Eastlake girls repeat at state
November 10, 2009
By Christopher Huber
The Eastlake girls cross country team had a lot of uncertainties going into its run at the state meet Nov. 7 at Sun Willows Golf Course in Tri-Cities. Senior workhorse Erin Blodnick had a sore ankle and Haley O’Connor was unable to run.
“Going into it we had some anxieties,” said head coach Troy Anderson.
But despite the potential last-minute setbacks, the top five Eastlake runners finished within 45 seconds of each other. Such a tight spread earned the Lady Wolves its second state championship in as many years. With 100 points this year, Eastlake beat the second-place team, Tahoma, by 24, which is a bit more comfortable of a margin, Anderson said. The Eastlake girls beat Gig Harbor by one point in the 2008 state meet.
“I was clearly elated,” Anderson said. “It’s one thing to win state one year. It’s another to come back and do it again.”
Eastlake won without placing one finisher in the top 10, too. It came down to sticking together, as they have done all through the 2009 season, Anderson said.
“The girls were nervous. But this is such an experienced team,” Anderson said. “It just comes down to really being able to create a good path.”
Senior Chelsea Orr finished 15th overall, coming in at 19 minutes flat. Junior Katelyn Steen took 17th just four seconds behind Orr and sophomore Morgan O’Connor placed 26th with a time of 19:16.
Even with a sore ankle, Blodnick took Eastlake’s fourth spot (50th overall) with a time of 19:42 and senior Alie Dorsey placed 54th in 19:44.
Anderson said the more experienced girls gave the younger ones encouragement throughout the approximately 3-mile course.
“You could really tell they were feeding off each other,” Anderson said.
Orr, Steen and Morgan O’Connor each made the 2009 All-State cross country team, according to Washington State High School Cross Country and Track and Field.
At the boys’ meet, Skyline speedster, junior Kyle Branch finished 13th overall with a time of 15:50.
“It’s been another fantastic season,” Anderson said. “For us, winning state … that’s their ultimate goal, but we feel that’s not what defines us as a team. It’s the ultimate bonus to an already successful season.”
At the coaches meeting Nov. 6, the state cross country coaches association nominated Anderson for Washington girls’ cross country coach of the year, he said.
Reporter Christopher Huber can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 242, or chuber@isspress.com. Comment on this story at www.sammamishreview.com.
The Eastlake girls cross country team had a lot of uncertainties going into its run at the state meet Nov. 7 at Sun Willows Golf Course in Tri-Cities. Senior workhorse Erin Blodnick had a sore ankle and Haley O’Connor was unable to run.
“Going into it we had some anxieties,” said head coach Troy Anderson. Read more
Changes coming to City Council
November 10, 2009
By Ari Cetron and J.B. Wogan
The Sammamish City Council will have three new faces in January. Voters seemed generally eager for a new direction and rejected one incumbent and two members of the Planning Commission who were backed by current council members.
Turnout was moderate with a little more than 45 percent of the city’s 26,230 registered voters bothering to mail in their ballot. However, that number will continue to creep up over the coming days as the final, late arriving ballots are processed.
Although there are still some to be counted, the margins of victory are so high that it seems unlikely that any of the candidates currently behind will be able to pull ahead.
The one incumbent who won, Don Gerend, rose above the fray and trounced political newcomer Michael Rutt by a 70-30 margin. Gerend will become the only member of the original, 1999 City Council still serving.
“I’m very humbled. The people have basically said I’ve done a good job and they want me to continue,” Gerend said.
Gerend was grateful to have an opponent, which he said will make him a sharper leader.
“I really enjoyed it, by participating in the forums and the interviews, it made me put things in perspective,” he said.
He was encouraged by the tone struck by the other candidates who will be joining him on the council.
“They sound fiscally conservative, sensitive to the needs of the community … and also sensitive to the fact that we have to diversify in terms of revenue by encouraging the Town Center to grow and mature,” he said.
Tom Odell, a retired marketing director, will be moving to the council after knocking off 10-year councilman Jack Barry. Odell is winning 58-42.
Odell said he was surprised by the size of his victory, but looks forward to his time on the council.
