David Spring enters 5th District race
January 26, 2010
Another democrat has entered the race to unseat incumbent Glenn Anderson (R-5) for the November general election.
North Bend resident David Spring will challenge Anderson and fellow democrat Dean Willard. Spring lost to Anderson in the 2008 general election by 3.16 percentage points. Read more
Dean Willard to challenge Glenn Anderson in 5th District
December 29, 2009
By Warren Kagarise and Laura Geggel
The race to represent Sammamish in Olympia kicked off this month.
Dean Willard, a Sammamish resident, former T-Mobile executive and Democrat, entered the 2010 race for the state House seat held by Glenn Anderson.
Anderson, a Fall City Republican, was first elected to represent the 5th District in 2000, and re-elected subsequently. Most of Sammamish is in the 5th District. Areas north of Northeast 16th Street are in the 45th District.
Willard said the district has changed since Anderson was elected almost a decade ago. The first-time candidate said he would work to convince voters to send “a more moderate representative” to Olympia.
Willard cited population growth in the district, and said new residents helped shift the character from rural to suburban.
Voters “are looking for a pragmatic Democrat who is interested in solving problems,” he said.
Anderson filed paperwork in June with the state Public Disclosure Commission in order to raise money for a 2010 re-election bid. The incumbent had raised about $19,000 by late December, records show.
Anderson plans to step up campaign activities after the legislative session wraps in the spring.
Willard, a former vice president at Bellevue-based T-Mobile, works as an information technology and security consultant. The local state Democratic committeeman volunteered for Joe Mallahan, the T-Mobile executive who lost a bid last month to become Seattle mayor. He also volunteered for Democrats in past 5th District races.
Willard said as a Democrat he could be a more effective representative than Anderson. Democrats control both houses in the Legislature. Gov. Chris Gregoire is also a Democrat.
Anderson was re-elected last year. He garnered about 52 percent of the vote over challenger David Spring.
The race to represent Sammamish in Olympia kicked off this month.
Dean Willard, a Sammamish resident, former T-Mobile executive and Democrat, entered the 2010 race for the state House seat held by Glenn Anderson.
Anderson, a Fall City Republican, was first elected to represent the 5th District in 2000, and re-elected subsequently. Most of Sammamish is in the 5th District. Areas north of Northeast 16th Street are in the 45th District.
Willard said the district has changed since Anderson was elected almost a decade ago. The first-time candidate said he would work to convince voters to send “a more moderate representative” to Olympia.
Willard cited population growth in the district, and said new residents helped shift the character from rural to suburban.
Voters “are looking for a pragmatic Democrat who is interested in solving problems,” he said.
Anderson filed paperwork in June with the state Public Disclosure Commission in order to raise money for a 2010 re-election bid. The incumbent had raised about $19,000 by late December, records show.
Anderson plans to step up campaign activities after the legislative session wraps in the spring.
Willard, a former vice president at Bellevue-based T-Mobile, works as an information technology and security consultant. The local state Democratic committeeman volunteered for Joe Mallahan, the T-Mobile executive who lost a bid last month to become Seattle mayor. He also volunteered for Democrats in past 5th District races.
Willard said as a Democrat he could be a more effective representative than Anderson. Democrats control both houses in the Legislature. Gov. Chris Gregoire is also a Democrat.
Anderson was re-elected last year. He garnered about 52 percent of the vote over challenger David Spring.
Reporter Laura Geggel contributed to this story.
Greg Hoover runs against Jay Rodne in 5th District
December 29, 2009
By J.B. Wogan
Greg Hoover, a Sammamish resident, announced Dec. 22 that he would seek a position in the state House of Representatives.
Hoover, a Realtor and real estate attorney, will run in 2010 against Republican Jay Rodne for one of the two 5th Legislative District seats.
Most of Sammamish is in the 5th District. Areas north of Northeast 16th Street are in the 45th District.
Hoover is casting himself as a tough business professional with an optimistic streak.
The state is facing a predicted $2.6 billion budget deficit that will surely dominate the 2010 legislative session.
What does Hoover propose to do about these tough times? His early positions are based around things he won’t do, like raising taxes.
He said he is against introducing an income tax, too.
“It’s going to cost a lot of money just to get it started,” Hoover said, adding that it was a less convenient revenue source than the sales tax. “It’s a tax that’s hard to collect on.”
