City Councilmember Allan Van Ness Responds to Our Questions
Posted by the Kenmore Crow | Filed under Politics
Allan Van Ness, current councilmember running for reelection to Kenmore City Council position #6 (campaign website), has responded to our questionnaire. Following are his unedited answers.
- Why are you running for Kenmore City Council?
It has been an honor to serve the Citizens of Kenmore on the City Council. After years of planning, improvements are being implemented. We are completing the first phases of SR522 improvements, and our new City Hall is underway. We need more park improvements, more sidewalks and better flood control. The downtown revitalization is on hold due to the national economic problems, but ready to go once things turn around. We’ve just begun. I hope to continue being a part of the civic process and seeing to completion the many plans that are underway.
- What will be your top priority should you be elected to this position?
My top priorities in Kenmore: continuing to improve our parks, improve the traffic flow, citizen access to a green waterfront, revitalization of downtown, etc.
- What is your favorite thing about Kenmore?
My favorite “thing” about Kenmore is the citizens who make our city one of the “Ten Best Towns for Families” in the country. Kenmore is a great city in which to live, play, raise a family and to retire, and it is getting better.
- What is your least favorite thing about Kenmore?
The industrial waterfront, except for the marinas and air harbor.
- Arrange these nearby cities in order from your favorite to your least favorite: Woodinville, Shoreline, Bothell, Kirkland, Brier.
I’d add Lake Forest Park to the list. I don’t think it is appropriate to rank them. They all have their assets and all six are great neighbors.
- What do you feel is the biggest challenge facing Kenmore in the next 5 years?
The biggest challenge will be to obtain funding for all the projects we would like to complete. Hopefully we can continue to progress without an increase in property taxes. The City has not raised property taxes for the last five years.
- What’s your favorite restaurant in Kenmore?
They are all my favorites. We have a good selection of the Asian restaurants and Teos and Mazatlan are good. However, I would like to see some additional moderately priced restaurants like Anthony’s, Olive Garden, Marie Callender’s, etc.
- Why should voters select you over your opponents?
As your Councilmember, I’ve worked to upgrade our parks, pass a critical areas ordinance, establish infill and height regulations, improve safety and traffic on SR-522, and ensure that the new City Hall is environmentally friendly and affordable.
I’m running for reelection to see to completion the revitalization of Kenmore. I envision a vibrant mixed-use community that’s easy to access and pedestrian friendly while maintaining single-family neighborhoods. As development proceeds, we must safeguard our environmental resources. Our parks are a rich asset that we must improve for all ages and interests.
City projects must be accomplished with fiscal responsibility, transparency, and citizen participation. My goal is for Kenmore to remain affordable without increasing the tax burden.
With four years experience on the Council and regional committees, I’ve gained the skills and knowledge to best serve our city. I’m excited about Kenmore’s future and humbly request your continued trust, support and vote.
For more detailed information on the above and other subjects please go to: www.vannessforcouncil.com, and/or contact me by email or phone: allan@vannessforcouncil.com, (425) 398-1040
Thanks for joining in the discussion, Allan. I requested short answers from the candidates to my questions in order to keep these posts from being too long, but if you would like to read more about where Allan stands on local issues, be sure to check out his campaign website, where he has written up his thoughts on just about any local issue you can think of.
FYI, I have also sent a request to Patrick O’Brien, Allan’s November opponent for position #6, but have not yet received a reply (however, he has responded to a similar request over at James Lupori’s “Kenmore Undressed”).
P.S. – Allan had one more issue that he wanted to speak on: council / citizen communications. Here are his thoughts on this.
The Council has recently added a town hall meeting format to the first regular council meeting of each quarter. This is a big step toward better communication with the citizens, however I think we can do a better job publicizing these meetings. I’d like to see more opportunities for two way discussions between the Council and the citizens. To that end I have proposed additional meetings dedicated to the town hall meeting format that are well publicized and hopefully better attended.
Tags: Allan Van Ness, city council, election, Politics
2 Responses to “City Councilmember Allan Van Ness Responds to Our Questions”
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[...] Patrick O’Brien remains the only council candidate that has not responded to our questions. Here are Allan Van Ness’ responses. [...]
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[...] Allan Van Ness Responds to Our Questions [...]
September 24th, 2009 at 5:10 PM