“I think we’re all coming in as agents of change, but managed change,” he said. “We have a city that’s pretty darn good, frankly.”
The other two races featured outsiders who defeated Planning Commissioners. Both commissioners had been supported by current members of the City Council.
John James, a real estate agent who’s run for council before, defeated Planning Commissioner Erica Tiliacos. James received 57 percent of the vote to 42 for Tiliacos.
James planned to celebrate his victory by going out for ice cream.
“I promised the kids I was going to buy them ice cream, regardless,” he said.
John Curley, a former host of television’s “Evening Magazine” has received his congratulatory call from opponent Tom Vance. Curley won the closest race of the year by a solid 54-46 margin.
Curley, however, said he plans to be cautious, and not celebrate his victory until all the votes have been counted.
“I’m really waiting for the fat lady to sing,” he said.
In the Issaquah School District, Marnie Maraldo topped Wright Noel 58-41. Chad Magendanz cruised to an unopposed win.
In the Lake Washington schools, Sammamish resident Doug Eglington won re-election 78-21. His opponent, Julie Wright had withdrawn.
In countywide races, County Councilman Dow Constantine beat former television newswoman Susan Hutchison 58-41.
All four of King County’s charter amendments passed by hefty margins.
Lloyd Hara looks to become the county’s next assessor.
On the statewide ballot initiatives, Sammamish-specific results will not be available for a few weeks. However, both issues seem decided.
R-71, which would guarantee marriage-like benefits for homosexual couples and unmarried heterosexual senior citizen couples looks like it will pass statewide with the current margin of victory at 52 percent to 48 percent.
I-1033, which would have imposed tax collection caps on state and local governments seems like it will be defeated, 57 percent of voters rejected the measure while 43 voted for it.
King County’s election results will continue to be updated daily at about 4:30 p.m. for the next few days.
To see the most current vote tallies, visit http://your.kingcounty.gov/elections/200911/results.aspx.
Editor Ari Cetron can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 233, or samrev@isspress.com. To comment on this story, visit www.SammamishReview.com.
The Sammamish City Council will have three new faces in January. Voters seemed generally eager for a new direction and rejected one incumbent and two members of the Planning Commission who were backed by current council members. Read more
‘Shovel ready’ didn’t mean ready to dig
November 10, 2009
By J.B. Wogan
The city of Sammamish was one of the first public agencies to snag stimulus funding from the federal government, but with nearly a year delay before construction, the funding isn’t stimulating anything, yet.
Sammamish’s brush with stimulus funding, through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act passed by Congress in February, points to one of the ways the stimulus package isn’t working exactly as advertised.
Under the act’s “purposes and principles,” the bill directs the president and heads of federal departments to commence “expenditures and activities as quickly as possible consistent with prudent management.”
The city received $3.5 million in April for a redesign of three-tenths of a mile along the East Lake Sammamish Parkway, but has the project scheduled to begin in the spring of 2010.
The project entails adding a sidewalk on the east side, commuter bike lanes in both directions, and a middle left-turn lane that sometimes becomes a median. This is the northern extension of a construction project from the summer, which involved adding the same features to half a mile from Inglewood Hill Road to Northeast 18th Place.
The city won the stimulus funding because the Public Works Department presented the project as “shovel ready,” which, under the definition provided by the state and the Puget Sound Regional Council, it was.
Public Works Director John Cunningham said the application his department filled out required that a project be “obligated” by July 1. To obligate a project meant that it was already fully designed, met federal requirements under the National Environmental Protection Act, and had received a final approval from the state Department of Transportation. The city also had to meet federal requirements to complete a value engineering study, which was a review of the project’s design by independent engineers. Sammamish could and did meet these requirements.
But obligating a project does not mean starting construction. In the case of Sammamish’s parkway project, the rainy season led to a delay. The city also sought to prevent serious traffic problems by having two contractors working simultaneously on adjacent portions of the parkway. It wanted to finish Phase 1A, from Inglewood Hill Road to Northeast 18th Place, before extending north. The end result is that the effects of a stimulus package designed to combat unemployment by creating or saving new jobs as quickly as possible won’t be realized until six months after the obligation date and at least a year after the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act passed.