Hoover has a master’s degree in tax law, in addition to his general law degree.
Hoover also said he wouldn’t vote for deeper cuts in state education funding and was against teacher-to-student ratios ballooning beyond what they currently are.
Hoover also wouldn’t be in favor of tolling Interstate 90.
“I think that would ask way too much of people on the Eastside, specifically in the 5th District,” he explained.
He said he was less sure of whether the state should toll state Route 520.
Hoover described himself as a moderate Democrat, with the emphasis on moderate. While he was glad Referen-dum 71 passed in November, he would not vote in favor of a gay marriage bill, he said.
He said he was pro-choice, but felt conflicted about the position, given that he is also Catholic.
Hoover’s opponent, Rep. Jay Rodne, declared his candidacy in early December and has raised $9,400 so far, according to the Public Disclosure Commission.
Rodne was appointed to a seat in the Legislature in 2004 when then-5th District representative Cheryl Pflug became a state senator.
Rodne won an uncontested election campaign in 2006 and defeated Democrat Jon Viebrock in 2008 by more than 19 points.
Greg Hoover, a Sammamish resident, announced Dec. 22 that he would seek a position in the state House of Representatives.
Hoover, a Realtor and real estate attorney, will run in 2010 against Republican Jay Rodne for one of the two 5th Legislative District seats.
Most of Sammamish is in the 5th District. Areas north of Northeast 16th Street are in the 45th District. Read more
County executive candidates shift focus to Eastside
October 13, 2009
By Warren Kagarise
King County executive candidates Dow Constantine and Susan Hutchison are engaged in a down-to-the-wire push to appeal to Eastside voters. But political experts said the effort by the candidates, both Seattleites, could be difficult.
Voters will decide between Constantine, chairman of the King County Council and a former state lawmaker, and Hutchison, director of the nonprofit Charles Simonyi Fund for Arts and Sciences and a former KIRO news anchor. The next leader will oversee about 300,000 people who live in unincorporated King County, where the executive functions almost as a mayor. About 1.8 million people live in the county.
Voters knocked the Eastside candidates — state lawmakers Fred Jarrett and Ross Hunter — out of the race in August. Jarrett and Hutchison took Issaquah precincts. Constantine won most of Seattle.
Despite the candidates’ efforts to generate regional appeal, Issaquah voters “still have a sense of being a long, long way from downtown Seattle and the courthouse,” Seattle political consultant Cathy Allen said.
Constantine and Hutchison have high hurdles to overcome. Allen said voters wonder if Constantine represents the ineffective status quo and whether Hutchison is competent to lead.
Neighborhood issues
Talk turns to rural land use, transit and the future role of county government when the Eastside is discussed.
Klahanie Park and 38 other parks are set to close Jan. 1 under a plan unveiled in August by King County Executive Kurt Triplett.
Constantine and Hutchison said Klahanie Park could be kept open if a deal could be struck with a nonprofit organization or residents to maintain the property.
“Each park is going to have a different solution,” Constantine said. “My point to the executive was, you shouldn’t just shutter these parks having not given enough time for those very complicated deals to be negotiated.”
Hutchison also said the soon-to-close parks would be a high priority in her administration.
“My promise is that we’ll get those parks open by May,” Hutchison said. “We’ll work through the winter months to put together those partnerships, whether they be with nearby cities or companies or organizations or with management groups.”
Issaquah and Sammamish have annexed unincorporated areas into their respective cities, but the effort to bring Klahanie into Issaquah was rejected.
Constantine said he would work with state legislators and officials in Issaquah and Sammamish to determine where Klahanie would best fit as the county encourages cities to annex unincorporated urban land.
“We will have to scale our services and change the character of them to meet that particularly rural governing need,” Constantine said. “At the same time, we have an opportunity as the only truly regional government here to work with the 39 cities, work with the special-purpose districts, work with the tribes to figure out how, in a new era, with limited resources, we can deliver services to people.”
Hutchison stressed the importance of annexations as a way to slow the growth of county government and shift some responsibilities to cities.
“This is not new. This annexing of these various properties throughout the county has been going on for years,” Hutchison said. “That area that is the county jurisdiction to govern has been growing smaller. However, county government has grown at more than twice the rate of inflation, and that’s what we’ve got to get a handle on. We cannot continue to grow government at twice the right of inflation and expect it to be sustainable.”
