Don’t Forget to Vote!

Posted by the Kenmore Crow | Filed under Politics | 2 Comments

Kenmore's BallotDon’t forget: Tuesday is “Election Day” (a.k.a. – mail your ballot day).

Here in Kenmore three of our seven city council positions are up for election this year. In the primary, only 29.4% of Kenmore’s registered voters bothered to return their ballots. Flip that around: that means that over 70% of voters in Kenmore did not vote in the primary. I have to say, that is pretty pitiful, especially considering how easy it is to vote now that we have been forcibly switched to an all-mail system.

I’m not interested in making “recommendations” that allow you to abdicate your civic responsibility to make your own informed decision, but I will do what I can to help you get to that point for yourself. In order to help you make an informed decision on the two contested races for Kenmore City Council, here is a collection of relevant links.

Don’t forget that there is also a convenient King County ballot drop box located outside the lower entrance to Third Place Books just down the street in Lake Forest Park.

You have no excuse not to vote other than sheer laziness.

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Read more | Comments (2) | November 1st, 2009

Reflections on the City Council Candidate Forum

Posted by the Kenmore Crow | Filed under Politics | 2 Comments

Thursday night I attended the first candidate “forum” (similar to a debate) at the Aqua Club in Uplake (which did not appear to be a very neutral location) for the two contested Kenmore City Council positions. Approximately 50 people were in attendance, which looked to me like roughly half to two-thirds the capacity of the venue.

The structure of the evening was mostly centered around pre-submitted questions, grouped into categories by the moderator, with each candidate being allowed a fixed amount of time (usually 2-3 minutes) to give their thoughts on each issue.

The categories covered at the forum were:

  • city budget, taxes, and spending
  • traffic, 522, transit, walkable neighborhoods
  • environment, air and water pollution
  • parks and recreation, St. Edwards, ballfields
  • Kenmore Village downtown project, Urban Partners

Here’s my general impression of the message each of the four candidates was presenting Thursday night. The commentary below represents my opinion alone, and should not be construed as an endorsement of any particular candidate.

Diane Brennan, Laurie Sperry, Patrick O'Brien, and Allan Van Ness
[left to right: Diane Brennan, Laurie Sperry, Patrick O'Brien, and Allan Van Ness]

Diane Brennan
What Diane lacks in eloquence she definitely makes up for in passion. You could tell that Diane feels very strongly about the environment in Kenmore, as well as the importance of an open and transparent local government. Diane’s main themes seemed to be that the city should do more for the environment, spend (and save) its money more wisely, and do more to attract businesses to Kenmore.

Laurie Sperry
As one would expect from an incumbent, Laurie spent most of her time touting the accomplishments that the city has had during the last four years while she has been in office. She mentioned the addition of numerous parks, the improvement of 522, and at least twice brought up the fact that Kenmore was named one of the “best towns and cities across the country for families” by Family Circle Magazine. Personally, I have a hard time making the connection between “Kenmore made some arbitrary list in a fluff magazine” and “re-elect Laurie Sperry,” but it’s obviously a big deal to some people, I guess.

Patrick O’Brien
Patrick came out swinging on his number one issue, which clearly appears to be financial responsibility in the city budget. At one point he claimed that his “number one priority” would be clearing up the traffic bottleneck at 68th and 522, but most of the points he hit on throughout the evening were city finance related. He brought up the fact that “several” city salaries are in excess of $100,000, consulting fees are in the millions, and the city has not reported the cost of various lawsuits. One specific money-saving action that O’Brien proposed was to re-bid Kenmore Village.

Allan Van Ness
Allan seemed to be somewhat on the defensive most of the night, spending most of his allotted time responding to accusations from Patrick O’Brien. Several times he corrected what he said were false statements by O’Brien on various issues such as taxes and spending. I was a little bit disappointed with what seemed to me to be a pattern of blame-shifting from Allan in some of his responses. On a question about opening up 522 to more lanes, his response was that “the state wouldn’t do it.” Referring to the idea of re-bidding Kenmore Village, his response was “nothing’s happening in the market.” His statements were true, but not very proactive, in my opinion.

Cross-Questioning
The portion of the evening that stuck out to me the most was the brief cross-questioning section, in which each candidate was permitted to directly pose a question to their opponent.

Diane’s question for Laurie was about the city’s dumping laws. She wanted to know why the current city code allows potentially toxic trash to accumulate on a property as long as it is not visible from the city street. Laurie’s response was “I have no idea,” and to outline the complaint-driven process for dumping law enforcement.

Laurie’s question for Diane was “can you name three positive changes you’ve seen in the city of Kenmore in the last four years?” It came across to me as sarcastic and childish. The line even drew laughs from some in the audience, who I assume were Sperry supporters. She was obviously attempting to prove some sort of point: that she apparently believes Diane’s campaign is too negative. Of course, if someone thinks everything in the city is going great, why would they run against an incumbent councilmember in the first place? For the record, Diane named four things: an improved tree ordinance, the opening of Snapdoodle Toys, new sidewalks on 522, and the new Swamp Creek Park.