“The purpose was to spend this money as rapidly as possible to stabilize the economy,” noted Dick Conway, co-publisher of Puget Sound Economic Forecaster newsletter and a part-time professor of applied regional economics at the University of Washington.
Sammamish’s small slice of the stimulus pie might be part of a larger story of delayed impacts from the stimulus package. An Oct. 31 story from The Seattle Times noted that only about a quarter of the stimulus funds the state received have yet to be spent.
State economists are already predicting that the stimulus’ impacts will lag more than a year behind the passing of the recovery act.
“We said the maximum impact of the stimulus in the state will be in the third quarter of 2010,” said Arun Raha, chief economist of the state and executive director of the Economic and Revenue Forecast Council.
Raha said the council’s forecast model took into account low construction activity during the winter months (among many other factors).
Conway observed that in general, the fiscal policy of distributing stimulus funding was slow going, but it appeared to be working and unemployment was probably not rising as fast as it otherwise would be.
Measuring the impacts of the stimulus funding is complicated and open to some interpretation, which is why Republicans and Democrats can look at the same evidence and draw wildly different conclusions, Conway said.
“The fiscal policy is most likely helping, but it’s not clear how much it’s helping,” he said.
Economists need to consider indirect benefits of creating or saving one job, such as creating other jobs, he said.
Cunningham said the parkway project would create jobs for the contractor and for its subcontractors, in addition to causing new spending for construction-related materials.
Cunningham also pointed out that the stimulus-funded parkway project (phase 1B) did not have funding set aside in the city budget. In 2010, when construction does begin, the stimulus funding will create jobs that would not otherwise exist, he said.
Reporter J.B. Wogan can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 247, or jbwogan@isspress.com. To comment on this story, visit www.SammamishReview.com.
The city of Sammamish was one of the first public agencies to snag stimulus funding from the federal government, but with nearly a year delay before construction, the funding isn’t stimulating anything, yet.
Sammamish’s brush with stimulus funding, through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act passed by Congress in February, points to one of the ways the stimulus package isn’t working exactly as advertised. Read more
Council approves purchase of more network storage space
November 10, 2009
By J.B. Wogan
The Sammamish City Council authorized the purchase of six terabytes of storage space for a total of $193,033.
That was by far the biggest of the three contracts the council approved at its Nov. 3 meeting.
The council approved a contract with Ivoxy Consulting, a Kirkland-based information technology company, to increase the city’s network storage space.
City Manager Ben Yazici said this would allow council meetings to stream online.
Finance Director Lyman Howard said the change had two main purposes.
“We needed more storage space because we were essentially out,” Howard said.
The added space will also allow staff to work outside of the office, which could become useful during a disaster or if the flu spreads through City Hall, Howard said.
The council also approved a $20,000 contract with UpRoar Advertising, Design and Public Relations for graphic design services.
The Seattle-based company produced Sammamish’s Parks and Recreation Guide in 2008 and the Parks Department opted to renew the contract for another year.
The $20,000 covers another recreation guide, plus summer special event marketing materials.
The council also approved an on-call contract for up to $50,000 for electrical service and maintenance from Sequoyah Electric LLC, a Redmond company.
The contract expires at the end of 2010.
Reporter J.B. Wogan can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 247, or jbwogan@isspress.com. To comment on this story, visit www.SammamishReview.com.
The Sammamish City Council authorized the purchase of six terabytes of storage space for a total of $193,033.
That was by far the biggest of the three contracts the council approved at its Nov. 3 meeting.
The council approved a contract with Ivoxy Consulting, a Kirkland-based information technology company, to increase the city’s network storage space.
City Manager Ben Yazici said this would allow council meetings to stream online. Read more
Fire meeting is a good first step
November 10, 2009
We are pleased that city officials and members of the Eastside Fire & Rescue administration are entering into discussions next week.
Officials from both groups have been at loggerheads over a host of issues that boil down mostly to money. Both sides are right.
Fire and emergency protection services are an area where municipalities can not afford to skimp.
However, for the city, fire service is only one part of a larger budget picture and Sammamish officials must balance dozens of critical services.
The ever-increasing costs of fire service, at a time when Sammamish is seeing its revenue streams dry up mean something has to give.