Promises to change tone
Calls for cooperation between county officials and municipal leaders are a hallmark of both executive campaigns. Constantine and Hutchison also acknowledged the frayed relationship between county government and pockets of rural residents.
Opponents dubbed Constantine “Chairman Dow” during the ugly 2008 debate about the Critical Areas Ordinance, a measure to limit land clearing and establish buffers around wetlands.
“I took what was a very rough package, unfinished package of ordinances that the executive sent to us in 2004, and I’ve shouldered the responsibility of leading the council around the county and hearing from some very angry and frustrated residents about the contents of that package, and also the way they’ve been treated over the years by the county’s building department,” he said.
Constantine said he would reform the Department of Development and Environmental Services, so building permits are processed cheaply and quickly.
“I represent rural landowners on Vashon and Maury islands, thousands and thousands of them,” Constantine said. “I’ve been with them for my time in the House and the Senate and on the County Council dealing directly with their issues about developing their land. I know these things personally.”
Hutchison said the attitude of county government in relation to municipal officials and residents needs to change.
“As a county, we have to start working more closely and more cooperatively with the state, but we also have to work more closely and more cooperatively with the cities,” she said. “Everywhere I go in King County, all I hear about is how the county is arrogant, disdainful, disrespectful of the cities, elected officials and county citizens.”
Calls to overhaul transit
The candidates said more mass transit options are critical to serve fast-growing Eastside cities.
Hutchison suggested installing GPS units on Metro buses in order for riders to track buses and better plan trips. She said she would create a panel of bus drivers to determine better fare enforcement.
Hutchison said the transit agency should improve how it collects fares, and consider demonstration routes — or add service along a route for six months to gauge how successful it could be. If a route proved a success, she said, service could be increased. If not, Metro could retool.
“Our Metro system is one of the most expensive in the country,” Hutchison said. “Because of that, it costs more to move a passenger on our system. We need to — with the use of the auditing teams and the traffic engineers and good business principles — we need to cut back on the cost of running Metro.”
Constantine said the transit model should be updated to reflect where growth has occurred.
“This is the moment when we begin to retool our regional institutions to view King County as it is and not as it was,” Constantine said. “As it was, it was one city surrounded by bedroom communities. As it is, it is a couple dozen or more urban centers … that need to be served by infrastructure, including particularly high-capacity transit infrastructure.”
Both candidates support tolling the state Route 520 bridge to raise money to build a replacement structure. But the challengers differed on whether to toll the Interstate 90 bridges.
“I think that if you toll 520, you have to look at the impacts on I-90,” Constantine said. “If the impacts slow down traffic for the folks who currently use it, to congest [Interstate] 405 as people try to avoid the tolled bridge and get to the untolled bridge, you have to consider tolling on I-90 to avoid that effect.”
Hutchison said officials could be tempted to divert money raised by tolling for bridge construction toward other projects.
“I tie tolling to construction projects,” Hutchison said. “In other words, there is always this danger when government has access to fees or taxes of treating that as the goose laying the golden egg. I believe that when we move to rebuild the 520, it would be appropriate to toll the 520.”
Warren Kagarise: 392-6434, ext. 234, or wkagarise@isspress.com. Comment at www.issaquahpress.com.
King County executive candidates Dow Constantine and Susan Hutchison are engaged in a down-to-the-wire push to appeal to Eastside voters. But political experts said the effort by the candidates, both Seattleites, could be difficult.
Voters will decide between Constantine, chairman of the King County Council and a former state lawmaker, and Hutchison, director of the nonprofit Charles Simonyi Fund for Arts and Sciences and a former KIRO news anchor. The next leader will oversee about 300,000 people who live in unincorporated King County, where the executive functions almost as a mayor. About 1.8 million people live in the county. Read more
Jack Barry gets serious with opponent Tom Odell
September 29, 2009
By J.B. Wogan
When the Municipal League of King County released its ratings of Sammamish City Council candidates in July, something caught Jack Barry’s attention.
Barry, a 10-year incumbent who hadn’t faced an opponent since 1999, was “adequate,” while his challenger, Tom Odell, was “good.”
“I was embarrassed,” Barry said. “But it was I who led them to that decision.”
Red and white signs for Odell litter the main thoroughfares of Sammamish. In addition to doorbelling, Odell handed out red helium balloons to children at every summer event at the Sammamish Commons. Meanwhile nothing, not a sign or flier, listed Barry’s name until September.
