The two Wilsonville city councilors whose terms end this December, City Council President Kristin Akervall and Councilor Joann Linville, will not run for reelection.
The term of Mayor Julie Fitzgerald also ends this year, and she is unable to run for reelection due to term limits.
Akervall was first elected to the City Council in 2016, and reelected in 2020. Prior to working on the council, she was a member of the Development Review Board and served on the West Linn-Wilsonville School District budget committee.
Linville was appointed to the council in September 2019, and elected for the position in 2020. Before being appointed to the council, she served as chair of the Development Review Board.
“I want to thank our citizens for their confidence in me. I have enjoyed my service in these roles to the city of Wilsonville over almost the last nine years,” Linville said. “To consider another four-year term for me, at this point in my life, is probably more than I want to take on.”
Linville said another reason she decided not to run again is due to some parts of the community being “very critical” of the council’s work.
“It isn’t just our current council, it appears to be any City Council. They are verbally critical of decisions that are being made by people who are citizens and neighbors who are trying their very best to do what is in the best interest of the community,” Linville said.
Linville said she believes “there is always a place for critical discourse in decision-making and the future of our city government.” But comments that are “derogatory, that are accusatory, that are accusing council members of illegal or unethical behavior” are beyond public discourse, she said.
In recent months, some Wilsonville community members have expressed discontent with the current City Council in matters such as the city’s decisions regarding Home Depot’s attempts to come to Wilsonville as well as ballot measures related to term limits and using urban renewal to fund projects in the Town Center Plan .
“I think that we need to remember that every one of our city councilors were voted in by the majority of votes cast at the time they were elected,” Linville said. “They are representing the constituents that voted for them.”
Akervall said she has observed “ugliness and unkindness and spreading of mistruths” in the community related to future plans for development within the city, which she finds concerning. However, she said this was not a factor in her decision.
Akervall added in email that she believes some of the candidates who are running for City Council will "champion a city that serves all in our community — including future community members." Seeing these candidates gave her more confidence in her decision not to run, she said.
Akervall said the decision not to run for reelection was primarily related to time constraints. Outside of her council role, she works at an HR analytics company, is seeking a Ph.D in systems science and is a parent.
“I’m the kind of person that wants to put full effort into all of the things that I’m working on, and it’s just clear that I need to trim down what’s on my plate,” Akervall said.
Akervall said the decision was difficult as there are projects she wants to continue working on, but she came to the realization that there is “always going to be stuff to do.”
“I’m really grateful for the opportunity to have served our community, and be elected twice,” Akervall said. “I’m really grateful to have worked alongside other leaders that I know care about the city so deeply, and also our exceptional staff that I have seen do excellent work.”
With the filing deadline now passed, those who are seeking a seat on the council include Anne Shevlin , Ginger Fitch , Adam Cunningham and Elizabeth Peters . There are three candidates running for mayor, including Shawn O’Neil , Glenn Lancaster and Rob Candrian .
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