Bellingham City Council Committee of the Whole

The Bellingham City Council completed its annual reorganization for 2026, marking a significant leadership transition with Hannah Stone elected as the new Council President after serving as outgoing President Hollie Huthman's successor. The meeting addressed two major agenda items: electing new leadership and committee assignments, and approving the city's 2026 state legislative priorities. The reorganization saw extensive discussion about leadership continuity versus rotation, with Stone ultimately chosen over Huthman for president in a process that revealed thoughtful consideration of both candidates' qualifications. All committee assignments were filled through a process that involved some competitive nominations and strategic positioning for board representation workloads. The Council also approved a comprehensive 2026 legislative agenda focused on housing access, infrastructure funding, and fiscal sustainability. A notable procedural matter emerged regarding public comment time limits, which was tabled for future retreat discussion as part of broader public engagement considerations. The meeting concluded with executive session discussions on litigation and property acquisition matters.

**Council President Election:** Hannah Stone elected Council President (7-0) after Hollie Huthman's nomination failed due to all members abstaining (0-0) **Council President Pro Tempore:** Hollie Huthman elected unanimously (7-0) **Mayor Pro Tempore:** Edwin H. "Skip" Williams elected unanimously (7-0) **Committee Chair Appointments (approved 7-0):** - Budget and Finance: Lisa Anderson - Community and Economic Development: Jace Cotton - Parks and Recreation: Edwin H. "Skip" Williams - Planning: Hollie Huthman - Public Health, Safety, Justice, and Equity: Daniel Hammill - Public Works and Natural Resources: Michael Lilliquist **Committee Memberships:** Full slate approved 7-0 with each member serving on two committees **Board/Committee Assignments:** Complete slate of external board appointments approved 7-0, including WTA Board (Cotton, Lilliquist), WCOG Executive (Lilliquist) and Policy (Cotton), Lake Whatcom Policy Group (Williams, Anderson) **2026 State Legislative Agenda:** Approved unanimously (7-0) **Public Comment Motion:** Tabled to retreat (7-0) - Cotton's motion to reduce speaking time from 3 to 2 minutes

**Hannah Stone, on accepting the presidency:** "I ultimately I could really go either way and would want to I know this is tough um that there isn't a strong yes or no from me, but um it really is I think that we as a council work best when people are in the roles that work to their strengths." **Hollie Huthman, supporting Stone:** "I as much as I really liked being council president, as much as um I enjoyed myself this past year and would do it again, uh I I would really like to pass the torch to you because I admire your work so much." **Daniel Hammill, on Stone's qualifications:** "I think my position as an attorney and then severing apart, you know, immigration enforcement if that comes to our city limits in a more um impactful way or not, you know, being in the room and in those conversations um in real time." **Lisa Anderson, on public comment accommodation:** "Two minutes will evaporate very quickly. And I feel that for some members of our community, um, because I work in testing, so I know what time implementation does with people's mental process and knowing you have two minutes to try to get something out that's important to you is not sustainable for some people to be able to communicate." **Edwin H. "Skip" Williams, on leadership selection criteria:** "whoever gets to be in leadership has to be the right person at the right time to face the challenges that we're going to meet in the upcoming year... my sense of of um whoever sat in the president's seat was more along the lines of kind of well, it's your turn as opposed to who would be the best person with the right talents and skills to move the city's agenda forward." **Michael Lilliquist, on workload distribution:** "I think it is really important that we create continuity with the immediate past president. I think that's an easy uh thing that we can put into effect and I think that would address one of the downsides of the annual rotation."