Barry said a friend took him aside one day and told him the signs matter – people don’t know that you’re serious about this, that you care, Jack.
Last week, Barry changed his reporting status with the state Public Disclosure Commission because he now plans to spend more than $5,000 on his campaign. He has fliers and signs that have popped up along 228th Avenue and elsewhere. He has a Web site now, too (so does Odell).
So yes, Jack Barry knows about the Municipal League ratings, and no, he’s not bitter.
“I didn’t tell them who I am. I still have time to do that,” he said.
Fiscal management
Both Barry and Odell agree that raising taxes or adding a new tax should be the last possible option.
The question of future financial management has been a recurring theme on the election trail because the city projects a point in the next six years, if not sooner, when its expenses would outstrip revenues.
Barry said the council should continue its strategy of using consultants to pay for one-time expenses.
The city should seek out as many partnership opportunities with nearby public agencies as well, he said.
Odell said he would look for capital projects that need to be delayed like the planned operations and maintenance facility on 244th Avenue or the planned waterfront park on the northern end of East Lake Sammamish Parkway.
Odell also said he would like the council to research whether the city’s traditional use of consultants is still the most efficient way to go. In some cases, the city might save money by hiring talent in-house, he said.
Public outreach
Odell said he liked the creation of council office hours at 5 p.m. Wednesdays and wanted to see those continue.
“I think Don (Gerend) hit on something with the council opens,” he said.
Odell suggested the council open up a booth at the Sammamish Farmers Market during the summer, which might allow the general public to interact with its council more.
Both men are concerned that the office hours have become an opportunity for specific interest groups to have extra face time with the council.
Odell also said he would like to see the City Council study sessions and other city public meetings televised. Currently, only the City Council meetings (where the council takes votes) are on television.
Barry said he would like the council to create more citizen-led focus groups on sensitive issues.
He said that when citizens play a role in making policy decisions that affect them personally, the result is better policy.
He said he would consider focus groups for planning the future recreation center, for developing criteria for barricade removal, and for identifying financial solutions to the city’s budget problems.
Parkway
The single biggest difference between Barry and Odell might be their ideas about East Lake Sammamish Parkway.
They both agree that this summer’s construction at the intersection of Inglewood Hill Road and East Lake Sammamish Parkway was necessary.
The rest of the project, which doesn’t show up on city planning documents before 2015, could cost an estimated $32.7 million.
Odell said he would oppose further wholesale reconstruction on the parkway but might be open to some spot improvements. He would favor using that money for other infrastructure needs.
Barry voted to approve a concept design of 2.5 miles of road construction along the parkway. He points out that most of the project is still not funded, and he says unfunded projects are the equivalent of nonentities.
“I never thought that if you put something on paper, somebody would take it literal,” he said.
He said that if and when the other parts of the planned parkway construction came before the council, he would have a hard time justifying the funding for them.
He also points out that the council has approved a six-year transportation plan with no parkway construction, making the parkway a non-issue for the next term.
“I don’t believe it’s going to happen in four years,” Barry said.
Recreation Center
Odell said he considers the recreation center in the library building to be a good interim step, but he wants to see a larger recreation center in the Town Center area with an aquatic facility.
“I would put it up for a vote,” Odell said
Barry said a comprehensive recreation center with an aquatic facility in the Town Center area is “wishful thinking.”
He said he supports the council’s decision to buy the Sammamish Public Library building — scheduled to be vacated in 2010 — for the purpose of establishing a teen-focused recreation center.
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.
When the Municipal League of King County released its ratings of Sammamish City Council candidates in July, something caught Jack Barry’s attention.
Barry, a 10-year incumbent who hadn’t faced an opponent since 1999, was “adequate,” while his challenger, Tom Odell, was “good.”
“I was embarrassed,” Barry said. “But it was I who led them to that decision.” Read more
Beaver Lake Community Club hosts candidate forum for all Oct. 5
September 29, 2009
By J.B. Wogan
All eight Sammamish City Council candidates have accepted a third candidate forum invitation.
The Beaver Lake Community Club is hosting a forum at the Beaver Lake Lodge from 7-9 p.m. Oct. 5.
Ari Cetron, editor of the Sammamish Review, will be the moderator.
