Tag Archives: Kathy Huckabay

Promises made (sort of), promises (about to be) broken for Klahanie

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Klahanie Vote Map

The Klahanie Potential Annexation Area. Voters rejected annexing to Issaquah in February 2014 and approved annexing to Sammamish in April 2015. Sammamish said over and over and over again it would complete the annexation by August 2015. But–they were just kidding, it appears.

When Sammamish was running along the sidelines of the Klahanie Potential Annexation Area (PAA) vote for Issaquah in the weeks and months leading up to the February 2014 vote, city officials said over and over and over again that if the PAA voted against annexing to Issaquah, Sammamish would fast-track its efforts to transfer the PAA from Issaquah to Sammamish and work with King County to accelerate annexation to Sammamish.

Throughout, Sammamish officials said they would try to set a vote in the spring of 2015 and complete annexation by the following August.

When Issaquah was rejected (by a mere 32 votes), Sammamish quickly went through the processes to set a vote in April 2015. The PAA voted with more than 80% approval to annex to Sammamish. In the weeks and months–more than a full year, in fact, Sammamish continued to say it would hope to complete the annexation by August.

In the immortal words of Rick Perry, “oops.”

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Lyman Howard named City Manager but cloud hangs over action

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Lyman Howard

Lyman Howard, the Deputy City Manager for Sammamish, was named May 19 to succeed retiring Ben Yacizi as City Manager March 1.

Due to the unusual way in which the Council handled the matter, there’s a question whether the appointment followed legal procedure, however.

The City Council emerged from an executive session and voted that Howard would be the next city manager. Although the appointment was made and a starting date announced, there appears to be a foggy area whether this strictly followed the state law governing hiring staff, according to one public official not associated with the City who wishes to remain anonymous because of the position held.

There was no public discussion about why Howard was appointed, nor about the internal search process and Howard’s winning qualification. The Council emerged from executive session and immediately went to a vote.

Here is a transcript of the action, taken from the video of the May 19 meeting:

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Who’s who in the Sammamish City Council race in 2015

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Filings for the Sammamish City Council closed at 5pm Friday. Three seats are up for election this year: Positions 2, 4 and 6: Nancy Whitten’s seat; and Ramiro Valderrama and Tom Vance, respectively. Whitten is not running for reelection. Valderrama and Vance are, and they have challengers.

City Council

Sammamish City Council and the candidates for the 2015 election. Back row, L-R: Ramiro Valderrama, who is being challenged by Hank Klein; Tom Vance (currently the Mayor), who is being challenged by Tom Hornish; Tom Odell; and Don Gerend. Front row, L-R: Kathy Huckabay, currently Deputy Mayor; Nancy Whitten, who decided not to seek a fourth term and is retiring; and Bob Keller. Christie Malchow and former city councilman Mark Cross are running for Whitten’s seat. Council photo: City of Sammamish. Superimpositions by Scott Hamilton. Click on image to enlarge.

Running for Whitten’s Position two is a former City Council man and a newcomer. Challenging Valderrama for Position 4 is a long-time park commissioner. Challenging Vance for Position 6 is the president of the Sammamish Home Owners group. Continue reading →

(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 →