Hopefully, the groups can work something out. EFR has done a great job serving the citizens of the region and their expertise is unquestioned.
Yet, if Sammamish can provide that same level of service at a lower cost to its taxpayers, city officials would be remiss in their duties if they didn’t consider that option.
Next week, officials from both groups plan to open discussions about the future of Sammamish and EFR.
Now that elections are over, we hope that everyone can hash out the best way to move forward for the people of Sammamish and the region at large.
We are pleased that city officials and members of the Eastside Fire & Rescue administration are entering into discussions next week.
Officials from both groups have been at loggerheads over a host of issues that boil down mostly to money. Both sides are right.
Fire and emergency protection services are an area where municipalities can not afford to skimp.
However, for the city, fire service is only one part of a larger budget picture and Sammamish officials must balance dozens of critical services.
The ever-increasing costs of fire service, at a time when Sammamish is seeing its revenue streams dry up mean something has to give.
Hopefully, the groups can work something out. EFR has done a great job serving the citizens of the region and their expertise is unquestioned.
Yet, if Sammamish can provide that same level of service at a lower cost to its taxpayers, city officials would be remiss in their duties if they didn’t consider that option.
Next week, officials from both groups plan to open discussions about the future of Sammamish and EFR.
Now that elections are over, we hope that everyone can hash out the best way to move forward for the people of Sammamish and the region at large.
Congratulations cross country
November 10, 2009
The signs of fall have truly arrived on the Sammamish Plateau. The leaves have changed colors, the rain has arrived and the sun seems to go down a tad after lunch.
But the other perennial sign of fall in Sammamish is the steady stream of state championships. The first this year, and likely not the last, came on Nov. 7.
Eastlake’s girls cross country team won its second consecutive state title. The championship was not one on the strength of one or two standout runners. It happened because the girls work together as a team and encourage each other.
Good work girls, we’re all proud of you.
The signs of fall have truly arrived on the Sammamish Plateau. The leaves have changed colors, the rain has arrived and the sun seems to go down a tad after lunch.
But the other perennial sign of fall in Sammamish is the steady stream of state championships. The first this year, and likely not the last, came on Nov. 7.
Eastlake’s girls cross country team won its second consecutive state title. The championship was not one on the strength of one or two standout runners. It happened because the girls work together as a team and encourage each other.
Good work girls, we’re all proud of you.
Sammamish Forum November 11
November 10, 2009
Consider organ
donation
As November begins, we all begin to think about the holidays around the corner. There is food to be made, family to be invited, and gifts to be bought. But what if the greatest gift of all was not found in a store? What if the greatest gift was the gift of life?
Every one of us has this gift to give. Through organ, eye and tissue donation, we can give the greatest gift of all and it doesn’t cost a dime.
The extraordinary gift of a big breath of air for someone waiting for lungs; of seeing for the first time for someone who needs cornea replacement; to walk without a limp for someone who needs an ACL knee repair.
My family was able to give the gift of life through my husband Ken. Ten years ago, he died in an accident and the comfort it brings to me still – knowing that his heart and other vital organs/tissue/cornea have improved or even saved the lives of others brings a peace beyond imagination.
Our own lives have been changed positively today as much from the donation process as we were negatively impacted by Ken’s loss.
So grateful we are that we remain a part of the mission to donate life.
Organ, eye and tissue donation is more than a gift — it is an extraordinary way to help another human. One organ, eye and tissue donor can save or enhance the lives of more than 50 people.
This holiday season; make your donor designation the top of your gift list.
Ask others to do the same for you. Share your decision with family and friends, and encourage others to register to an organ, eye, and tissue donor at www.DonateLifeToday.com. What better gift could you possibly give?
Elaine Morse
Sammamish
Barricades are needed
This is in response to the article in the Nov. 4 Sammamish Review titled “Why connect?”
Julie James is quoted as saying the barricade is a “stupid obstacle in my neighborhood.” While I can understand that there are times that the barricade seems inconvenient, as long as it is there the children walking to school will be safe.
With the lack of site distance at that barricade, removing it for convenience will most likely result in tragedy. The road the barricade is on is not finished and does not have sidewalks the full length of it.
