Hank Klein has dropped out of the Position 4 race for Sammamish City Council, but too late to pull is name off the ballot.
“I have decided to drop out of the race for City Council because of personal reasons,” Klein wrote Sammamish Comment today after I left a voice mail for Klein seeking his website address. Through yesterday, no website had been created.
If anyone thought that the Sammamish City Council will honor voter wishes after a 55%-45% victory at the polls in an April advisory vote, it looks like this faith in government may well be premature.
Even though there was a consensus expressed informally at the Council’s January retreat that they would follow the wishes of voters, and despite the assurances of Mayor Tom Vance to local newspapers on several occasions that he couldn’t see the Council going against voter wishes, Vance has since been walking back these assurances and the June 15 study session did nothing to provide assurances.
Deputy Mayor Kathy Huckabay, a staunch opponent to granting Sammamish citizens the right of initiative and referendum, flatly stated there had been no assurances the Council would follow voter wishes.
She then went on to use an argument often used by opponents to a measure that passes over their objections: voter turnout was low and voters were, essentially, too stupid to understand what they were voting, or not voting, for.
Alarmingly, Council Member Bob Keller, a close ally of Huckabay, Vance and Council Member Tom Odell, each of whom also oppose the initiative, sided with Huckabay on the voting argument.
Twice Keller said during the June 15 Council meeting that the vote was “close,” despite the 10 point margin of victory.
Keller told this column after the results he “planned” to honor the result.
Now it’s not clear what he will do. He is the swing vote, with Council Members Don Gerend, Nancy Whitten and Ramiro Valderrama previously saying they will honor the voter wishes. Keller is a member of what’s become known as the Gang of 4, voting together as a bloc on most issues.
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.”
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.
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
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
Sammamish Comment 