What Oakland's Seat 3 applicants said

The town commission's April 9 workshop previewed 11 would-be commissioners. Here's who may show up on a future ballot.

Longtime Oakland commissioners Mike Satterfield, Joseph McMullen and Rick Polland ultimately voted to put Sal Ramos back in the seat he'd occupied for nine years before resigning it in December for his unsuccessful run for mayor. But the April 9 commission workshop to evaluate those who aspired to occupy the open Seat 3 showed there are many qualified residents who want to serve.

After submitting an application and resume, residents had three minutes to answer a single question, picked from a bowl, many of which dealt with managing conflict, handling criticism, building consensus for opposing ideas. Here's how 11* would-be commissioners responded.

Anne Fulton on priorities: "I want to be your voice."

Yumeko Motley on budgeting: "We have to preserve the resources of the town for those things we deem to be most important."

Sal Ramos on balancing conflicting opinions before a decision: "I try to get to the root of it first, and understand the person, where he's coming from."

Scott Gordon on controversial decisions and meeting conflict: "It's hearing every voice and making sure every voice is heard and weighing the pros and cons."

Todd Tice on tax concessions for apartments: "If we're all going to go down ten grand, I think everyone would vote for it."

[Regretfully, we did not capture Todd Tice's full response. The video picks up in the middle of his answer.]

Adam Messervey on building consensus on the commission: "I would get to know them personally ... what their goals and visions are and then merge that together to form consensus that way."

Kris Keller on the qualities of an effective commissioner: "Understanding that hard things have to be done sometimes, and we can't always make everyone happy."

Clayton Louis Ferrarra on special skills: "One of the most important perspectives is understanding that [commissioners are] here to help bring the will of the residents into being."

Teri Hamlin on staying informed: "One of the biggest things is attending meetings."

Trillshun Bacon on prioritizing long-term and short-term projects: "You set specific goals during that time frame and then you meet them."

Ed Kulakowski on handling resident criticism: "It's important to be able to, comfortably and respectfully, state views and listen to opposing views."

*There were 13 applicants, total. One withdrew before the workshop; one did not meet the 12-month residency requirement.