The club decided to have a forum to address issues specific to the Beaver Lake area, according to Tom Melling, the club’s president.
“One of the questions we care about the most is the barricades,” Melling said. Melling said that the possible removal of barricades in the Beaver Lake area is a safety issue.
The other issue dear to the club’s heart is the Beaver Lake Master Plan, he said. (The city’s Parks Department is working on a concept plan for changing Beaver Lake Park. Some of the designs show lights and synthetic turf on the park’s athletic fields, as well as a swim beach area and added parking.)
The club plans to send its questions about barricades and Beaver Lake Park to the candidates ahead of time, but the forum’s overall discussion will have a broader focus. Audience members will have a chance to ask questions, as will the moderator. At the end of the forum, each candidate will have a chance to ask his or her opponent one question. None of those questions are required to be specific to Beaver Lake issues. In each case, the candidates will have one minute to respond.
The candidates have agreed to two other forums in October as well. The Sammamish Chamber of Commerce, Sammamish Kiwanis Club and Sammamish Rotary Club are hosting a forum at Sammamish Hills Lutheran Church, 22818 S.E. 8th St., 7-9 p.m. Oct. 7.
The Sammamish Chamber of Commerce is also hosting an event from 11:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. Oct. 15 at the Plateau Club, 25625 E. Plateau Dr.
All eight Sammamish City Council candidates have accepted a third candidate forum invitation.
The Beaver Lake Community Club is hosting a forum at the Beaver Lake Lodge from 7-9 p.m. Oct. 5.
Ari Cetron, editor of the Sammamish Review, will be the moderator.
The club decided to have a forum to address issues specific to the Beaver Lake area, according to Tom Melling, the club’s president. Read more
Two vie for Issaquah School Board seat in Nov. 3 election
September 29, 2009
Two candidates — Marnie Maraldo and Wright Noel — are running for Issaquah School Board Director District No. 2.
It is the first time in 16 years the seat has been open; longtime board member Connie Fletcher isn’t seeking re-election.
The candidates are largely new to districtwide service, but both are active at their children’s schools and in the greater community.
Marnie Maraldo
u Education: Bachelor of Science in applied mathematics, Liberty University, Va.
u Occupation: Formerly a project manager at Cisco Systems; is a stay-at-home mother of two, Andrew, 10, and Madeline, 6, and part-time employee of Janie and Jack, a children’s clothing store
u Volunteer work: 2009-10 Newcastle Elementary School Parents, Teachers and Students Association co-president; 2008-09 Newcastle Elementary PTSA secretary and legislative representative; Stand For Children team leader; Committee Chair for Cub Scout Pack 738; volunteer for a kindergarten class at City Church in Kirkland
u Wants to be a board member because: “I believe education is the key for future growth of our community. I really want to see change, and as an advocate at the state level, I can help change come into our district. Some of the items in the bill signed last year for education reform won’t go into effect until 2018. I would like to see us get some of those reforms in our district as soon as possible.”
u What is your view of the role of public education in our society?
“To provide an equitable education for all students. It is the responsibility of the state, because the state benefits. If we are going to compete globally in future generations, we have to fix what we are doing now. If we don’t have children graduating from high school that can help our society succeed, those children fall into the people we have to support later.”
u What do you believe the school board’s role is within the school district?
“To provide processes and policies to the school district and basically act as the entity that holds it accountable to its goals.”
u How do you believe your leadership and qualifications will be an asset to the district?
“I come in already knowing a lot about the district because of my volunteer work. I know about our goals for all of our students, how we have been underfunded for a long time and how we are financed by levies and need levy equalization. But I am also a quick learner.”
u What experience in your background has prepared you for this position and how will you use it if elected?
“I would definitely pinpoint my advocacy work. It shows I have a passion for education. I also have experience in leadership and managing experience in innovative industries. I not only see the problems, but I can develop solutions.”
Wright Noel
u Education: Associate degree, Ricks College (now Brigham Young University), Idaho; Bachelor of Science managerial economics, Brigham Young University, Utah; juris doctorate, University of Washington
u Occupation: Founding attorney at Carson & Noel PLLC
u Volunteer work: Former Renton bishop and current Issaquah youth leader for The Church of Jesus Christ and Latter-day Saints; SCORE soccer coach; 5 Star baseball coach; Liberty High School wrestling coach; assistant district commissioner for Boy Scouts; member of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society and the state bar association
u Wants to be a board member because:
“I believe in public education, the good it can do and the importance of it to our society. Because of public education someone can wake up and decide they want to be a CEO or a politician. That is vital to our society and I want to live in that society, so I want to help maintain that.”
u What is your view of the role of public education in our society?
