Originally published November 4, 2009 at 4:25 PM | Page modified November 4, 2009 at 6:31 PM
Comments (6)
E-mail article
Print view
Share
Kirkland: under new management
By large margins in four races, voters in Kirkland opted for vision, competence and civility. All will be necessary as the city grows: A measure to add 33,000 new residents is passing.
KIRKLAND clearly understood the importance of Tuesday's City Council elections.
By large margins in four races, they opted for vision, competence and civility. Disputes and schisms had made the Kirkland City Council so dysfunctional members were barely speaking to one another, let alone working as a respectful civic body.
The winners were council veteran Joan McBride, two newcomers, Penny Sweet and Amy Walen, and a seasoned former mayor of Redmond, Doreen Marchione. Together they bring a range of professional and community connections and experience that will refresh local government.
All those skills and energy will be needed. For starters, Kirkland is on the threshold adding 33,000 new residents.
Voters in Finn Hill, Kingsgate and North Juanita are saying yes to annexation. The approval rate must stay above 60 percent because the terms require acceptance of a share of Kirkland existing debt. Final voter turnout must also reach 6,580 — equal to 40 percent of the potential annexation area's turnout in the 2008 general election.
Kirkland voters made clear they wanted change on the City Council, but they turned down a 1.5 percent utility-tax increase that would have raised the taxes on electricity, natural gas, phone and cable bills to 7.5 percent. The message was: Get along better, and do more with less. The City Council will be looking at balancing the city budget with cuts to jobs or services — or both.
Kirkland is in the midst of change. Downtown is a flurry of activity, with construction on a transit center, redevelopment of Kirkland Park Place, new commercial development and a King County utility project.
New council members are eager to promote their community as they protect the picturesque qualities of its waterfront downtown. They are eager to explore the opportunities around the Totem Lake urban center, as it looks to a second act.
With a pending retirement, the reconfigured City Council will be hiring a new city manager. Kirkland, on several levels, will be under new management.
Raw Video | Real Salt Lake receives the MLS Cup trophy
Real Salt Lake is handed the 2009 MLS Cup trophy at Qwest Field, November 22, 2009.

Entertainment | Top Video | World | Offbeat Video | Sci-Tech
nwjobs

Post a comment

Michelle Goodman blogs about work/life balance.
How to tell your office you're gravely ill
Post a comment
nwautos

Choosing a new sedan? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet.
Post a comment
- 'The Road' takes Viggo Mortensen to Mount St. Helens and Astoria, Ore.
- Craigslist adoption ad: A plea by young mother-to-be? A scam?
- Tugboat sinks on Seattle's waterfront
- Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
- Italian lead prosecutor argues Knox motive was hatred
- Italian prosecutors request life sentence for UW student
- Man shot in chest on E. Union Street in Capitol Hill
- Chase shrugs off loss of CD investors
- Washington state wines make annual best-of list
- Vikings easily beat the Seahawks
- Senate vote clears hurdle
239 - Vikings easily beat the Seahawks
128 - Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
122 - Tight Senate vote launches health care over hurdle
120 - Palin excitement builds in Tri-Cities
119 - Cutting through breast-cancer confusion
90 - Game thread
70 - New York terror trials will restore faith in rule of law
56 - Historic health care bill clears Senate hurdle
51 - Chase shrugs off loss of CD investors
51
- Washington state wines make annual best-of list
- Nonprofits get creative using Twitter and Facebook to make donation easier
- It's possible to recover a life lost to hoarding
- Lynnwood is reinventing itself — again
- Great places to cross-country ski for free (or almost) in the Methow
- 'The Road' takes Viggo Mortensen to Mount St. Helens and Astoria, Ore.
- Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
- Recipes: Sesame Pork Roast, Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes, Gingerbread with Lemon Sauce and more
- Banff: powder, peaks & purity
- 175 foster kids in Washington get 'forever families'






