Hot issues, hostility envelop contests for Shoreline council, school board

On the heels of two political embarrassments, 12 candidates are fighting for six positions in what some of them call the most heated election in Shoreline's short history.

Three positions each on the seven-member City Council and five-member School Board are contested, and results from the primary indicate there could be some close races come next Tuesday.

"There's been hostile elections in the past, but there's never been anything like this," said current Councilmember and council-elected Mayor Bob Ransom.

Ransom, who has been on the council since the city's founding in 1995, is facing political newcomer Terry Scott, a UW physician assistant who's promising a "fresh perspective."

At stake in the City Council election are the completion of a multimillion-dollar renovation project along three miles of Aurora Avenue North, plans to build a new City Hall and rewriting of a master plan for the 12-year-old city of more than 53,000 people.

Incumbents for the school district's board of directors have their own hurdles to overcome after deciding to close two elementary schools and battling with teachers and staff unions over budget cuts.

The district found itself millions in the red in 2005 and 2006 after administrators made a series of budget miscalculations. The board eventually asked its superintendent to resign, and two financial officers blamed for the errors quit.

During the two years since the deficit was revealed, the board has made cuts, including laying off employees, closing schools and asking for concessions from its unions to help balance the budget.

The district is under close state watch because of its precarious financial situation and during the next few years faces building its reserves until it is on strong financial footing.

City Council

Council incumbents Ransom and Maggie Fimia took a political hit last month when four other members of the council voted to settle a lawsuit about an alleged violation of the state Open Public Meetings Act.

The lawsuit, filed by former council members and others, alleged Ransom, Fimia and two other council members violated the law by making plans outside of a council meeting to fire a former city manager.

Ransom and Fimia maintain they did nothing wrong and they point out the settlement contains no admission of guilt. Nonetheless, the situation has caused political pain for both of them, as the city was forced to pay $159,000 to settle the suit and is on the hook for hundreds of thousands more in legal bills.

The two others named in the lawsuit are either no longer on the council or not up for re-election.

Candidate Paul Grace, though he isn't running against a council member implicated in the lawsuit, said the issue is big among voters.

"Even the appearance of a lack of transparency is an important issue," he said.

Grace, a former School Board member, said an important issue will be finding new revenue streams for dealing with mounting city expenses. Jail and health-care costs will both increase, he said.

Grace's opponent, Chris Eggen, a 32nd District Democrats advocate, agreed the city needs economic development. He's proposing a citywide listing to promote Shoreline businesses.

Fimia, a former King County Council member, is defending her seat against political newcomer and PTA veteran Doris McConnell. Fimia said the lawsuit was political and that the settlement was timed to affect the election.

"This was a politically motivated lawsuit; if there was compelling evidence they would have gone to trial and gotten all of their legal fees paid," she said. "It's unbelievable how much energy and time was spent on this."

McConnell is openly talking about the lawsuit in her campaign: "Here's what I think: The spirit of the law was violated, and nobody has to prove it to say 'shame on you.' Nothing will happen like that when I'm in government."

Scott said he plans to pay close attention to constituents. "The citizens heard what I had to say and they carried me to a victory in the primary."

Ransom, who said a victory would lead to his final term on the council, noted he listens to the community but that the council's decisions can't please everybody all the time.

School Board

A dismal district financial situation came to a head earlier this year when the board voted to close two elementary schools, and again recently when contract talks with teacher and staff unions went sour, leading to a strike threat.

Elizabeth Beck, co-president of the Shoreline Education Association, said her organization recently decided to throw its support behind the new candidates for the three open School Board positions, saying it's time for a change in direction.

"The structural integrity of our district is at stake," she said. "Shoreline can't afford any more mistakes or fiscal mismanagement."

But candidate and current board President Michael Jacobs disagrees. The hardest decisions and budget cuts already have been made, thanks to the hard work of the current board, he said.

"If the worst was not over, I would not be running again," he said. "Our future is extremely bright."

Jacobs is running against a newcomer who will be both a student and a School Board director if he wins in November.

Kyle Burleigh is a political-science undergraduate at the University of Washington and has about two quarters left before he graduates.

Burleigh said he's rung the doorbells of about 5,000 homes in his campaign and believes he's been well received.

"What has experience gotten us in the past five years?" he asked. "My opponent has all this experience as a lawyer, but we've had these red flags in audits."

Incumbent Dan Mann said he's had to make tough and unpopular decisions as a board member, but it's part of the job.

"My job is to choose a superintendent and pass a budget that's in balance. I can't say yes to everybody," Mann said.

Candidates are talking about more than just budget problems. Some, such as attorney Maren Norton, say the board needs to change the way it hears from parents and others.

The public-comment section of the School Board meetings traditionally has come at the end; it should be at the beginning, Norton said.

Richard Potter, another challenger, agrees.

"They [the School Board] meet up front, they make all their decisions and then they ask, 'Does anybody have anything to say?'

"Well, you've already made your decisions; there's nothing to say now," Potter said.

Board director Jim Leigh said the board does listen but doesn't always respond the way some people want it to: "The big part of communication is to listen, and we listen."

Brian Alexander: 206-464-2026 or balexander@seattletimes.com