Patrick’s question for Allan was “what are you prepared to do to reduce spending and budgetary increases?” Allan said that he would push for a reassessment and evaluation of the city’s consulting contracts, possibly creating some new city positions to do jobs that are currently contracted out. He also gave a generic response about “tightening our belts.”

For Allan’s question to Patrick, he took the same disappointing route as Laurie, asking Patrick to name “three other things that you think have been done well in the City of Kenmore in the last four years.” Rather than play along like Diane did, Patrick took the opportunity to instead point out the problems that he sees with non-public processes. Clearly he is not concerned about the possibility of being perceived as too negative.

Closing Thoughts
Overall I thought the forum was interesting, and gave me a much better idea of what the candidates are about than what I’ve been able to read in their statements and responses to our questionnaire. If there are more such forums between now and the election I will attempt to attend and report on these as well.

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Read more | Comments (2) | September 26th, 2009

City Councilmember Laurie Sperry Responds to Our Questions

Posted by the Kenmore Crow | Filed under Politics | No Comments Yet!

Laurie SperryAfter earlier declining our invitation, Laurie Sperry, current councilmember running for reelection to Kenmore City Council position #2 (campaign website), has a change of heart and sent over answers to our questionnaire after all. Following are her unedited answers.

  1. Why are you running for Kenmore City Council?

    I am seeking re-election because I feel that we as a city are in the midst of a wonderful revitalization, and I would like to continue to use the experience I have gained as a councilwoman to help guide the city through this important time of transition.

  2. What will be your top priority should you be elected to this position?

    I will continue to focus my efforts on revitalizing “downtown” Kenmore in an affordable, environmentally friendly manner. I also am committed to preserving parks, trails and open space in Kenmore and protecting the character of our single family neighborhoods.

  3. What is your favorite thing about Kenmore?

    My favorite thing about Kenmore is our location near Lake Washington. We are so fortunate to have parks and trails to enjoy the natural beauty around us.

  4. What is your least favorite thing about Kenmore?

    My least favorite thing about Kenmore is the traffic during the SR522 improvements.

  5. Arrange these nearby cities in order from your favorite to your least favorite: Woodinville, Shoreline, Bothell, Kirkland, Brier.

    Kenmore’s elected officials work together with our neighboring cities on regional issues. Kenmore also shares a public works crew with Lake Forest Park. I will leave the rating of neighboring cities to others.

  6. What do you feel is the biggest challenge facing Kenmore in the next 5 years?

    The biggest challenge in the next 5 years will be balancing the needs, wants and desires of the community with the financial resources available.

  7. What’s your favorite restaurant in Kenmore?

    I do not have a particular favorite restaurant in Kenmore. I am excited to see new eateries like the Butcher Shop Café open on Juanita drive.

  8. Why should voters select you over your opponent?

    I have almost four years of experience on the Kenmore City Council. I have a proven record of accomplishments as a councilmember.

    On the council, I’ve worked hard to preserve Kenmore’s environment and quality of life by improving parks, trails and open space and protecting the character of our single family neighborhoods through height and infill restrictions. I’ve encouraged citizen communication through a new city website, publishing Kenmore Blog.net and meeting with citizens. I’m committed to Kenmore’s continued economic health and prosperity by being fiscally responsible and attracting new stores and businesses to the city. I serve as Kenmore’s representative on the WRI8 Salmon Recovery Council, Northshore Parks and Recreation Service Area, and Kenmore Library Advisory Board.

    Please visit my campaign website: http://lauriesperry.com/ If you have any questions or concerns feel free to contact me by email at laurie@lauriesperry.com or by phone: (206) 817-2260. I look forward to hearing from you.

We appreciate Laurie’s reconsideration. Thanks for joining us, Laurie.

Patrick O’Brien is now the only candidate I have not yet gotten any response from. Hopefully he sends us something soon, so our collection can be a complete guide to Kenmore’s upcoming City Council elections.

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Read more | Comments (0) | September 3rd, 2009

Corner Comics and the Loss of Small Business in Kenmore

Posted by John Reiher | Filed under Business | 14 Comments

A brief note from the Kenmore Crow: The following is a guest post from John Reiher, who pens the local blog Living Sustainably. The views expressed below are John’s. Thanks for participating, John!

Kenmore is losing small, mom and pop businesses one by one thanks to a city council that either doesn’t care or isn’t willing to help keep these small businesses here in Kenmore, or even to assist them in any way with relocation.

Corner ComicsCase in point: Corner Comics
http://www.cornercomics.com/

6575 NE 181st
Kenmore, WA 98028
(425) 486-XMEN (9636)

Corner Comics is moving to a new location thanks to the imminent shuffle of public buildings that will eventually relocate the Kenmore library to their current building. Corner Comics’ last business day at their Kenmore location is coming up quick: Saturday, August 29th, 2009. They are moving to Kirkland, into a rental space they can afford.

