Here’s the newest member of the Bellingham City Council

Immigration and citizenship lawyer Hannah Stone, a resident of the Columbia neighborhood, is the newest member of the Bellingham City Council.

Some 24 registered voters applied for the at-large council position created when Roxanne Murphy resigned in September to accept a job as assistant city manager in Valdez, Alaska.

Stone was chosen unanimously on the first ballot after the council narrowed its choice to five finalists during a special session Monday night.

“I woke up this morning still in shock and just humbled by the opportunity,” Stone said Tuesday.

Each applicant had three minutes to address the council during a special session Monday night, then council members discussed the applicants in a private executive session.

“Her presentation was exceptional,” Council President Dan Hammill said Tuesday.

After the private discussion, the finalist were Lisa Anderson, Sarah Goodin, Hollie Huthman, Shovia Muchirawehondo and Stone.

Stone’s name was drawn from a bowl containing the nominees.

No other votes were taken because Stone received unanimous support on the first ballot, Hammill said.

Hammill said the random drawing to determine the order of voting was “to eliminate any perceived bias.”

Applicants included Jean Ryan and Eric Bostrom — candidates that Murphy defeated in the 2017 primary and general election.

Murphy was elected to the two-year at-large seat in 2013 and re-elected twice. The seat will be on the ballot in November 2019.

In her application to fill Murphy’s position, Stone said that she intends to run for a full term in 2019.

She’s lived in Bellingham for 13 years.

In addition to her work as a lawyer, Stone has taught as an adjunct professor in Fairhaven College at Western Washington University.

She was campaign co-chair for Bellingham Public Schools’ effort to pass a $155 million bond issue earlier this year.

After earning her law degree at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, Stone interned at the Center for Social Justice in Seattle and worked at a Bellingham law office.

She also interned at a public defender’s office in suburban Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill and worked with AmeriCorps and VISTA.

Stone started her own practice in 2007, with offices in the Crown Building downtown.

This story was originally published October 2, 2018 at 12:42 PM.