“We are a democratic society and we rely on people to make rational and educated decisions for it to work. The most important things for our kids to learn in today’s complex society are to learn to gather information and weed through it.”
u What do you believe the school board’s role is within the school district?
“One, it reflects and provides information about schools, so the school district can reflect the goals, attributes and desires of the community. Two, it should be evaluating how well the school district is doing according to its goals and determining whether those goals are appropriate ones. Three, by law, it does other things, like approve curriculum and evaluates and hires the superintendent.”
u How do you believe your leadership and qualifications will be an asset to the district? “I have kids from kindergarten to a senior in high school, so I have a perspective that spans the entire education system and how it effects people. I also bring the attribute of being a critical thinker, being a litigation attorney. I would use those skills to evaluate information presented by the school district, and look at it critically and see whether they are accomplishing what they say they are accomplishing.”
u What experience in your background has prepared you for this position and how will you use it if elected? “I have sat on boards and commissions. I understand how to work within them and understand the collaborative process that needs to take place.”
Also up for election is Issaquah School Board member Chad Magendanz for District Director No. 4 representative. He is running unopposed.
Two candidates — Marnie Maraldo and Wright Noel — are running for Issaquah School Board Director District No. 2.
It is the first time in 16 years the seat has been open; longtime board member Connie Fletcher isn’t seeking re-election.
The candidates are largely new to districtwide service, but both are active at their children’s schools and in the greater community. Read more
Tiliacos, James run for open seat
September 22, 2009
By J.B. Wogan
Erica Tiliacos, 53, has cast herself as the experienced candidate prepared to ask the appropriate questions about a range of city issues on day one.
John James, 46, highlights his business background, especially in real estate, and says he understands how to make Sammamish a more attractive place to live: adding more local amenities.
They are vying for Position 1 on the Sammamish City Council Nov. 3. Councilwoman Kathy Huckabay is vacating the seat after 10 years.
While neither candidate is an incumbent, they both tout their experience in civic involvement.
Tiliacos has sat on citizen advisory committees for the City Council since the summer of 2004. Her resume includes sitting on a Town Center citizen task force, a citizen group studying the city’s Critical Areas Ordinance, and currently she is part of the Planning Commission.
James, who lost in the 2007 election to current City Council-woman Nancy Whitten, touts his experience in co-chairing a citizen committee that researched and proposed features for the 2008 parks bond. He said he thinks he understands why the bond failed and what elements of the bond were popular enough to warrant a revisit.
The community center
Both candidates were supportive of the council’s decision to buy the current Sammamish Public Library building — scheduled to be vacated by the King County Library System in early 2010 — but they have different ideas of how to use the building.
The council voted to purchase the building under the assumption that it would become a teen-focused recreation center. Tiliacos questions that decision.
“It’s not very safe for children and teens to be approaching the busiest intersection in the city,” Tiliacos said.
Instead, Tiliacos proposed that the current City Hall become the recreation center, while the library building could become a new city operations and maintenance facility.
“The advantage to that is that we’ve already paid for City Hall and it’s in the heart of the community,” she said.
In that scenario, the city would need to find or build a new office space for City Hall, Tiliacos added.
Tiliacos’ recreation center solution also derails the city’s current plan for an operations and maintenance facility on 244th Avenue. The city has already spent $350,000 in designing the building. It has budgeted $5.3 million for the total project, in addition to the $1.1 million it spent purchasing the land. The city has a construction start date for the maintenance facility in February 2010.
James differs from Tiliacos in that he does support using the library building for a recreation center, though he admits there are limitations to the site, including the single access point from 228th Avenue.
“I see that as an interim situation,” he said.
James said he would still like to see a more comprehensive recreation center built in a more central location, perhaps in the Town Center. But since such a facility wouldn’t become a reality for several years, the library building is a good temporary fix, he said.
James’ plans for a bigger recreation center dovetail into his larger vision of revisiting elements of the failed parks bond. He said he still believes the city needs the waterfront park at the north end of East Lake Sammamish Parkway, more open spaces, more trails and a lighted synthetic athletic field at Pine Lake Middle School.
