The Livermore City Council has temporarily postponed the interview process for selecting a new council member to fill the open seat vacated by Bob Woerner upon his ascension to mayor.

The four sitting council members were scheduled to interview all 21 candidates who applied for the appointed position tonight (Jan. 19) in a special public virtual meeting, but the proceedings were pushed out following the death of Vice Mayor Trish Munro's father, according to the city's website.

The interviews are now set for next Monday (Jan. 25), which also coincides with the council's next regular meeting.

Woerner successfully campaigned for mayor this fall in the middle of the four-year regular council term he won at-large in 2018 -- which was the city's final election before switching to district-based voting. His mayoral victory left a vacancy on the council that 21 people are vying for.

Each candidate will have up to five minutes to answer a single two-part question during the public interviews. The first part of the question will ask them to identify what they think are the most important decisions facing the council over the course of the term, which ends in December 2022. The second part asks them to explain why they should be selected for the role.

As initially planned, the chosen appointee would take their oath of office during next Monday's meeting after the council's deliberations. Woerner said the appointee could be sworn in that same evening for the public on Zoom and then again in person the next day by the city clerk, "to make sure there is no ambiguity as to satisfying the legal requirements."

The list of applicants consists of a diverse group of community members, including previous City Council election candidates, including Realtor and former police officer Mony Nop, medical account manager Pete Patterson and former city planning commissioner Neal Pann.

Other candidates include Livermore Valley Performing Arts Center education manager Arthur Barinque, retired Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientist/program manager Regina Bonanno, Village High School teacher Evan Branning, Baca Properties CFO Jeffrey Hateley, life and business coach Abigail Helfer, Chef's Warehouse vice president Greg Janssen, GlaxoSmithKline executive Dennis Kai, seamstress Christine Lusty, FABS Group, Inc. property manager Melissa Lynch, Apple Inc. data engineer Darci Martin and security analyst Nathaniel Moore.

Additionally, University of California at Merced student Faith Nordvik, Mendenhall Middle School teacher Kyra Pervere, sales representative Eric Payne, Ace Computer Systems, Inc. owner Alex Shezifi, insurance agent Jennifer Spriggs, Tri-Valley Haven communications specialist Samantha Valdez and Musco Family Olive Company marketing brand manager Jennifer Vierra are among the variety of applicants.