Tag Archives: Mark Cross

Sammamish City Council candidates forum report

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Christie Malchow Position 2

Tom Vance, Position 6

Mark Cross, Position 2

Ramiro Valderrama, Position 4

Tom Hornish, Position 6

 

 

 

 

 

 

The only Sammamish City Council candidates forum was held Wednesday, Oct. 7, sponsored by the Sammamish Chamber of Commerce and the Sammamish Rotary. The event was not video taped for broadcast on government Channel 21 (Comcast).

Bill Shaw, publisher of the Issaquah/Sammamish Reporter, is the moderator.

Sammamish Comment’s coverage is a running log of the event, with quotes paraphrased. This method provides the ability to post immediately after the end of the event.

This is very long.

The forum begins:

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Know your candidate for Sammamish City Council: Mark Cross

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  • There will be a candidates forum Wednesday, October 7, at 7pm at the Boys and Girls Club, Inglewood Hill Road and 228th Ave. NE. It is sponsored by the Sammamish Chamber of Commerce and the Sammamish Rotary. It will not be videotaped or broadcast on Sammamish TV Channel 21, so this is your only chance to see the candidates and ask questions in a forum.

Beginning Thursday and continuing today for five consecutive posts, Sammamish

Mark Cross

Comment will provide information about the five active candidates for Sammamish City Council running for Positions 2, 4 and 6. There is a sixth candidate, but he dropped out of the race two months after entering, but too late to withdraw his name from the ballot. Sammamish Comment began with Position 2 and will continue in order. Each profile will be for one candidate. Information will come principally, but not entirely, from the candidate’s website and the Public Disclosure Commission.

Thursday’s Profile: Christie Malchow, Position 2

Position 2: Mark Cross

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Rotary, Chamber still say “no” to videotaping and broadcasting Sammamish City Council candidate forum; Mayor Vance, seeking reelection, objected

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Update, Sept. 23: Deb Sogge, executive director of the Sammamish Chamber, responded today to the emails sent Sunday about the objections Sammamish Comment reported coming from Mayor Tom Vance about videotaping the October 7 candidates’ forum.

Sogge was one of four people to make the decision to not tape; the other three were Bob Toomey, president of the Chamber; CJ Kahler, treasurer of Rotary and Bill Shaw, publisher of the Issaquah-Sammamish Reporter, who will moderate the event. Shaw could not be reached when any of The Comment’s articles were written because he was on vacation.

Kahler told The Comment that “a couple of candidates” objected to videotaping. The Comment verified that Ramiro Valderrama, Christie Malchow and Tom Hornish favor taping. Valderrama said he encountered Mark Cross at the Farmer’s Market last week, who said he also favored taping. Cross did not respond to an email from The Comment. That elft Vance, who also did not respond to an email asking if he objected and why.

In a later interview with Toomey, he said Vance objected and provided detail surrounding the issue. He said Sogge spoke with Vance and told him that a commitment made to Vance not to tape should be honored.

In today’s response, Sogge denied all of this. She said Vance agreed to taping. Vance continues to stonewall The Comment. As noted in the report below, Kahler is, appears, the key holdout.

Original Post

The Sammamish Rotary and Sammamish Chamber of Commerce have stuck to their

Tom Vance, seeking reelection to the Sammamish City Council, objected to videotaping the October 7 candidates forum.

decision to not videotape the Sammamish City Council candidates forum, which will be at 7pm October 7 at the Boys and Girls Club, Inglewood Hill Road and NE 8th St.

A Chamber official confirmed the decision Friday to Sammamish Comment.

Sammamish Comment also confirmed that Mayor Tom Vance, who is running for reelection, objected to videotaping and the groups agreed to forego taping. The four other active candidates favor videotaping. Vance did not respond to a request for comment for the original story last Thursday when it first appeared he had objected.

“I think this shows a lack of transparency in our government leadership,” said Tom Hornish, Vance’s opponent in the November 3 election.

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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 →