He said he would also support researching ways to establish an aquatic center, perhaps attached to the recreation center, and another lighted synthetic athletic field at Inglewood Hill Junior High School.
Show me the money
Lyman Howard, city finance director, has warned that under the current funding model, the city’s expenses would outstrip revenues by 2015, if not before.
The city relies heavily on property taxes, impact fees from new construction, plus a real estate excise tax.
In terms of city finances, James is a strong proponent of adding more retail space on the plateau because added retail would translate into more sales tax revenue.
He was not in support of looking at other taxing options.
“I don’t think raising taxes is necessarily a good thing in a depressed economy when people are just trying to make ends meet,” James said.
Tiliacos said she isn’t convinced that more retail would be enough of a solution.
She would like to see the council set up a citizen committee that would collect ideas from the public and from municipal finance professionals on how to resolve the future funding problem.
She added that the committee should not become a scapegoat for the council: “The council does have to lead in this.”
Both candidates say they want the city to explore new ways of connecting to the public. James said he would like to see all City Council meetings broadcast on the city Web site.
In a similar vein, Tiliacos said the city needs to work harder at educating the public, especially when issues might affect private property.
“It would be good for people to understand what the total background is and what could change in the regulation,” she said.
Tiliacos said better public education would have helped smooth council-public relations during the council review of its Critical Areas Ordinance and its Shoreline Master Plan update. She said it also would have helped with the controversial 2.5-mile East Lake Sammamish Parkway project concept design, approved in January 2008 with a cost estimate (at the time) of $44.5 million.
The parkway
Tiliacos said she has had repeated conversations with residents while door knocking about the rationale for not adding more all-purpose lanes to the East Lake Sammamish Parkway. Residents tell her the added sidewalk, commuter bike lanes and turn-lane aren’t adding traffic capacity, she said.
But Tiliacos said that in discussions with traffic engineers, she learned that part of the thinking is to remove pedestrians and bicyclists from the parkway car lanes, thus improving the average speed and traffic flow.
“It’s not intuitive and people don’t understand it that way,” she said.
Not that Tiliacos is sold on the total parkway as it’s currently designed.
“I’m kind of reserving judgment to see how this particular phase turns out,” she said.
James also supports better public outreach, although he is more emphatic in his disapproval of the parkway.
“I would put a hold on doing more work on the project,” James said. He said he would go back to the public for ideas on how to improve the parkway. “I think there’s a disconnect between what the council has proposed and what the community wants and needs.”
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.
Erica Tiliacos, 53, has cast herself as the experienced candidate prepared to ask the appropriate questions about a range of city issues on day one.
John James, 46, highlights his business background, especially in real estate, and says he understands how to make Sammamish a more attractive place to live: adding more local amenities.
They are vying for Position 1 on the Sammamish City Council Nov. 3. Councilwoman Kathy Huckabay is vacating the seat after 10 years.
While neither candidate is an incumbent, they both tout their experience in civic involvement. Read more
Rutt calls for change in race with Gerend
September 15, 2009
By J.B. Wogan
Michael Rutt, 56, says he would dedicate himself to making the Town Center a reality if he were part of the Sammamish City Council.
“As far as the financial picture, that’s the city’s cash cow and they need to get going with it,” he said.
When Rutt announced his candidacy in April, he said the campaign would be one of change, and so he picked Don Gerend, 68, a 10-year incumbent and the current Sammamish mayor, for an opponent.
Rutt and Gerend will appear on the Nov. 3 ballot for position 5 in the Samm-amish City Council race.
Rutt moved to the plateau in 1989 and raised a family of five with his wife Claudia. Now semi-retired, Rutt has 30 years of experience in the automotive business, including working as a service manager of the BMW dealership in Bellevue.
Rutt said one of his main reasons for running was to challenge a 10-year incumbent and to break up a political “cabal” within Sammamish.
“In my opinion, Sammamish is too small a community to have these big shots that act like political bosses,” Rutt said. “It’s crap and it’s got to stop.”
Rutt is anything but a political insider in Sammamish. He has never run for political office before. King County voting records show he has never voted in a Sammamish City Council election, nor did he vote on whether to make Sammamish a city in 1998.