As for the inconvenience of having to drop her five children off at three different schools, perhaps she should put them on the buses supplied by the district and therefore saving herself the commute completely.
Lori Barnett
Sammamish
Review was right
Thank you, Sammamish Review for your editorial regarding city communication. I think the city invests a good deal of time, energy and resources in soliciting input, explaining plans, making themselves available, etc.
You got it just right when you pointed out that “some citizens are simply lazy.”
Ken Smith
Sammamish
Thanks to donors
Jimmy Fund Golf extends a heartfelt thank you to the organizers and sponsors of the annual Christopher S. Elliot Memorial Golf Tournament held Oct. 2 at The Golf Club at Newcastle. A special thanks goes to Dellann Elliot, of Sammamish, who organized the eighth annual event.
The many participants and sponsors helped raise critical funds in memory of Christopher S. Elliot to support lifesaving cancer research and care at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
This year marks the 27th year of Jimmy Fund Golf, one of the largest organized golf programs for charity in the country. Tournaments are established and organized by volunteers who create these events to combine their love for golf with their desire to support the fight against cancer.
The annual Christopher S. Elliot Memorial Golf Tournament was one of the many golf tournaments that will be held in 2009 to raise funds for the Jimmy Fund and Dana-Farber. Nearly $70 million has been raised by these dedicated volunteers since 1983.
Nancy Rowe
Director, Jimmy Fund Golf
Reporting was off
I must raise issue with the reporting on the city of Sammamish community meetings about removing barricades. (‘Why Connect?’ by J. B. Wogan.)
I attended the meeting on Oct. 28, missing my mother-in-law’s birthday to do my duty as a 17-year citizen of Sammamish. Of the six tables of eight-10 people each, only one person was adamant about removing barriers.
The rest of the participants presented thoughtful and reasoned priorities for review of connectivity. In every case, safety was the the number one concern and maintaining the character of the neighborhoods the second.
In addition, many participants asked that connectivity be expanded to include pedestrian, bicycle and even public transportation, not just cars.
I hope that the next time the citizens of Sammamish exercise their right to participate in their government, the Sammamish Review will be more balanced in its coverage.
Halima Thea Levkovitz
Sammamish
Consider organ donation
As November begins, we all begin to think about the holidays around the corner. There is food to be made, family to be invited, and gifts to be bought. But what if the greatest gift of all was not found in a store? What if the greatest gift was the gift of life?
Every one of us has this gift to give. Through organ, eye and tissue donation, we can give the greatest gift of all and it doesn’t cost a dime.
The extraordinary gift of a big breath of air for someone waiting for lungs; of seeing for the first time for someone who needs cornea replacement; to walk without a limp for someone who needs an ACL knee repair.
My family was able to give the gift of life through my husband Ken. Ten years ago, he died in an accident and the comfort it brings to me still – knowing that his heart and other vital organs/tissue/cornea have improved or even saved the lives of others brings a peace beyond imagination.
Our own lives have been changed positively today as much from the donation process as we were negatively impacted by Ken’s loss.
So grateful we are that we remain a part of the mission to donate life.
Organ, eye and tissue donation is more than a gift — it is an extraordinary way to help another human. One organ, eye and tissue donor can save or enhance the lives of more than 50 people.
This holiday season; make your donor designation the top of your gift list.
Ask others to do the same for you. Share your decision with family and friends, and encourage others to register to an organ, eye, and tissue donor at www.DonateLifeToday.com. What better gift could you possibly give?
Elaine Morse
Sammamish
Barricades are needed
This is in response to the article in the Nov. 4 Sammamish Review titled “Why connect?”
Julie James is quoted as saying the barricade is a “stupid obstacle in my neighborhood.” While I can understand that there are times that the barricade seems inconvenient, as long as it is there the children walking to school will be safe.
With the lack of site distance at that barricade, removing it for convenience will most likely result in tragedy. The road the barricade is on is not finished and does not have sidewalks the full length of it.
As for the inconvenience of having to drop her five children off at three different schools, perhaps she should put them on the buses supplied by the district and therefore saving herself the commute completely.
