Christi Pankratz appointed to vacant Umatilla City Council seat
By Griffin Beach on Friday, July 10th, 2026 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
UMATILLA – The Umatilla City Council has selected Christi Pankratz to fill the Position 1 seat vacated last month by Corinne Funderburk.
The council appointed Pankratz after interviewing her and two other candidates, Kartiza Del Real and Imelda Rizueno. Councilmembers asked the applicants a series of questions ranging from the city’s successes and future challenges to how they would handle public criticism.
At the end of the preselected questions, Councilmember Daren Dufloth asked the candidates why they wanted to join the council.
“My family’s ties run very deep in this community, so just being able to be involved would feel like I was giving back to the community that I love,” Pankratz said.
Councilmember Lyle Smith asked the applicants if they planned to run in the upcoming election. All three answered yes.
Pankratz has lived in Umatilla for 14 years, and her husband is a graduate of Umatilla High School. She works as a special education teacher with the Umatilla School District.
Pankratz’s interim role will be short-lived because the term ends this year. To keep the seat, she will have to run in November’s general election.
