Beginning this week, Corvallis voters in Ward 7 will choose a new City Council representative.

City councilors are elected to work on behalf of voters and make decisions for the future of the city.

Elected office is an important job, and voters will be doing the hiring.

With that in mind, we’ve structured part of our coverage of the Ward 7 election like a job interview.

We asked candidates Jeanne Raymond and Rick Schroff to provide voters with a resume and cover letter that explains their qualifications for the job and why they believe they are the best choice for the job. Those appear in today’s newspaper.

On Wednesday, we’ll have stories based on interviews with the two candidates, who will explain their views of challenges faced by the council, what they bring to city leadership and their vision of where we’re going as a city. All of this coverage will remain available on gazettetimes.com throughout the election.

Position: City Councilor for Ward 7

Salary: Unpaid

Job description: The City Council is the city’s official policy and decision-making body. Councilors meet twice per month and are assigned by the mayor to one of three council standing committees. Councilors are also members of the Budget Commission and serve as liaisons to various advisory boards and commissions. Councilors typically spend 10 to 15 hours per week working on city business and are eligible to receive reimbursement for expenses incurred while performing official duties. A full term on the City Council is two years.

Requirements: To run, candidates must be registered voters who have lived in Corvallis for at least one year. Candidates must reside within the ward they are seeking to represent at the time the nomination petition is filed and must gather 20 signatures from registered voters within their ward.