Issaquah School Board members have narrowed the choices in their search for a replacement board member to two.

The position, left vacant by Mike Winkler earlier this year, is either going to Carla Wigen or Chad Magendanz, the board decided on Wednesday.

The board picked Wigen and Magendanz as their top two candidates, out of the five who applied, and will interview them further on Tuesday.

Board members stressed that all the candidates were extremely well-qualified and all would have served well on the board.

“I was overwhelmed with the quality,” Board member Connie Fletcher said. “This community would be lucky to get any one of them.”

The tension in the room mounted, however, as the board members debated whether to vote that night or continue with a second round of interviews, all the while praising all of the candidates. At one point, Board Member Brian Deagle jokingly asked if anyone had any roses to make the selection with, while the candidates present at the meeting waited anxiously, sometimes feigning heart palpitations. Although Board Member Brian Deagle wanted to vote on Wednesday, Fletcher felt that she needed more time with two of the candidates before she could make any kind of decision, and all the board members agreed to her request.

The board eventually agreed to second interviews with the top two or three candidates, then each identified their top one or two.

Wigen and Magendanz were named as the ones the board would like the interview again.

Meet the candidates:

Carla Wigen: Wigen is a University of Washington alumni with a masters of law and taxation. She is also a certified accountant. Wigen is currently the Vice President and Senior Trust Office for Washington Trust Bank’s Wealth Management & Advisory Services in Seattle. Wigen has 18 years of experience in legal and accounting professions. Prior to her work in the financial services industry, she worked as an attorney in a large Northwest firm. She was recently named 2008 Seattle Magazine five star Best in Client Satisfaction Wealth Manager.

Wigen is a PTA member at Maple Hills and Maywood, and has participated in Eagle Reader Tallying, PTA financial audit, “Walk About Parent,” chaperone and Scholastic Book Fair volunteer.

Chad Magendanz: After graduating from Cornell University, Magendanz attended the Navy Nuclear Power School and Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory and became a nuclear submarine officer. In 1994, Magendanz began working at Microsoft, eventually becoming Lead PM in the Windows User Experience. Four years ago, Magendanz left Microsoft to work from home and is now contracted with Jetstream Software as well as doing freelance work with Microsoft, Nike and Entellium. Magendanz is a member of the Issaquah Kiwanis, Safe Roads for Issaquah, Maywood PTSA and Stand for Children.