It’s Thursday, and Day 3 of election returns for the unexpectedly tight results of the proposed annexation of the Klahanie area to Issaquah. The results today:
| For Annexation: 1,471 | 49.51 |
| Against Annexation: 1,500 | 50.49 |
Voting results on the day after the Klahanie annexation election showed a tightening from the six vote margin on election night in favor of annexation to just one vote.
The day two results:
1,365 for annexation
1,364 against annexation.
The Issaquah Reporter has the reaction of Issaquah Mayor Fred Butler, who says the city faces a policy decision whether to annex Klahanie without having the area assume a portion of the city’s debt, should annexation pass. His comments affirm our report from last night that this election isn’t over yet.
A recount is almost certain.
I was known as a tree-hugging environmentalist (among other things) during my 8 1/2 years of service on Sammamish committees and commissions but that doesn’t prevent me from saying the City Council is smoking something other than tobacco with the proposal to ban smoking in City Parks.
Despite some snide comments toward John Curley by one City Councilman and some Sammamish Review readers, I agree with him: the idea that second-hand smoke in an open-air park is hazardous (at least in the levels we’re talking about here) strikes me as pretty ludicrous.
I don’t like cigarette smoke; it’s obnoxious and has an odor that is particularly offensive to my sensitivities. But any time I go to the Sammamish Commons (for example) for the Fourth of July or Farmer’s Markets, if someone is smoking nearby, I can easily move upwind. In this case, I have to say smokers have their rights, too.
I think Washington’s smoking ban in buildings went too far. I am all for banning smoking in open areas within buildings (offices, restaurants, bars, etc.) or places like Safeco Field or the Clink (Century Link stadium), but I also believe that exceptions should have been allowed: a fully enclosed smoking area or provisions for “smoking clubs” would have been acceptable.
Sammamish has better things to do than pursuing this nanny state ordinance.
The political remap of Washington State, which occurs every 10 years, means major changes for Sammamish.
The City remains in the 8th Congressional District (Dave Reichert), which now extends across the mountains to Chelan and Kittitas counties (and making it a safe Republican district). The big change is in the Legislative Districts.
The City has been part of the 5th Legislative and 45th Legislative districts since before I’ve lived here (1996), primarily the 5th. Now, Sammamish will be in the 45th and 41st.
Here is a PDF of the map, which isn’t too precise. The darn thing doesn’t even show Lake Sammamish. Zoom in to 400% to make it readable.
This Google Earth overlay works better.
Sammamish Comment 