Lori Barnett
Sammamish
Review was right
Thank you, Sammamish Review for your editorial regarding city communication. I think the city invests a good deal of time, energy and resources in soliciting input, explaining plans, making themselves available, etc.
You got it just right when you pointed out that “some citizens are simply lazy.”
Ken Smith
Sammamish
Thanks to donors
Jimmy Fund Golf extends a heartfelt thank you to the organizers and sponsors of the annual Christopher S. Elliot Memorial Golf Tournament held Oct. 2 at The Golf Club at Newcastle. A special thanks goes to Dellann Elliot, of Sammamish, who organized the eighth annual event.
The many participants and sponsors helped raise critical funds in memory of Christopher S. Elliot to support lifesaving cancer research and care at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
This year marks the 27th year of Jimmy Fund Golf, one of the largest organized golf programs for charity in the country. Tournaments are established and organized by volunteers who create these events to combine their love for golf with their desire to support the fight against cancer.
The annual Christopher S. Elliot Memorial Golf Tournament was one of the many golf tournaments that will be held in 2009 to raise funds for the Jimmy Fund and Dana-Farber. Nearly $70 million has been raised by these dedicated volunteers since 1983.
Nancy Rowe
Director, Jimmy Fund Golf
Reporting was off
I must raise issue with the reporting on the city of Sammamish community meetings about removing barricades. (‘Why Connect?’ by J. B. Wogan.)
I attended the meeting on Oct. 28, missing my mother-in-law’s birthday to do my duty as a 17-year citizen of Sammamish. Of the six tables of eight-10 people each, only one person was adamant about removing barriers.
The rest of the participants presented thoughtful and reasoned priorities for review of connectivity. In every case, safety was the the number one concern and maintaining the character of the neighborhoods the second.
In addition, many participants asked that connectivity be expanded to include pedestrian, bicycle and even public transportation, not just cars.
I hope that the next time the citizens of Sammamish exercise their right to participate in their government, the Sammamish Review will be more balanced in its coverage.
Halima Thea Levkovitz
Sammamish
Sammamish, EFR officials to meet and talk out differences
November 10, 2009
By J.B. Wogan
Eastside Fire & Rescue officials will meet with members of the City Council to try and hash out some of their recent disagreements Nov. 16
“It’s time for us to get to the issues,” Sammamish City Councilman Jack Barry said. “It’s now the time to put the emotion aside and talk about what’s important to us.”
At back-to-back meetings Oct. 13, public officials exchanged heated words, accusing one another of using deceitful tactics to hide the truth. EFR Chairman Ron Pedee followed up those meetings with a letter to the Sammamish City Council Oct. 20 where he referenced “the political silly season” and said untrue allegations needed to be confronted and understood.
Deputy Chief Jeff Griffin said he’s been working with city staff to hammer out exactly what fire protection costs the city, allowing everyone to be on the same page. One common complaint since conflict arose between EFR and Sammamish is that cost estimates either don’t match or keep changing.
The plan for the Nov. 16 meeting is slightly different in scope from how it was envisioned by the EFR Board of Directors in early October.
At that time, Chairman Ron Pedee suggested that EFR host a forum for all EFR partners and their elected bodies. EFR covers Sammamish, Issaquah, North Bend, Carnation and parts of unincorporated King County.
EFR’s legislative body has representatives from the city councils of Sammamish, Issaquah and North Bend, plus the fire commissions of King County fire districts 10 and 38.
That larger meeting has been postponed.
Sammamish Mayor Don Gerend said he thought it would be best to delay such a meeting until after the Sammamish City Council elections, when the city would know who planned to sit on EFR’s Board of Directors in 2010.
One of Sammamish’s representatives, Lee Fellinge, is not seeking re-election and will be replaced.
The city’s other representative, Jack Barry, has likely lost his seat on the City Council. As a result, Sammamish will place two new faces on the EFR board.
Sammamish’s gripes with EFR staff could impact the other EFR partners.
Sammamish is in the middle of a financial evaluation of its current fire protection under EFR.
Sammamish could choose to form its own fire department or try to contract fire protection service with EFR.
