Voting for the Bothell and Kenmore City Councils, two positions on the Northshore School Board and King County Proposition 1 ended Nov. 3, with early results being posted and updated during the past days.
Candidates who are both ahead and behind are eager to begin implementing changes or weighing in on the direction they believe their municipalities and districts should take.
The Bothell/Kenmore reporter reached out to all candidates to get their takes on the results and next steps, these were the responses from those who replied.
As of Friday at noon, incumbent Andy Rheaume has a 59-41 percent lead against challenger Roz Gorc for Bothell City Council Position No. 2.
Andy Rheaume
Continuing Bothell’s downtown revitalization is a high priority for Rheaume he said in an email response. He said he is excited to work with new members on the council, and is grateful for what the old council has done for the city.
However, he said he has heard from residents that more attention needs to be focused on the rest of the city as well, which he said he will be working towards as well.
Roz Gorc
Gorc said she will continue looking for opportunities to serve the citizens of Bothell in an email response. She said the experience of campaigning for office took some getting used to, but she thinks she will run again in the future. She said she met wonderful people and learned about the community.
Gorc said she will be following the council as it addresses challenges associated with rapid growth, rising costs, taxation and said she will be presenting regularly to the council.
James McNeal has a 59-41 percent lead against Tim Ottersburg for Bothell City Council Position No. 4.
James McNeal
McNeal said he will be looking into transportation issues, crosswalks and sidewalks, especially around schools and funding for the fire department and city parks.
“I think the big things for me are the things we ran our campaign on,” he said.
He said his experience with OneBothell has taught him how to work with people to get things done, and that he looks forward to increasing collaboration between area municipalities.
“We really need to start working with Redmond, Woodinville, Kenmore,” he said. “It also gives us the ability to understand how what they’re doing impacts us, and how what we’re doing impacts them.”
McNeal hopes he can get state and federal legislators to work across the aisles to secure funding and grants for the city, and that the community should be leading the discussion in regards to balancing development and preserving open spaces.
“I think the community needs to make the decision on ultimately what’s the best use for it,” he said.
“I think it’s important for everyone to stay engaged, make sure that they reach out to us,” he said.
Davina Duerr has a 69-30 percent lead for Bothell City Council Position No. 6.
Davina Duerr
Duerr said she’s looking forward to seeing Bothell grow, and wants to look into creating a main street program to support businesses in renovating and restoring their historical buildings.
She is also interested in improving sidewalks, particularly around school zones.
“Budgets are values, and kids need to be valued in our budget,” she said.
Long term plans include continuing to look at how to attract and increase public transit in Bothell.
“I’d love to see a multi-level parking garage put in at the current downtown Bothell park-and-ride,” she said, which would serve for the transportation system and as downtown parking.
Parks and open spaces are also of concern to her, particularly Wayne Golf Course and Shelton View Forest.
“I’m all in favor of saving Wayne. I think there’s many reasons that Wayne needs to be saved,” she said, including salmon habitat.
But she’s also concerned with the overall tone on the council.
“I think our first job on council is to change the atmosphere on council to one where there’s mutual respect and transparency. I think that’s the first job for all of use,” she said.
In the race for Kenmore City Council Position No. 5, Kenmore Mayor David Baker leads challenger Bob Black 68-32 percent.
David Baker
In his coming term, Baker said he’s grateful for the people of Kenmore to allow him to continue serving in his position on the council.
He said he wants to continue working and watching the development of the downtown area.
“There will be other major announcements in the next year I’m hoping,” he said.
These developments can’t be discussed due to confidentiality agreements said Baker.
“There’s some amazing things going to be happening in Kenmore,” he said.
Also on his agenda are replacing the bridge along 68th Avenue, which has received full funding, and working to acquire full funding for the State Route 522 improvements, as well as sidewalks, bike lanes and making the city more pedestrian friendly.
Bob Black
Black said he believes policy should be more proactive instead of reactive, and is disappointed in the election turnout.
“It’s truly unfortunate that there wasn’t a better turnout in the elections,” he said. “A lot of people are becoming disillusioned so they’re not even attempting to make change.”
He is concerned about city surcharges on utilities and where the funds are going.
Black said he plans on running again.
“One person can’t make a change, but one person can initiate a change,” he said.
Black said big issues he hopes the city addresses are improving infrastructure for traffic, not just pedestrians.
“There needs to be some thought and action put into developing and maintaining and correcting the vehicular traffic issues,” he said.
Ken Smith leads John Hammond for Northshore School Board District Director No. 2, 53-46 percent.
Ken Smith
Central to Smith’s ideas for the board are immediately increasing transparency around capital financing and where the funding comes from and goes. Starting off, he said the board needs to hold a study session.
He also said he wants to see every child graduate and start on a path to success, as well as articulating his goals for the board.
“From a leadership perspective, I think it’s very important to have a clear goal,” he said.
“We can work together to make things better.”
David Cogan is leading Berta Phillips 57-43 percent for Northshore School Board District Director No. 3.
David Cogan
Cogan said he’s looking forward to studying issues facing the district like boundary realignment, the challenge program, readjusting junior high and middle schools and full-day kindergartens, and implementing changes.
“We have a lot of immediate challenges in our districts in the next couple years,” he said. “All these things are getting top priority.”
Funding was also a key issue to Cogan.
“I think the overarching goal would be that the state of Washington’s legislature fully fund education,” he said.
All 2015 general election results will be certified on Dec. 3 by the Washington Secretary of State’s Office.
