(The Center Square) – The Lynnwood City Council has lost an appointed member within the same week of her appointment after her sexually explicit social media account was revealed.
Jessica Ann Roberts – a transgender woman – was appointed to fill the Lynnwood City Council District 5 seat on Monday. The next day, the Lynwood Times reported on Roberts having an OnlyFans account, where she shared explicit content with 135 paid subscribers.
The Lynnwood City Council was not aware of Roberts’ account and conducted a special meeting to remove her appointment to the council on Thursday night. However, Roberts withdrew her account earlier that day before the council could take official action.
“Well this didn’t go the way we expected, did it?” Lynnwood City Councilmember Nick Coelho asked during the special meeting on Thursday.
Lynnwood City Councilmember Patrick Decker said the council vetted candidates, which was met with laughs from people in attendance.
Fellow City Councilmember David Parshall added that he had “this strange feeling from the community that they would like us to vet these candidates a little more,” which received more laughs and applause.
There are four candidates left for consideration for the Lynnwood City Council to choose from after originally having eight. The city council will consider re-interviewing the candidates with new questions in mind.
Questions may include questions regarding whether they sell their own explicit content online, or as Parshall pitched it: “I just want to ask a candidate: is there anything in your background that might be embarrassing to the City of Lynnwood, or the residents of Lynnwood?”
Background checks could be conducted on the candidates as well to ensure they are a fit for the position.
Lynnwood City Councilmember Derica Escamilla is skeptical the four candidates still want to be considered for the position.
“Quite honestly, if I was one of them, I would be like ‘I don’t want to be your sloppy thirds,’” Escamilla said.
Escamilla then apologized for her choice of words.
The four candidates are Nazanin Lashgari, Robert Leutwyler, Forrest Baum and Chelsea Wright.
Lynnwood City Councilmember George Hurst said that when Roberts and the other candidates were asked if there was anything they previously said in their private lives that could become public. Roberts did not inform them of her OnlyFans account when that question was asked.
The Lynnwood City Council had 90 days to fill the vacant District 5 seat left by Julieta Altamirano-Crosby, with the deadline set for April 5, so council members are working quickly to fill the seat.
There are three city council meetings scheduled through the end of March.
