Tag Archives: Kathy Huckabay

PDC rejects Odell complaint against Shedd, Citizens for Sammamish

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City Council Member Tom Odell filed a complaint with the State Public Disclosure Commission against Harry Shedd and Citizens for Sammamish.

The Washington State Public Disclosure Commission has rejected a complaint filed by Sammamish City Council Member Tom Odell with the State Public Disclosure Commission against Harry Shedd and Citizens for Sammamish (CFS).

Odell filed the complaint under his own name and not as a City Council Member when campaign “yard” signs and newspaper advertisements began appearing in the City supporting an affirmative vote for Initiative and Referendum (I&R) for Sammamish voters.

Odell vehemently opposed adoption of the I&R and was the lone vote against even putting the issue to voters in an Advisory Ballot in the April 28 election.

Harry Shedd, cleared by the Public Disclosure Commission of Tom Odell’s complaint.

Odell complained to the PDC that Shedd or CFS failed to file financial disclosures with the PDC.

Odell’s complaint was part of a secret campaign by the City, led by Deputy Mayor Kathy Huckabay, to undermine the vote, public meetings by CFS and sow confusion among voters.

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Sammamish Kiwanis drops plans for candidates forum over political image concerns

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The Sammamish Kiwanis Club dropped plans to host a candidates forum at its October 7 regular membership meeting.

An club insider told Sammamish Comment that concerns inside the club that the organization developed an image of becoming a political group led to canceling plans for the five active candidates for Sammamish City Council to appear at the October 7 meeting.

Three sitting council members, Tom Vance, Kathy Huckabay and Bob Keller, are members of Kiwanis. Vance is running for reelection. The concerns about the politicizing Kiwanis are outlined in yesterday’s Sammamish Comment post.

Politics kills plans to video Sammamish candidates forum for broadcast on City’s TV station

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  • Sammamish Chamber of Commerce, Rotary cite politics in banning videotaping for later broadcast of candidates forum.
  • Sammamish Kiwanis Club beset by political concerns.
  • Candidates object to videotaping, says Rotary official.
  • Discussions continue, says Chamber, cites Rotary opposition.
  • Four of five candidates favor taping and broadcasting.
  • Mayor/Candidate Tom Vance silent on the issue.

There will be a Sammamish City Council candidates forum the evening of October 7 at the Boys and Girls Club (Inglewood Hill Road at 228th Ave. NE), but it won’t be videotaped for later broadcast on the City’s government TV (Channel 21, Comcast).

Objections by a “couple” of candidates to videotaping and concerns to do so would politicize the event led the Sammamish Chamber of Commerce and the Sammamish Rotary to ban videotaping, CJ Kahler, treasurer of the Rotary, told Sammamish Comment.

The candidates are:

  • Christie Malchow vs Mark Cross of Position 2. Neither is an incumbent. They are running for the seat now held by the retiring Nancy Whitten.
  • Ramiro Valderrama vs. Hank Klein, Position 4. Valderrama is running for a second term. Klein filed to oppose him, but dropped out of the race two months later, too late to remove his name from the ballot. Klein reconfirmed to Sammamish Comment Wednesday he is not a candidate, won’t be at the forum and he won’t reenter the race at any time.
  • Tom Hornish vs Tom Vance, Position 6. Vance, currently the mayor, is running for a second term.

Kahler said he didn’t talk to the candidates and doesn’t know who objected. Malchow, Valderrama and Hornish say it wasn’t them. Cross reportedly favors taping. Vance’s position in unknown.

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“Greenwashing” in Sammamish: A Special Report

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  1. Greenwashing (a compound word modeled on “whitewash”), or “green sheen,” is a form of spin in which green PR or green marketing is deceptively used to promote the perception that an organization’s products, aims or policies are environmentally friendly.–Wikipedia.

Since the 2003 Sammamish City Council election, in which environmental-leaning candidates swept the election, the Council prided itself on pursuing “green” policies and ordinances.

The City Manager was far less gun-ho, often lagging his own staff, especially when it came to a concept called Low Impact Development, or LID (not to be confused with Local Improvement Districts, also LID, a special tax option–so context of “LID” is always important to understand).

The current Council is comprised of what would ordinarily considered to be environmentalists. Of the seven, only Member Don Gerend leans “development” over the environment–or so its appears. Tom Odell and Bob Keller proved to have strong environmental credentials. Ramiro Valderrama evolved into a strong backing of the environment. Deputy Mayor Kathy Huckabay and Mayor Tom Vance not only consider themselves environmentalists but have an historical track record supporting this.

Image via Google Images. Click on image to enlarge.

Without question the leading environmentalist on the Council is three-term incumbent Nancy Whitten, who decided to retire at the end of this year. And Whitten has been increasingly critical of the collective Council’s direction on a number of environmental issues over the past four years.

While “greenwashing” isn’t the term that comes to the top of the conversation with Whitten, she didn’t disagree with its use when it comes to how Sammamish approaches the environment now. And she’s especially critical of Vance’s evolution away from his historical green leanings.

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Why the “plan” is more than a plan for TIP

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The Sammamish Review covered the Six Year Transportation Improvement Plan last Friday that included Sammamish’s repeated view that the TIP is nothing more than a “plan” and not a budget.

Technically this may be true, but the City Council raised the bar when it approved the TIP July 7.

Council Members, and the City Administration, used the moment to emphasize the plan was constructed and adopted without the assumption that bonded indebtedness would be required to fund the plan.

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