COUPEVILLE — Three residents who have been passed over by Langley leaders for a spot on the city council are now hoping voters will give them the chance to serve the city.

Robin Adams, Thomas Gill and Kathleen Waters filed as candidates Monday for council races in November. The trio were part of the four to seek appointment to the council in December, when Hal Seligson was chosen to fill a seat left vacant by an unexpected resignation.

Two other Langley residents have also filed to run; Seligson, and Jonathon Moses.

Three of the five candidates live in Edgecliff, and two of them, Adams and Moses, were opponents of the controversial Langley Passage development project that was approved earlier this year by the city council.

Adams was the frontman for the Langley Critical Area Alliance, a group of neighbors to the 20-home Langley Passage project who were worried that additional development in their east end neighborhood would lead to new landslides along the fragile bluff where many of the opponents own homes.

Adams is running for Position 3 on the council, the seat currently held by Councilwoman Fran Abel. Abel said earlier she would not run for the position.

Adams, 64, is a management consultant at CRU Strategies, which serves the global mining, metals and fertilizer chemicals industries. In his campaign announcement, he repeated a few themes he used during his quest to win the council seat late last year: improving the city’s economy and allowing responsible growth.

“Langley has a wonderful community and a beautiful environment, but our economy has been struggling during this recession. I think it is important that the city council acts sooner rather than later to position Langley for growth as the national and state economy recovers,” Adams said.

“I really don’t see a conflict between the growth needed to create an economically sustainable Langley and protection of Langley’s environment. In fact, it is precisely this environment that attracts both residents and the tourists that form a key element in our economy,” he said.

Adams came in a close second during the council’s vote to pick a new council member six months ago. He received two, and almost three, of the votes needed to gain a council seat. (Councilman Robert Gilman and Abel voted to appoint Adams to the position).

Adams is also one of the roughly 70 voters in Langley who signed a petition in April to force a vote on changing Langley from a council-mayor form of government to a council-manager form.

Waters, his opponent in the Position 3 race, has found herself at the center of controversy, as well. Her attempt to get appointed to the council late last year spurred an impromptu investigation by city officials to determine if she met the residency requirements for service as a council member, and Langley officials dropped the matter after Waters insisted she was indeed a resident of the Village by the Sea.

Waters, 74, has been a longstanding critic of the council, and has chided the city for having a “no growth” attitude that has hurt downtown businesses. She has been a property owner in the city since 1976, and has an extensive background in management, consulting, teaching and lecturing in the healthcare field.

Two other positions on the council will be up for election in November.

Seligson also filed as a candidate for the Langley City Council shortly before noon Monday.

Seligson, 63, had earlier promised to run to retain the Position 2 seat he was appointed to in December.

“I look forward to a productive campaign discussion over the next few months,” Seligson said a few moments after submitting a personal check to cover his filing fee.

If elected, Seligson said he would continue his efforts to increase transparency at city hall.

“I want to carry through the whole idea of open government and proper oversight of our financial status,” he said.

Seligson said he would also work to have a “code of ethics” adopted by Langley’s elected officials.

Moses, 49, has filed to run for Position 4 on the council, the seat currently held by Councilman Bob Waterman.

Waterman has already said he would not seek re-election.

Also seeking the seat is Gill, a 27-year-old tech volunteer at city hall who graduated from South Whidbey High School in 2001 and works at Whidbey Telecom.

Gill’s entry into the race was not unexpected. The Edgecliff resident — he supported the Langley Passage project — had said in December that he would seek election to the council.

“I’m committed to making Langley an attractive place for people to live, for businesses to operate and for tourists to visit,” Gill said.

“This city has an amazing lack of affordable housing. One of the big goals for any future development, is the inclusion of affordable housing,” he added.

Gill is also pledging to watch out for downtown merchants.

“Our business owners are being run out of town due to fees imposed by the city, including extending the sewer assessment beyond the repayment of the debt it covered, and increasing base water fees, instead of raising usage rates to cover expenses,” Gill said.

“Tourists need a city that is fun and exciting, with shops that are unique, and events that draw a crowd. All-in-all, I would love for someone to be able to live in Langley, work in (or near) Langley, and play in Langley, but for now, I will settle for restoring downtown, increasing population and reducing base fees,” he said.

By Tuesday afternoon, only one person had filed as a candidate in the Langley mayor’s race.

Larry Kwarsick, the city’s planning director and a longtime Langley resident, is seeking the post. Mayor Paul Samuelson announced late Friday he would not run for re-election.

But whether the mayor’s position is put before voters in November will depend on what happens during the August primary. If Langley voters approve Proposition 1, the city will lose its elected mayor and the city will shift to the council-manager model of government.

The petition drive that put Prop. 1 on the ballot was spearheaded largely by Edgecliff residents.

Adams said Monday he had not yet decided how he would vote when the proposed change of government is put to voters in the 2011 Primary Election on Aug. 16.

“I feel that it is reasonable for the voters to have the opportunity to express their opinion on the issue. Langley is a very small town. The size and cost of government needs to be commensurate with our limited resources. As a general principle, I like the separation of powers, but I want to understand whether the council-manager approach will deliver a lower-cost solution,” Adams said.

“I will be announcing my decision about this matter at the end of July when the primary ballots are mailed out, so people know where I stand,” he added.

The filing period for candidates ends at 4 p.m. Friday, June 10.