If Sammamish broke from EFR, the cost of fire service for the remaining four partners would go up. It would also be a change from recent discussions at EFR board meetings where staff presented ways to collaborate with, or outright incorporate other fire agencies in the partnership.
Reporter J.B. Wogan can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 247, or jbwogan@isspress.com. To comment on this story, visit www.SammamishReview.com.
Eastside Fire & Rescue officials will meet with members of the City Council to try and hash out some of their recent disagreements Nov. 16
“It’s time for us to get to the issues,” Sammamish City Councilman Jack Barry said. “It’s now the time to put the emotion aside and talk about what’s important to us.”
At back-to-back meetings Oct. 13, public officials exchanged heated words, accusing one another of using deceitful tactics to hide the truth. EFR Chairman Ron Pedee followed up those meetings with a letter to the Sammamish City Council Oct. 20 where he referenced “the political silly season” and said untrue allegations needed to be confronted and understood. Read more
Sex offender left city and doesn’t present a danger
November 10, 2009
By J.B. Wogan
Police say parents don’t have to worry about recent rumors about a “noncompliant” sex offender looming near Sunny Hills Elementary School. They know where he is and they don’t believe there’s any cause for alarm.
An Oct. 29 newsletter from Sunny Hills addressed rumors of a “noncompliant” sex offender living near the school.
Sunny Hills Principal Sarah White said she decided to go ahead with putting a message in the school’s online newsletter because the school had fielded a handful of phone calls and in-person questions from parents about Timothy Dorris, a 20-year-old who was found guilty of rape of a child in the first degree in 2002.
Dorris’ online profile on the state’s sex offender registry showed that he was “noncompliant,” which could have meant he was off the police’s radar and hadn’t been checking in with authorities.
White said rumors began spreading Oct. 21, and parents had been concerned that the school wasn’t aware of the sex offender and wasn’t educating other parents of a possible danger, White said.
But when White checked with police, they told her it probably meant Dorris wasn’t living near Sunny Hills anymore.
Sgt. John Urquhart, a spokesman for the King County Sheriff’s Office, said the “noncompliant” status is misleading and the result of a paperwork error.
“We are well aware of him. We know where he is. We’ve talked to him,” Urquhart said. He added that Dorris had moved to Redmond, even though the state’s online sex offender registry didn’t show it yet.
Reporter J.B. Wogan can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 247, or jbwogan@isspress.com. To comment on this story, visit www.SammamishReview.com.
Police say parents don’t have to worry about recent rumors about a “noncompliant” sex offender looming near Sunny Hills Elementary School. They know where he is and they don’t believe there’s any cause for alarm.
An Oct. 29 newsletter from Sunny Hills addressed rumors of a “noncompliant” sex offender living near the school. Read more
After the election, campaign funds paint picture
November 10, 2009
By J.B. Wogan
A review of contributions throughout the City Council campaign season shows that three candidates received support from people and organizations concerned about property and development rights.
In some cases, Republican support of these nonpartisan candidates seemed to overlap those contributions.
John James, John Curley and Jack Barry shared five of the same contributors: the Affordable Housing Council, Boyer Halvorsen, Michael Collins, Julie Mizrahi, the Cascade Republican Women; two of those candidates (Barry and Curley) received contributions from Kathy Lambert, the King County Councilwoman for Sammamish and several other parts of east King County.
While the office is nominally nonpartisan, Lambert is a Republican.
Judith Finney, president of the Cascade Republican Women, said her group supported James, Curley and Barry first because they were fiscal conservatives. In addition, “they’re interested in smaller government and they have respect for private property,” she said.
The Affordable Housing Council is the political action committee set up by the Building Industry Association of Washington. The committee’s Web site says it supports “pro-business and pro-housing candidates that support the building industry and the continued economic growth of the state.”
Halvorsen and Collins were both involved in fighting for less stringent building regulations on Sammamish’s lake shorelines this summer.
Other residents like Mizrahi, Richard Creson and C.J. Kahler were also lakefront homeowners who contributed to at least two of the three candidates. Mizrahi gave to James, Curley and Barry. Creson gave to James and Barry, and his wife Martha gave to Barry and Curley. Kahler gave to James and Barry.
