Meet the Candidate: LFP City Council Pos. 5 - Tracy Furutani

Tracy Furutani

Tracy Furutani - running for re-election to the LFP City Council

A “thank-you” to the many of you who have taken the time to talk to me about Lake Forest Park, whether at your doorstep or at city events! It was great to hear your sometimes neighborhood-specific, sometimes citywide, concerns.

The reason I’m running for re-election to Council Position 5 is to continue these conversations, and to use my Council experience to make good policy decisions. I am also committed to maintaining the influence of Lake Forest Park on regional policy, including bringing in our fair share of county, state and federal grants, and working with our neighboring cities, including those in Snohomish County, on regional concerns.

In the last four years, we (that is, the residents of Lake Forest Park) wrote and adopted a compelling Climate Action Plan; now we need to implement it and hold ourselves accountable for reaching the Plan’s goals.

We purchased and designed a lakefront park; now we need to manage its construction and maintenance.

We acquired various land parcels around the city; now we need to connect them with trails and walkways, and keep pedestrians, bicyclists and pets safe as they use them.

We stabilized city finances; now we need to find a way to continue to fund those city services all of us depend on and treasure in the face of uncertain political and economic times.

These examples show the need for proven leadership on the Council. It’s too easy to lose institutional knowledge and to forget why certain actions were taken. In my day job, I’ve taught sciences at North Seattle College for three decades, long enough to see how the loss of institutional memory can lead to the unnecessary expenditure of time and money in re-creating processes that worked perfectly well before. To prevent this from happening in this city, I am committed to passing on my council experiences to my current and future colleagues.

It’s also too easy to lose the relationships created between this city and other cities and agencies, crafted by years of working with people in those other bodies. Whether the topic is restoring salmon to our streams, considering a north county swimming facility or enhancing our disaster response, this city’s councilmembers cannot afford to withdraw from regional affairs. I am committed to continuing to serve on regional bodies to learn how other cities deal with issues that we have and to represent Lake Forest Park on a larger stage.

The city of Lake Forest Park contains an active, vibrant community in a nearly-unique Pacific Northwest setting. We’ve started some good work in maintaining that vision while incorporating the inevitable growth in a modest way. My goal for the next four years is to continue fulfilling this vision, and to mentor the next generation of Lake Forest Park leaders.