Hollister officials said Tuesday that due to a large number of applicants for the District 4 city council seat vacated when Roy Sims resigned fewer than four months after winning election, they will send written questions to applicants in an effort to shorten the public interviews currently scheduled to start at 4 p.m. April 17.

Sims resigned March 6 after announcing that he was buying a house outside of his district, prompting the city to submit a letter of interest along with a résumé to the city clerk by 5 p.m. this Friday, April 7. Applicants will be interviewed by the sitting city council members before their regular April 17 meeting and a new council member is expected to be appointed to serve through November 2018, when the next general election is scheduled.

To qualify to serve as a council member, a person must be a resident of the district and be at least 18 years old. 

Applications must include a cover letter and a résumé, and may be submitted via email to [email protected] or in person at the City Clerk’s Office, City Hall, 375 5th St., Hollister, CA 95023. Interested parties may also telephone the City Clerk, Tom Graves,  at 831-636-4300, ext. 16 for questions.

Tentatively, interviews will be conducted on April 17 from 4-6 p.m. City council members will deliberate from 6 to 6:30 p.m. and the successful candidate will be announced on or after 6:30 p.m. that evening.