Tag Archives: Kathy Huckabay

Forgetting who you’re serving at the Sammamish City Council

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All too often, elected officials forget who they were elected to serve. This unfortunately is the case with some on the Sammamish City Council.

Artwork via Google images.

During the course of this year, Sammamish Comment chronicled a number of important issues in which the Council and the City Administration practiced benign neglect. In many cases, individual Council Members have pursued personal agenda, played follow the leader or blamed citizens for being whiners or misunderstanding what they are supposed to understand.

These attitudes are why Washington D.C. and Olympia (WA) are so dysfunctional and failing to serve the peoples’ interest in pursuit of their own. It’s why Sammamish citizens voted to incorporate in 1998: to get out from under an unresponsive King County government that ignored our wishes and needs.

Certainly being our own City proved far more beneficial than being under the King County Council. We have roads and parks we weren’t going to get under the County rule. We have community events, notably our Fourth of July, Sammamish Nights and similar activities we’d never get under King County.

But the City is letting citizens down in a number of areas due to the benign neglect and personal agendas referenced above. For example:

Skipping the Cascadia Rising earthquake drill

There are a lot of things in government that fall within the category of “What were you thinking?”

Skipping the Cascadia Rising earthquake drill tops the list.

The Sammamish Comment revealed October 5 that the City skipped the sign-up deadline last year to participate in a regional Cascadia Rising earthquake preparedness drill that outlines a scenario of a 7.2 magnitude earthquake hitting Sammamish. (The scenario’s epicenter is the Cascadia Subduction Fault off the Washington coastline, with a 9.0 epicenter magnitude.)

Sammamish had no plans to participate. Until after The Comment began making inquiries.

This is a huge public safety issue. This is the worst example of benign neglect yet by our City and City Council. Read the details here.

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Ramiro Valderrama for Sammamish City Council Position 4

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Ramiro Valderrama, Sammamish City Council Position 4

Sammamish voters should re-elect Ramiro Valderrama-Aramayo to Sammamish City Council Position 4.

Valderrama has been a thorn in the side of the Gang of 4 and of the City Administration. He asks questions that need to be asked, often to the point of irritation. He challenges the leadership to the point where they actively sought people to run against him. He challenges the City Manager and the City Staff.

This is how it should be. We don’t need a Council of “yes men.”

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Christie Malchow for Sammamish City Council Position 2

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Position 2, Open Seat: Christie Malchow vs Mark Cross

Christie Malchow for Sammamish City Council Position 2.

Christie Malchow is the best choice for Sammamish City Council Position 2.

Malchow is a dynamic newcomer to Sammamish, having lived here four years. She was interested from the start in getting involved in Sammamish public service. She filed to run for City Council in 2013, but withdrew due to family considerations that existed at the time. She announced for City Council well before last May’s filing date, and chose to run for Position 2, a seat held by Nancy Whitten, who decided at the last minute to retire after serving three terms.

Only after Whitten made her announcement did Mark Cross file to run across from Malchow. Cross reportedly originally intended to run for water commissioner for the Sammamish Plateau Water & Sewer District. Cross served two terms on the Council, from 2004-2012, including a stint as Mayor. He did not seek reelection in the November 2011 election due to work requirements. He seeks to return to the Council after a four year absence, mimicking the pattern set by Deputy Mayor Kathy Huckabay, who served consecutive City Council terms, retired for four years and then was elected to the Council again in 2013.

Despite Cross’ well-qualified background and his previous experience, Malchow is the better choice. Here’s why:

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Sammamish Initiative and Referendum effective

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  • 37 of 47 precincts approve the Initiative and Referendum.
  • All precincts where Council Members and Candidates for Council live approved I&R.
  • City and certain Council Members engaged in secret campaign against the vote and to undermine information.

The power of Initiative and Referendum became effective in Sammamish yesterday.

Hary Shedd 2

Harry Shedd, chairman of Citizens for Sammamish, led the charge to get the Sammamish City Council to adopt the Initiative and Referendum.

When the City was incorporated in 1999, the power of I&R wasn’t included in the City charter. Omission was claimed by City officials a decade and a half later to have been an oversight, but Karen Moran and Di Irons, two citizens involved in the incorporation at the time, said City officials deliberately left the power out.

Regardless, Citizens for Sammamish, a grass roots group chaired by Harry Shedd, pressed the current City Council last year to adopt an ordinance granting the power. The Council refused, with a majority simply opposed to giving Sammamish voters the right to I&R. Shedd continued his crusade and in January this year, the Council agreed at its retreat to put the issue to a non-binding Advisory vote. It later set April 28 as the election date.

Although a majority of the Council informally said at the retreat they would honor the outcome of the Advisory vote, and later officially said they would remain neutral, in fact the City and several Council members engaged in a stealth campaign to defeat the I&R, sow confusion, disseminate misinformation and suppress information and ultimately voting.

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Two Council Members voted against advancing the I&R to an enabling ordinance after the Advisory vote passed by a 55.5%-44.5% margin: Deputy Mayor Kathy Huckabay and Member Tom Odell.

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Standing up to government and for the citizens; or standing up for the status quo

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The Sammamish City Council election this year has a number of issues before voters. One of the key issues is not about roads or trees or parks or finances. It’s about a philosophy of government. It’s about standing up to the government and for the citizens or standing up for the status quo.

Tom Vance

Mayor Tom Vance, seeking reelection, and Mark Cross, a former mayor and city councilman seeking to return to the Council after a four year absence, stand for the status quo. They have endorsed each other for election.

Christie Malchow

Council Member Ramiro Valderrama, seeking reelection to a second term, Christie Malchow (running opposite Cross) and Tom Hornish (opposite Vance), both newcomers, stand for standing up to government and for the citizens.

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