Lynnwood appoints last remaining council candidate, putting OnlyFans saga to rest

The City of Lynnwood has finally settled on filling its lone vacant spot on its council by appointing Robert Leutwyler on Wednesday evening with a 5-0 vote. This marks an end to the OnlyFans controversy that plagued the last appointment process after it was discovered that the appointee ran an account on the site.

“This has been a long process,” Lynnwood Council member George Hurst said, according to The Everett Herald. “There were some problems, some of it self-inflicted, some of it out of our control. But in the end, I think we still have a good, viable candidate for the City Council position. I don’t want to take any more of the council’s time in this appointment matter.”

Council member Derica Escamilla abstained from voting, claiming the council appointment process was flawed. Escamilla, the only woman on the council, also cited a lack of diversity on the council as a reason for not submitting a vote.

The council had until April 5 to make a decision for the vacant council spot. If they didn’t, the decision would have been passed on to the Snohomish County Council to take over the process.

According to The Everett Herald, Leutwyler was the last candidate remaining after seven withdrew from consideration. Leutwyler is a U.S. Army veteran and a program manager for international retirement savings plans at Amazon.

Multiple candidates bow out of council spot before Leutwyler

Rebecca Thornton was the first person appointed to the vacant seat, but one hour before she was set to be sworn in, she withdrew. A few weeks later, the city pivoted to Jessica Roberts, only for her to be exposed for posting explicit material on online platforms, including running an OnlyFans account.

The fallout of the discovery led to shouting from the public during a city council meeting demanding an apology. Police eventually had to escort the growing crowd out of the chamber. On March 13, Roberts withdrew from consideration, just hours before a meeting was scheduled to decide whether her candidacy was still valid after the discovery.

“My personal life and identity do not in any way affect my ability to do the job,” Roberts said in a statement. “However, I have decided to withdraw my appointment, not because I am unwilling to serve the people in my community, but because the continued scrutiny of my personal life is a potential distraction from the council’s forward progress.”

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