Final pre-election look-see at contributions

The Sammamish Review beat me to it with this article looking at campaign contributions. This would have been my last look prior to the election.

As I’ve previously noted, the contributions make bunk of John Galvin’s silly claims that Ramiro Valderrama is back by the “old guard.” In fact, he is back mostly by the same people who support Kathy Richardson, not the traditional “old guard” who back Tom Vance. Vance has not demonstrated he can reach out across ideological or varied interests to garner support and reach consensus, the latter’s inability being a major failing as chairman of the planning commission.

Jim Wasnick and Jesse Bornfreund are largely self-funding their campaigns, demonstrating little broad support.

Taj Mahal community center DOA

Sammamish citizens have spent a decade asking for a community center, with a split but generally majority opinion supporting inclusion of an aquatic component.

City council after city council deferred the decision and finally this year undertook a “process” that came up with a proposal that will cost at least $64 million. At 98,000 sf, the building is 2 1/2 times the size of City Hall and (depending on whose number you believe) seven times the cost. Sammamish’s Taj Mahal would be the largest community center in King County, according to some.

The “process” ignored the city’s own Parks Commission, which was perfectly capable of making recommendations.

It’s a ridiculous proposal. And it appears to be DOA.

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