After the election, campaign funds paint picture
November 10, 2009
By J.B. Wogan
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.
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.
Campaign finance numbers
Who had the most contributions?
John Curley, with 75 separate donations
Who raised the most money?
Curley, with $13,122
Who received the biggest single contribution?
John James, with two $1,000 donations from the Washington Association of Realtors
Who received the highest number of Sammamish contributions?
Erica Tiliacos, with 35
Who spent the most campaign money?
Tiliacos, with $10,310
Who spent the least campaign money?
Don Gerend, whose only expense was his candidate filing fee
Reporter J.B. Wogan can be reached at 392-6434, ext. 247, or jbwogan@isspress.com.
Other Stories of Interest: Election 2009
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