Tag Archives: Sammamish

Dave Reichert’s “I am not a wimp” moment

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  • The US House of Representatives is scheduled tomorrow to vote on the House’s bill to repeal and replace Obamacare. Sammamish’s Congressional representative is Republican Dave Reichert, who has held his seat since 2005. He recently refused to hold Town Hall meetings with constituents because of the raucus reception other Republicans received over the prospect of repealing Obamacare.

Commentary

Call it Dave Reichert’s “I am not a wimp” moment.

US Rep Dave Reichert: All smiles, all hat and no cattle.

US Rep. Reichert, who represents the Sammamish area in Congress, frequently points to his 33 year career as King County Sheriff.

Aside from his signature achievement of helping identify and arrest the Green River serial killer, Reichert says he proved his bravery many times.

He uses this to explain why he won’t hold Town Hall meetings with constituents, especially these days when constituents are flooding Republican Town Hall Meetings to protest the potential repeal of the Affordable Care Act, more commonly known as Obamacare.

Reichert voted in committee to repeal the ACA.

His fallback to his sheriff’s days to boast of his bravery is reminiscent of President George H. W. Bush and his famous statement, “I am not a wimp,” when criticized over perceived timidity.

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Candidates emerge for likely County Council run, 45th State Senate

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Tom Vance

Tom Vance, who was defeated in November 2015 in his reelection bid for the Sammamish City Council, is gearing up to run against King County Council Member Kathy Lambert, say people familiar with the situation.

Vance has been soliciting endorsements for a run, people tell Sammamish Comment.

He also dropped an expansive Public Records Request on Lambert’s office for 16 years of data for travel records and meeting attendance.

Vance served on the Sammamish City Council from 2012 through 2015. He was mayor in 2014-15. He lost 54%-46% to Tom Hornish. Vance ran for Council in 2009, losing to John Curley 55%-45%. In his successful 2011 campaign, he defeated a weak and unqualified candidate 68% to 32%, only to drop by 22 points in his losing race against Hornish.

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County’s Lambert sees progress on Trail issues in Sammamish

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King County Parks has analyzed all the reported conflicts in East Lake Sammamish Trail (ELST) Section 2B and is working on solutions, King County Council Member Kathy Lambert tells Sammamish Comment.

In an interview March 16, Lambert said the County Parks department created a large book

King County Council Member Kathy Lambert.

with the details of the conflicts presented by property owners along 2B, the final section of ELST to be developed into a paved walking/jogging/bike trail.

Section 2B runs north from the 7-11 on East Lake Sammamish Parkway in Sammamish to Inglewood Hill Road. Construction on Section 2A, south of the 7-11 to the Issaquah city limits, is now underway. Section 1, north from Inglewood Hill to the Redmond city limits, is done.

Section 2B has unique conflicts from home development dating to King County’s rule before Sammamish was incorporated and before the County acquired the right-of-way from Burlington Northern Rail Road, which discontinued using it.

There are also some challenging topographical and environmental issues.

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Little progress between City, County over ELST, but hope continues

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Little tangible progress appeared to be the result of a staff-to-staff meeting two weeks ago between King County Parks and Sammamish over the interminable controversy of development of the final segment of the East Lake Sammamish Trail.

But City Manager Lyman Howard is hopeful some progress can be made.

“I think so,” he said in an interview with Sammamish Comment this week. County officials said they want to work with the City and property owners—statements that have been made before, only to be met with unsatisfactory results.

Howard, ever hopeful and acknowledging past disappointments, nonetheless isn’t throwing in the towel.

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Lake Trail issues remain misunderstood; let’s clear them up

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Commentary

Reading comments on this blog about the latest East Lake Sammamish Trail events, prompted by a mass email campaign generated by the Cascade Bicycle Club, displays a real lack of understanding about the issues involved.

The emails created by the Club don’t surprise me: all they care about is bicycling and Sammamish Mapnothing else. Some of their members don’t even follow the Rules of the Road while biking on streets, let alone respect the unique issues involved in developing the ELST. Their self-centered myopia is long-standing.

The Club strikes me as particularly hypocritical because most of the time, the bicyclists prefer the streets and roads to the trails.

But the comments from some of those who live in Sammamish and who otherwise are concerned about local development surprise me. Many use the ELST and should see first hand some of the issues involved.

Let’s look at these unique issues.

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