State College Borough Council fills vacant seat with new appointment. Here’s what to know
State College Borough Council filled its vacant seat Monday night by agreeing, via a 5-1 vote, to appoint longtime resident Nalini Krishnankutty to council.
She will replace Richard Biever, who took office in January but resigned after announcing plans to move with his family to Kansas. Krishnankutty is expected to be sworn in sometime this week, and her term will run through 2023.
“I consider it an honor to have this opportunity to serve our community, which has been my home for the last 35 years,” Krishnankutty told the CDT in a written statement. “I look forward to working with everyone on Council to build on ongoing efforts to create a sustainable and equitable community where everyone not only feels like they belong, but also feels empowered to engage and make a difference.”
Krishnankutty describes herself as “an engineer turned writer, speaker, educator and Diversity-Equity-Inclusion (DEI) advocate and practitioner.” The first-generation immigrant American moved to the borough in 1987, and she’s been heavily involved in community service — with both the town and gown — for several decades now.
She currently chairs the borough’s Community Oversight Board, although she’ll have to resign from that post to serve on council.
Krishnankutty was among three candidates who expressed interest in the post. In decisive fashion, she beat out former Council member Katherine Yeaple and Greentree Neighborhood Association President Matthew Kwapis.
The last time such a vacancy occurred, when Dan Murphy resigned in the summer of 2020, it took council seven rounds of voting, several hours of discussion and two council meetings to settle on an appointment. On Monday night, it took about five minutes.
A random council member was selected to nominate a candidate. That random councilman, Gopal Balachandran, nominated Krishnankutty — and a majority voted to accept the nomination. (If she didn’t earn a majority, another council member would’ve nominated another candidate, and another vote would’ve taken place. The process would’ve been repeated as necessary.)
“Ladies and gentlemen, that was very quick,” Council member Deanna Behring said after Krishnankutty’s appointment. “We have our new councilwoman.”
Council member Janet Engeman was the lone voice of dissent. In a previous council meeting, she had shared her preference for Yeaple, who lost to Biever in the general election by just 68 votes. (1,191 to 1,123)
During last week’s council meeting, when members further discussed the appointment, it appeared that council was weighing Yeaple’s experience against Krishnankutty’s community involvement. Engeman also brought up questions about whether Krishnankutty had time for council with her involvement elsewhere, while others believed that shouldn’t come into play since, by applying, candidates are expressing that the position would be a priority.
Mayor Ezra Nanes and a majority of council appeared to lean toward Krishnankutty last week, after each candidate had finished a 15-minute presentation.
“One of the things that I noticed in the presentations and what really stood out for me was Nalini’s acknowledgment that she was coming into a open position left vacant by Rich Biever, who was duly elected,” Behring said. “And she acknowledged that her role was to carry forward the vision that he had spelled out in his campaign. And to me that really struck home.”
Added Nanes, who said he’s “frequently” worked with Krishnankutty: “I think that she is a great person that knows how to work with other people very well. And I think it’d be great to see her working with this body. I think the ideas that Mr. Biever brings to council and has brought to council will be well-carried on by her. We’re going to miss Rich, but I think Nalini will carry on that spirit — so I’m going to just say I think she would be a great choice.”
Krishnankutty boasts an extensive resume: She served on Gov. Tom Wolf’s Advisory Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs. In 2018, she gave a TEDxPSU talk on “How Immigrants Shape(d) the United States.” She’s a Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Program Manager at Penn State Human Resources. And, according to her personal website, she’s now even writing children’s books focused on the immigration experience.
She has a Ph.D. in chemical engineering, spent six years working on the election board of her local voting precinct and is also a member of the Osaze Osagie Scholarship Endowment Committee.
The next regular borough council meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. July 11.
This story was originally published June 14, 2022 at 11:53 AM.
