City of Mercer Island | Maureen Judge for City Council

Mercer Island is going through an explosion of growth in its town center and is an important cog in the wheels of the region's transportation system. It's a city that is no longer an island unto itself.

Four candidates are seeking to fill an open position on the island's City Council, where important decisions will be made in the coming years, affecting everyone in the community. For that and other reasons, The Seattle Times recommends Maureen Judge for the Position 3 council seat. Judge is relatively new to Mercer Island — although her family is not — and like many members of the community, she treasures the small-town atmosphere while anticipating what is ahead: a future of more traffic, denser neighborhoods and the constant political hum of Interstate 90 that defines island mobility.

Mercer Island voters have before them several good candidates for the office.

Mike Cero has a strong background in engineering and advocacy for public schools. He offers an exemplary record of public service, but appears to lean more toward schools than council.

Jon Friedman is a local developer, also with good credentials, and has a commercial pilot's license, which prepares him for discussions with Renton over possible expanded air service to Renton Field. Each is qualified to hold the office.

A fourth candidate has strong community roots but is not qualified for the modern and increasingly sophisticated problems facing Mercer Island.

Judge emerges as the candidate with the most promise. She has strong backing from a wide range of groups and a good grasp of the problems and opportunities of managed growth.

Mercer Island is embarking on a complicated and transforming decade that will require that its public servants deal with major changes on I-90 and the reality of growth management's thirst for more density.

The community is facing all the issues of a city sitting between two large urban centers: public safety, traffic and the need to grow responsibly. The new City Council needs fresh ideas to retain its community values.