His opponent, Gerend, is a former rocket scientist from Boeing, with teaching experience as a professor of astronomy and physics at Seattle University, who now works in real estate asset and property management.
King County voting records show that Gerend has voted in every general election since 1999. King County records do not go farther back for Gerend, due to a limitation in the database.
The records do show that he has participated in every primary and special election in the last 10 years, save one.
The Town Center (and how it impacts the local economy) is Rutt’s top priority.
Rutt envisions the city implementing “smart growth” principles with the Town Center — encouraging mixed-use zoning, with higher density east of 228th Avenue than is permitted in the current Town Center master plan.
Rutt owns property in that area.
Both Rutt and Gerend share a vision of Sammamish as a more walkable community with better public transit.
Money matters
Both candidates agree that the city faces a serious budget problem in the next decade. Under the city’s current funding model, the city projects its expenses will outstrip its revenue by 2015, if not sooner.
But Rutt puts greater stock in the Town Center as a financial solution for the city’s future budget woes.
He said the Town Center will provide much-needed sales tax revenue.
“I’m not a believer in raising taxes or putting a surcharge on utilities. I’m not for cutting services either. I’m a big advocate of the Town Center and the retail portion of it,” Rutt said.
Gerend has a more varied solution for the projected funding problem.
One option would be to lower the level of service at the city, he said.
“If we come to the crossover point, and we didn’t see any ability to reduce services, we could introduce a utility tax. Or we could go back to the citizens and ask for a levy lid increase,” he said. “It’s basically up to the community what level of service they want and what they’re willing to pay for.”
Some of the issues that Rutt highlighted when he announced his candidacy in April have been addressed by the City Council since then.
Rutt proposed buying the old Sammamish Public Library building for a repurposed teen recreation center. But at its Sept. 1 meeting, the council authorized City Manager Ben Yazici to do just that.
Rutt called for better public involvement on controversial issues, but since then, the council has made efforts to engage the public repeatedly on proposed changes to the city’s shoreline building regulations — receiving praise from property owners in the process.
As the mayor, Gerend took the lead on organizing council office hours at 5 p.m. every Wednesday, where residents could hold an informal dialogue with one or two council members.
Gerend said he also plans to ask staff for a cost estimate on televising more public meetings, including advisory board meetings.
Rutt applauded the current council’s direction in 2009 for better public involvement on proposed shoreline building regulations.
“That’s how they need to deal with citizens in the future,” Rutt said.
He added that he wanted the city to better publicize the council office hours so people knew the option was available to them.
Similar on the parkway
One of Rutt’s hot button issues was the East Lake Sammamish Parkway project, something he has openly opposed at council meetings. But Gerend is one of two members of the council who voted against the parkway’s overall design.
In January 2008, the council voted 5-2 to approve a concept design for 2.5 miles of construction along the parkway that would add a middle left-turn lane, a sidewalk on the east side of the street, and commuter bike lanes in both directions. (Gerend and City Councilwoman Kathy Huckabay were the two dissenters.)
The city engineer’s estimated the entire project would cost $44.5 million. The project was broken into three phases.
Between votes in December 2008 and September 2009, the council has voted unanimously to approve funding for the first phase, which included redesigning the intersection of Inglewood Hill Road and East Lake Sammamish Parkway.
The council has not allocated funding for the second or third phases of the parkway project.
“I definitely think it should be revisited,” Rutt said. “I would have to wait to see what 1A and 1B look like. In all reality, eventually it’s probably going to need to be done, but it’s a question of how.”
Gerend’s thoughts on a reanalysis of the parkway are similar. He has called repeatedly for the city to conduct a new traffic study that might show increased traffic capacity (to match anticipated growth) isn’t needed anymore on the parkway.
He said he envisioned construction at a few key intersections and nothing more.
“I don’t see us doing the project. I hope that we can plan for a future that doesn’t require that,” Gerend 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.
Michael Rutt, 56, says he would dedicate himself to making the Town Center a reality if he were part of the Sammamish City Council.
“As far as the financial picture, that’s the city’s cash cow and they need to get going with it,” he said.
When Rutt announced his candidacy in April, he said the campaign would be one of change, and so he picked Don Gerend, 68, a 10-year incumbent and the current Sammamish mayor, for an opponent. Read more
Citizens will get 2 candidate forums
September 1, 2009
Sammamish will have its City Council candidate forum. In fact, it will have at least two. Read more
