(Update, May 15) Mark Cross seeks return to Sammamish City Council; candidates for other local offices

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Update, May 15 in Green: Arul Menezes withdrew, returning Position 6 into a two-way contest between Vance and Hornish. No primary contest.

A surprise entry is Hank Klein, challenging Ramiro Valderrama in Position 4. Klein, a long-time Park Commissioner, had been asked through several successive elections to run for City Council and declined each time. Klein is a well respected, thoughtful commissioner.

Thus, with just two candidates per position, there won’t be any of these positions on the August primary–all go straight to the general election in November.

At 3pm Friday (there remains a final update at 5pm), no candidates had filed to run in any of the water commissioner seats.

Update May 14: From the County website update at 3pm, there were no additional filings today.

Update, May 13 in Blue.

It looks like we will have a primary for Sammamish City Council, with two residents of the East Lake Sammamish Trail filing against Mayor Tom Vance: Tom Hornish and Arul Menezes. Both have spoken before the City Council over King County’s design and execution of the Lake Trail.

Menezes, a Microsoftie, has the start of a website here.

Hornish is president of Sammamish Home Owners (SHO). He is a contracts attorney. SHO has sued King County over the design and implementation of the North end of ELST and over the County’s refusal to heed property owner concerns. Hornish and Menezes are among the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

Updates May 12 in Red.

Original Post:

Candidate filings the first day (May 11) of filing week:

City of Sammamish:

Mark Cross, Position 2

Christie Malchow, Position 2

(Incumbent) Ramiro Valderrama, Position 4

Hank Klein, Position 4

(Incumbent) Tom Vance, Position 6

Tom Hornish, Position 6

Arul Menezes, Position 6 Withdrawn

As of 4:30pm on May 11, no other candidates had filed for Position 2, nor for 4 or 6.

Northeast Sammamish Water and Sewer District:

(Incumbent) Paul Robinett, Position 1

(Incumbent) Paul Sentena, Position 3

At 4:30pm on May 11, no other candidates have filed for Positions 1 and 3.

Sammamish Plateau Water and Sewer District

(Incumbent) Karen Moran (Position 2)

(Incumbent) Mahbubul Islam, Position 3

(Incumbent) Mary Shustov, Position 5

At 4:30pm on May 11, no other candidates have filed for Positions 3 and 5; and none has filed for Position 2.

 Mark Cross seeks return to City Council after four year absence

Mark Cross, who served two terms on the Sammamish City Council from 2004 to 2012,

Mark Cross

seeks to return to the Council. He filed to run for election this November for Position 2, the seat being vacated by retiring Member Nancy Whitten.

Cross, a strong environmentalist, is a close ally of Mayor Tom Vance, Deputy Mayor Kathy Huckabay and Council Member Bob Keller. These three, along with Member Tom Odell, make up the majority power base of the City Council. Cross can be expected to join this power base if elected.

Cross, who works for the City of Bellevue, is a recognized expert in planning and transportation issues. He holds little empathy for homeowners along the East Lake Sammamish Trail and was elected in November 2003 largely by supporters of development of the Trail. During the recent controversies surrounding King County’s development of the Trail and rough-shod treatment of the property owners, Cross testified before the Sammamish City Council that no deviation from the 18-ft wide trail design should be approved to accommodate physical constraints or environmental issues. Continue reading →

Whitten won’t run for reelection

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Nancy Whitten

Nancy Whitten said today (May 6) she won’t run for reelection.

Whitten has been on the Sammamish City Council since 2003. She ran in 2001 but lost by a very narrow margin.

Whitten has been a thorn in the side of what she viewed as the power structure of successive City Council. She’s been vocal about what she perceived to be “rigged” votes for leadership and committee assignments. She’s been a particular thorn in the side of the current Council power structure that’s become known as the Gang of 4, consisting of Mayor Tom Vance, Deputy Mayor Kathy Huckabay, Tom Odell and Bob Keller, whom she often accused of colluding to agree on votes in advance of Council meetings. Several members of this group are known to have been attempting to recruit a candidate to run against her this year.

But for all her prickliness, Whitten has been a staunch protector of the environment. Continue reading →

Four council members declare support for Initiative

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Four of Sammamish’s seven city council members said they will support giving the right of Initiative and Referendum to voters following approval in the Advisory Ballot last Tuesday. The council has to adopt an ordinance before citizens obtain the right.

Members Valderrama and Whitten previously declared support for the I&R. Don Gerend and Bob Keller told Sammamish Comment Friday they will support the I&R now. The measure passed with about 55.4% of the vote. Ballots are still being counted and the election won’t be certified until May 12. Ballots continue to trickle in and the outcome won’t change materially from the election night on April 28.

Council Member Tom Odell could not be reached over the weekend. Mayor Tom Vance and Deputy Mayor Kathy Huckabay did not respond to an email asking their position. Continue reading →

Vance, Valderrama announce for reelection to Sammamish City Council

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Tom Vance and Ramiro Valderrama have announced for reelection, joining announced candidate Christie Malchow in the race for Sammamish City Council in November.

Malchow, a newcomer, hasn’t said what seat she will pursue.

The third incumbent, Nancy Whitten, hasn’t announced her plans.

Candidate filings with the state Public Disclosure Commission begins May 11.

Klahanie annexation, Initiative win

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Update, April 30:

  • Initiative: Roughly another 400 votes counted; percentages largely unchanged.
  • Klahanie: Roughly another 150 votes counted; percentages largely unchanged.

This ends our coverage; even as more votes are counted, there is enough in the way of changes to the election night results to be material.

Update, April 29:

  • About 700 votes were counted in Sammamish with no appreciable change in the results.
  • About 240 votes were counted in Klahanie with no appreciable change in the results.

Original Post:

It’s been widely expected: the Klahanie Potential Annexation Area and the Advisory vote for whether Sammamish should have the right of Initiative and Referendum have both won in landslides.

  • Klahanie PAA residents voted to approve annexation to Sammamish with 86.83% of the vote.
  • Sammamish residents voted to approve the right of Initiative and Referendum with 55.25% of the vote.

Election night results reflect the early main-in ballot returns. Turnout for these special elections was low, typical of April elections in which no electoral races are on the ballot.

  • The Klahanie turnout was 2,480 out of about 6,220 voters, or a 40% turnout.
  • The Sammamish turnout was 5,747 votes out of 28,665 voters, or a 20.24% turnout.

By the time all ballots are counted over a two week period, turnout typically doubles from election night. Although turnout was low and there are ballots to be counted, the election night results were so heavily weighted toward Yes votes that I declare the two ballot issues as won. Final results rarely vary by more than a percent or two.

The I&R vote, while a 10 point spread, was not as broad a victory as had been expected: most, including at least one City Councilman, expected an 80% Yes vote. Continue reading →