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In an effort to attract more applicants for its three vacant seats, the Hermiston Hispanic Advisory Committee is doing away with its bilingual requirement.
The committee voted Monday night to recommend to the Hermiston City Council that prospective committee members need not be able to speak Spanish. The committee is hoping the move will spark some interest in serving on the committee.
The committee has had three vacancies for some time. Both Robert Amaya and Fawny Vernon have moved out of the area and George Anderson is no longer serving on the committee after he resigned from the city council in June. Anderson was the council’s representative.
That position was recently filled by Manuel Gutierrez, who was already serving on the committee. Now the committee must fill Amaya’s seat, Vernon’s seat as well as Gutierrez’ seat.
The Hermiston City Council will consider the committee’s recommendation to drop the Spanish-speaking requirement at its next meeting.
