Tom Vance is running for City Council
May 21, 2009
By Administrator
New May 21, 11:14 a.m.
Tom Vance, chairman of the Sammamish Planning Commission, has announced his run for City Council. Vance said he enjoys the work he has done in city government and wants to ensure that the city continues to be well-governed.
“I also like living in Sammamish,” he said.
Vance, 57, lives in the Heritage Hills neighborhood with his wife, Mary Lynn. He is semi-retired from the publishing and communications industry. In addition to being on the planning commission, he was a member of the committee that worked to support last year’s parks bond.
One of his top issues is continuing to manage the development Sammamish will see in the future.
“Manage growth and make sure the growth looks like Sammamish,” he said.
Vance wants to work on traffic safety, including what he called some “hot spots” in neighborhoods across the city.
He also wants to continue the fiscal model the city has had to date, in terms of not taking on too much debt and looking beyond the current budget cycle.
Another priority is for him to develop some additional teen services, and he hopes to work to establish a teen center.
In his spare time, Vance enjoys hiking, biking, reading and following local sports teams.
He has worked on campaigns of other councilmembers and says he is generally supportive of the way the council has operated, although he hopes to bring his own perspective to the council.
“I wouldn’t say I’d agree on every issue, every time,” he said.
Vance says he will likely run for the seat being vacated by Councilman Lee Fellinge. TV personality John Curley has also filed to run for that seat.
Candidate filings will take place from June 1-5. The primary election, if necessary, is set for Aug. 18. The top two candidates in each position will move to the general election Nov. 3.
Editor Ari Cetron can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 233, or samrev@isspress.com.
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One Response to “Tom Vance is running for City Council”
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Indeed, how Sammamish will manage growth is a critical issue. I look forward to hearing what Tom Vance means when he states “makes sure growth looks like Sammamish.”
Should we interpret this as more of the same? Sammamish has 96% single family housing. In ten years, the city council that Tom has supported has not created one new unit of multi-family housing and not a single square foot of additional office or retail space.
Sammamish is a classic example of suburban sprawl. While many citizens desire this type of living environment, sprawling, decentralized suburban development is what creates traffic congestion, a higher cost for infrastructure development, higher vehicle miles traveled, global warming, obesity and a host of other problems. Sammamish needs housing choices that reflect changing demographics, more singles, more couples without children, and more downsizing baby boomers.
Sammamish will stay a suburban, bedroom community but more of this we don’t need. In any event, it will be along time until developers want to build more $750,000 to $1 million homes. And, how will young adults move into this community if on average our homes cost $600,000 and up.
Concerning the city economy, will Mr. Vance be more specific and can he share with us his thinking about shrinking revenues, lower services, and how the city will pay for additional services?
We need fresh thinking from our candidates not more of the same.