I talked to the owner, Paige Gifford, while she was closing up shop. I asked her if it was her choice to move out of the current location. “No,” she replied, “we were told to move by the end of August.”

I then asked her if the City of Kenmore offered her any assistance. “Not one bit,” she said, sounding a little angry. “They never offered any relocation money or any other kinds of assistance.”

She pointed out that the available rental space in the current Kenmore Village is priced far too high, around $40 per square foot. This is nearly double the $20 per square foot that she had been paying at the store’s current location. “None of the local businesses can afford that kind of rent, nobody makes that much money,” she explained.

In Gifford’s opinion, the City Council only wants big box stores and major franchises. She believes that there is no room in the council’s plans for local small businesses.

And she’s not too far off. Ostrom’s went so far as to buy their current location so that they have some control over it. The construction of Kenmore Village by the Lake is stalled indefinitely because the developer, Urban Partners, has been unable to find an anchor store and keeps begging for more time in their search.

Of course it now turns out that even many citizens’ favorite store, Trader Joe’s, was seemingly never invited or courted by local government in any way. It took the initiative of local citizens to get the franchise’s attention, as well as City Council member Laurie Sperry.

She recently sent an email out to subscribers to her blog, KenmoreBlog.net, on August 21st, asking readers if they wanted a Trader Joe’s in Kenmore. If you did, please click a link and voice your opinion. (I do have to note that she misspelled “Trader Joe’s” as “Trader Joes.” One would think she’d get that right.)

Of course I clicked the link and voiced my opinion. But I also think that we need a PCC or a better grocery store in our neighborhood than Safeway or Grocery Outlet.

It would be even better if we had our own Farmers Market. I dearly love the Yakima Fruit Market in Bothell for its variety and types of fresh vegetables. It would be great if we had something like that right here in Kenmore. A grocery store that dealt in locally grown or raised food.

One way we could encourage and support local small businesses such as Corner Comics or a fruit market rather than chasing them away would be to create a business incubator here in Kenmore. It would be a way to encourage and nurture new local businesses in Kenmore, founded by its citizens for its citizens. That’s something our City Council could do, if they could see past Adam Smith’s Invisible Hand of the Market.

Sometimes the Invisible Hand works and sometimes it gives you the invisible finger.


[August 28 update from the Kenmore Crow]
Mayor David Baker responds to some of John’s criticisms in a comment below, which I will duplicate here in the post in order to provide better visibility.

Mayor Baker’s response:

In order to provide accurate information in response to the matter raised by Mr. Reiher. Corner Comics rents on a month by month basis from King County Library System, NOT the City of Kenmore. The library wants to demolish the building in November and is asking all tenants to vacate that are on a month by month basis. If Corner Comics wants relocation expenses then they should contact the King County Library System

The City is not responsible for property owned by the King County Library system. It is not the City of Kenmore’s, responsibility pay for relocation expenses for another governmental agencies action. The only time the City could legally consider relocation expenses is when the city is acquiring the property under state and federal regulations.

The current Kenmore Village rental rates are NOT $40.00 square foot, but range between $5.00 to $17.00 per square foot with several in the $10.00 to 11.00 per square foot range.

The Kenmore City Council, years ago, decided that big box stores did not fit in Kenmore’s long range plans and preferred small local businesses. That is written in to the Cities Comprehensive Plan, Downtown Plan and elsewhere.

The last point is that Ostrom’s Drug and Gift store did NOT buy their current location, they are leasing.

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Read more | Comments (14) | August 27th, 2009

City Councilmember Laurie Sperry Declines Our Questions

Posted by the Kenmore Crow | Filed under Politics | 2 Comments

Unfortunately, current City Councilmember Laurie Sperry, who is running for reelection this November, has declined to answer our our questionnaire.

We received the following email from Laurie this morning:

Dear Kenmore Crow,

Thank you for your request. I am happy to respond to questions from people who are willing to identify themselves by their real name. I like crows, and they can be quite intelligent, however I do not make a practice of talking to crows, even if they are from Kenmore. http://kenmoreblog.net/?p=620

Sincerely,
Laurie Sperry
Kenmore City Councilmember

I am disappointed that Mrs. Sperry would use this blog’s anonymity as an excuse not to answer a simple list of questions that may help the voters of Kenmore determine whether they should check her name on the ballot this fall or that of Diane Brennan.

I have chosen to facilitate this blog anonymously because past experience has taught me that remaining anonymous can help avoid discussions that devolve into ad hominem attacks. Especially given the emotionally-charged nature of some of the issues that Kenmore has dealt with in the past and is facing in the near future, I thought it best to remove the potential distraction of personal discussions. I will never insult or libel anyone through the anonymity of this blog, and simply intend to facilitate an engaging, focused discussion on the important issues of our town.

There are still 71 days before the election, so Mrs. Sperry could change her mind. The Kenmore Crow will not bother her any further with additional requests, but should any of our readers care to encourage Mrs. Sperry to reconsider her dismissive position on this matter, she can be reached at laurie [at] lauriesperry [dot] com.

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Read more | Comments (2) | August 26th, 2009