Two other candidates in the election, Tom Vance and Erica Tiliacos, were on the Planning Commission that delivered an unpopular recommendation to the City Council in January.
The commission’s Shoreline Master Plan had strict standards (more so than the final council document) with regards to rebuilding a damaged home, vegetation buffers and more.
Lakefront property owners like George and Ginette Toskey, Reid Brown and Kathleen Richardson (all Barry contributors), Reid Brockway (a James contributor), Kahler, Collins and Halvorsen appealed for more flexible regulations that wouldn’t cause insurance problems and wouldn’t diminish a homeowner’s ability to sell his or her lakefront property.
(Their work on the regulations spanned beyond those two issues — they also worked to make the Shoreline Master Plan clearer, and they actually endorsed a stricter standard —from the current standard — for tree retention on Pine and Beaver lakes.)
Michael Collins said that the homeowners involved with the Shoreline Master Plan process discussed putting together organized political endorsements, but chose not to.
Though most of the key players in the process ended up contributing to overlapping candidates, Collins said homeowners supported those candidates individually.
Speaking for himself, Collins said he contributed to the campaigns of James, Barry, Curley and Tom Odell for much the same reason: They took the time to sit down and talk with him about their positions. They represented hope for a more accessible local government, he said.
He admitted that he did not like the Planning Commission’s Shoreline Master Plan, but said that he didn’t know how each commissioner voted on each part of the plan, and did not base his support of candidates solely on that issue.
With regards to Tiliacos, he said that her expressed desire to repurpose City Hall for a teen center was a game changer for him.
“I was extremely surprised by that comment,” Collins said.
Two of the three candidates supported by shoreline homeowners won their election bids. Collins, who contributed to both Barry and his opponent Tom Odell, contributed to the winner of three of the four seats in this election — and the fourth race had candidates that weren’t encouraging contributions.
Candidate Don Gerend observed that the winners in the other three races (Odell, James and Curley) ran on platforms of fiscal conservatism, coupled with a sensitivity to the community’s needs for amenities, especially youth amenities.
He also noted that the council’s deliberations on the shoreline building regulations coincided with the election season, and it was likely that candidates’ positions on those regulations impacted voters’ decisions on who to support.
The other side
John Galvin, a frequent letter writer to the Sammamish Review and property owner in the proposed Town Center area, has claimed that the city’s fate rests firmly in the grips of a political clique. Candidate Michael Rutt, also a Town Center property owner, has voiced a similar opinion. And they aren’t talking about the apparent groundswell of support for James, Curley and Barry.
Contributions do point to a second political block that opposes candidates like James, Curley and Barry. The block is made up of people who have volunteered their time for free to work as advisory board members for the Parks, Planning and Arts commissions, plus some City Council members (who are paid parttime). Those people are further connected because the current council appoints the commissioners, including Vance and Tiliacos, and they often support one another in election campaigns.
Candidates Vance, Tiliacos and Odell not only exchanged contributions among themselves, but received support from sitting City Council members and current commissioners.
Vance received contributions from City Council members Mark Cross, Michele Petitti, Kathy Huckabay, and Lee Fellinge; Richard Whitten, the husband of City Councilwoman Nancy Whitten, also contributed to his campaign. In addition, he received contributions from Parks Commissioners Mary Doerrer and Rena Brady, Planning Commissioners Scott Hamilton and Stan Bump, and Arts Commissioner Carol Ross.
Both Tiliacos and Odell received contributions from Huckabay, Doerrer, Brady, Hamilton and Bump.
Reporter J.B. Wogan can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 247, or jbwogan@isspress.com. To comment on this story, visit www.SammamishReview.com.
A review of contributions throughout the City Council campaign season shows that three candidates received support from people and organizations concerned about property and development rights.
In some cases, Republican support of these nonpartisan candidates seemed to overlap those contributions.
John James, John Curley and Jack Barry shared five of the same contributors: the Affordable Housing Council, Boyer Halvorsen, Michael Collins, Julie Mizrahi, the Cascade Republican Women; two of those candidates (Barry and Curley) received contributions from Kathy Lambert, the King County Councilwoman for Sammamish and several other parts of east King County. Read more
