selected by the Council following interviews of six finalists that took place earlier today. The other finalists were Patricia Byers, Maria Giedra, Mark Johnson, Michael Liddicoat, and Dan Polage
Dittmar currently works as an investigator at the Yakima office of the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries. Originally from Yakima, Dittmar began his law enforcement career as a police officer for the Los Angeles Police Department in 1971. Two years later, he was hired as a patrol officer in Lacey, Washington. From 1974 to 1979, Dittmar served as the sergeant in charge of the Port of Seattle Police Department bomb squad. Dittmar then spent 11 years working for the Seattle Police Department as an intelligence detective. In 2001, he returned to Yakima to serve as a reserve deputy with the Yakima County Sheriff’s Department. From 2004 to 2006, Dittmar worked for the Washington Military Department as a security officer. Since 2006, he has been with the Department of Labor and Industries investigating fraud and abuse of the state’s industrial insurance program.
In addition to the six finalists, applications to fill the vacancy were submitted by (in alphabetical order) Michael Hayes, Lyle Kang, Nicholas Kline, Alphonso Lee, Richard Marcley, James McLean, and Tony Sloan.
Dittmar will serve the remaining two years of Bristol’s term. Bristol resigned from her District
2 seat on December 31st because she and her family have moved back to her hometown of Grants Pass, Oregon where she and her husband, Chris, now work for the Grants Pass Daily Courier newspaper.
The District 2 seat that Dittmar will assume is one of four district-specific positions on the Council. Maureen Adkison holds the District 1 seat, Rick Ensey is the District 3 representative, and Kathy Coffey represents District 4. The other three seats on the Council are at-large positions, which are currently held by Micah Cawley, Dave Ettl, and Bill Lover.
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