(The Center Square) – In a 4-2 vote Monday, Spokane city council members appointed longtime resident Barbara Liliana “Lili” Navarrete Lorenzo to a vacant seat on the council.
“Do you still want the job?” quipped councilman Paul Dillon, after Navarrete sat through four prior hours of meeting business before her appointment was confirmed.
She did.
Navarrete, 46, will fill the Position 2 seat representing District 2 that was vacated after incumbent Betsy Wilkerson was elected council president in November.
Wilkerson said Navarrete’s interest is “citywide” and that she was one of a “great group” of 17 applicants who sought the appointment.
A 34-year resident of Spokane, Navarrete currently serves on the Washington State Commission on Hispanic Affairs and is a former director of public affairs for Planned Parenthood of Greater Washington and North Idaho. She is a graduate of Ferris High School and Eastern Washington University, coming to the Inland Northwest in a family move from Mexico City in 1988.
Navarrete was among five finalists interviewed last Thursday by council members. If selected, Navarrete said at the time, her priorities would include addressing the city’s homeless crisis, working toward improved transportation and mental health services, and building trust between residents and police.
Responding to questions on a candidate application, Navarrete agreed that climate change “is real” and said city government has a role in reducing and mitigating its effects. She also said the city is “long overdue” on a decision to build a permanent, sustainable housing shelter, calling temporary shelters “band-aids.”
She empathized with the need for affordable housing, noting that when she moved to Spokane from Mexico with her parents and two sisters, they initially lived in a one-room studio apartment before her father got a second job and could afford a two-bedroom duplex.
“We need to step up and think of a plan or a program to have affordable housing,” she wrote.
Navarrete said she views council service as an opportunity to “show what I have learned and work with individuals who care for the well-being of our city. I am also applying because there is always room for any city council be more diverse. As an immigrant from Mexico City, I adopted Spokane as my second home.”
Councilman Zack Zappone said Navarrete had received “lots of community support” for her appointment and she would “represent lots of diverse communities.”
Along with Wilkerson and Zappone, Navarrete’s appointment was supported by council members Paul Dillon and Kitty Klitzke. Councilmen Michael Cathcart and Jonathan Bingle dissented.
Navarrete’s nonpartisan seat represents the city’s Second District, which encompasses the southern and western portions of Spokane. She will serve out the unexpired two-year portion of Wilkerson’s term and the position will be up for election to a full four-year term in 2025. Annual salary for a council member is $49,779.
Other finalists interviewed last week for the appointment were Katy Sheehan, Alex Gibilisco, Shane Gronholz, and Jamie Bartlett.
