Maricopa City Council has 13 applicants to choose from in the selection of a new council member to fill the seat left vacant by Rich Vitiello.

The successful candidate will be sworn in during the regular council meeting May 7 and serve out the remainder of his term, which ends Dec. 1, 2026.

Vitiello’s seat has been vacant since April 1.

The council will conduct a special session at 6 p.m. Tuesday to vote on three finalists from the pool of applicants. Applications were accepted by the City Clerk’s Office through April 16.

The top Maricopa City Council vote recipients will be publicly interviewed individually in the council chambers during the Tuesday meeting. The council will then select and announce the successful candidate.

InMaricopa received the names and backgrounds of applicants through a public records request. The following applicants have filed with the city:
  • Matthew Blair, the owner of Dr. Coffee and DOT manager for Sunland Asphalt.
  • Thomas Chapman, a retired senior police officer and detective with the Chander Police Department for 20 years.
  • Joshua Hughes, an IT manager for the past 18 years.
  • Joseph Kane, an employee of a major aerospace and defense company since 2011.
  • AnnaMarie Knorr, director of public affairs at Exceptional Healthcare and a Maricopa Unified School District governing board member.
  • Adam Leach, a real estate investor, entrepreneur and property rehabilitation specialist for seven years.
  • Rhonda Melvin, a teacher and former Maricopa Unified School District governing board member.
  • Chrystal O’Jon, current city council candidate, co-owner of O’Jon Property Management & Investment and co-founder of the Black Chamber of Commerce in Maricopa.
  • Bryan Ott, a manager for the Port of Seattle shipping operation for 28 years who served on the Milton, Wash., city council for 10 years.
  • James Singleton, a senior software engineer and vice chairman of the city planning and zoning commission.
  • Toryn Terrell, a TPS engineer with Hitachi High Tech America in Chandler.
  • Sharon Walker, a commercial/multifamily finance subject matter expert with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and asset manager with several corporations in Texas.
  • Patti Wasowicz, a real estate agent with The Maricopa Real Estate Company.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR