Kenmore City Council candidates face a changing city

Not even 10 years old, Kenmore finds itself facing some major challenges, including developing a downtown with a main highway running through its core and having one of the region's biggest state parks developing on its southern border.

It's against that backdrop that eight City Council candidates appear on Tuesday's ballot.

In perhaps the most vehement duel, two incumbent council members face each other for the Position 1 seat. Bob Hensel, who holds the seat, is running against John Hendrickson, who's in Position 3.

Hendrickson says he chose to oppose Hensel because he feels strongly about Hensel's conduct, which he said promotes "a culture of self-interest over public interest." Hendrickson said Hensel, vice president of a Kenmore auction business, has been allowed to run an illegal auto-auction business at the site.

Hensel says this is a "difference of opinion" over a land-use issue that dates to 1974 and that the city and the business are working to resolve the dispute. He said he never votes on anything affecting the auction business.

Other differences center on finances and how the city operates. Hendrickson, an accountant, says the city needs to develop a one-page budget summary and a culture that provides bottom-up public service rather than a top-down authoritarian power structure.

Hensel said he's used his experience as a Kenmore businessman to bring communication and common sense to city operations. While he's been in office, he said, the city has started revitalizing its downtown — including planning a new City Hall and downtown center — as well as acquired new park property and begun work on Highway 522 to soften its effects on the community.

"I have knocked on hundreds of doors and gained a good sense of what issues concern Kenmore residents the most," said Hensel.

Position 3

Voters will see the names of Milton Curtis and Elliot Newlin on their ballots, but Newlin says he has withdrawn from the contest. Newlin says he made his decision too late to have his name removed from the ballot, but he's doing no campaigning.

That leaves Curtis, a family-practice physician with the Evergreen Medical Group, running for the seat now held by Hendrickson, who's running for Position 1.

Position 5

Deputy Mayor David Baker is being challenged by Dennis Hill who says the city is not taking advantage of its unique environmental position at the north end of Lake Washington.

"Kenmore is being left behind as economic development reshapes most suburban communities in the region," he said. "The city lacks a specific economic-development plan and, with minor exception, has done little to facilitate development of prime commercial land."

The city doesn't need a new "signature" City Hall, he said, but merely a place adequate to house bureaucrats, "to keep them warm and dry" while protecting vital records. He calls the city Internet site "essentially dysfunctional."

Baker says he's acted to preserve the city's character, including a zoning change to prohibit long-term alcohol sales in city parks, an act cited as a factor in keeping a brewpub from going into the Saint Edward State Park on the south edge of the city.

"I'm a team player, working with council members and staff to improve our city," he said. "We've made great strides in upgrading our parks, including new playground equipment and landscaping at Log Boom Park."

Position 7

Incumbent Glenn Rogers faces challenger Bob Black, who cites roads and traffic as Kenmore's main issues.

Black, who declines to give his occupation, says he's a "blue-jeans kind of guy," not a bureaucrat or professional politician.

"The current City Council listens but does not seem to hear the wants and needs of the citizens," he said. "They just pass regulations, laws and ordinances to control the citizens with little input from citizens."

While the city has plans for "a grand downtown," massive gridlock is likely to result because of failure to plan for surface and connector roads, he said.

Rogers, a Boeing manager, lists economic growth, traffic, increased community outreach and safety as among the city's priorities, along with adding sidewalks and a pedestrian overpass to a park-and-ride lot at 73rd Avenue Northeast, site of a fatal accident in June.

Keeping a close watch on Highway 522 improvements, working out interlocal and regional transportation agreements and developing Kenmore as a pedestrian-friendly place will allow the city to thrive, he said.

"I believe much can be accomplished through the City Council in a team environment that holds the citizens' interests paramount," he said.

Peyton Whitely: 206-464-2259 or pwhitely@seattletimes.com