Recording of Briarcrest candidate forum now available

Shoreline City Council candidates
Photo by Oliver Moffat

Briarcrest candidate forum recording can be viewed here

Our article on the forum here

Other forum recordings here

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Briarcrest candidate forum: Malek and Snider spar over Housing Policy and Tree Canopy

From left to right, Deputy Mayor Laura Mork, Valerie Snider, Councilmember Ebon Pobee, Jack Malek, and Mayor Chris Roberts answer questions at the Briarcrest Neighborhood Association candidate forum
Photo by Oliver Moffat

While Malek calls for streamlined permitting to encourage economic growth and new housing, Snider wants to prevent displacement and preserve trees. 

By Oliver J. Moffat

On Thursday night, the two candidates in the city’s only competitive council race gave voters more details on their vision for the future of the city at a forum hosted by the Briarcrest Neighborhood Association.

The only contested race voters will have a say on is between Jack Malek and Valerie Snider, who are competing for council position No. 1. Incumbent Mayor Christopher Roberts, Deputy Mayor Laura Mork, and Council Member Eben Pobee are unopposed.

The comments from the candidates have been edited for length and clarity. In the interest of time and space, the comments from Mork, Pobee, and Roberts have not been included here.

Question: Why are you running for office?

“I’m running here because there are two different types of campaigns being run… I would like to think that mine is based off of research and reality…” said Snider. She listed “true affordable housing, … maintaining our tree canopy, … and… growing small businesses…” as her priorities. 

Malek said he’s focused on affordability, “I think one thing that is happening is taxes. They're going up through the roof... and in terms of cost of living… housing is through the roof. So, for my platform, housing is… the most important.”

Question: How do you plan to support small businesses in our community to keep them open and profitable?

Snider wants to prevent displacement and provide financial assistance to preserve existing businesses.

“Lena's Cafe… was displaced… because they cannot afford the lease in the new apartment complex there on 15th in North City… There's 3 small businesses over in Richmond Beach… whose lease… has been cut short… Will they find another place to go? We don't know. It's unlikely,” she said. 

“There needs to be some financial assistance”,  said Snider. “It doesn't necessarily have to come from the city. But there can be, facilitation by the city and promotions of grants… small business grants, federal grants, and… also training… and testimonials from other businesses who have been successful,” she said. 

Malek, in contrast, wants to grow the economy by attracting large employers and permitting more neighborhood businesses. 

“What we don't have is a daytime audience. Our town goes from about 64,000 residents to 28,000 or 30,000 residents between the hours of 9 and 5. That's not enough to sustain a lot of the businesses that are here, let alone the ones that would like to relocate here,” Malek said. “I would… leverage our college, Shoreline Community College and get the biotech community started here that's coming out from Canyon Park… And bring a daytime population that we so desperately need.”

In addition, Malek supports a plan from the Chamber of Commerce to allow more businesses to operate out of existing houses, called adaptive reuse of small housing. “Small housing in the form of ramblers and beaters that are along 5th Avenue and the 15th Avenue corridor between the two light rails, that would be much better suited for businesses. Small businesses like attorneys' offices, chiropractic clinics, jewelry stores… art galleries…,” he said. 

Question: What are your thoughts on the zoning changes?

Malek defended increased zoning density, saying housing is unaffordable because there is not enough supply and it is causing homelessness. 

“We have the same number of houses for sale today, 2025, as we did in 1995. We have the same volume available today, in 2025, as we did 30 years ago. We have 70 million more people in this country since that time. Demand is through the roof. Supply couldn't be more starved than it is now,” Malek said.

“And I will tell you, homelessness is the product of not enough homes. I mean, yes, there's mental health. Yes, there's other issues with that, but I think you'll find those are far and away smaller of a problem as simply not having affordable housing for everybody who needs it,” he said. 

Snider wants the city to consider rolling back zoning changes.

“The Growth Management Act set a target for… the city of Shoreline… of the number of new housing units at about 13,000 units starting back in 2019. And from 2019 until the present day, we've built just under 5,000 new units. We can afford to take a beat and make sure that we're not getting so hyper-focused on the activity… that we've lost sight of the objective. Which is affordability,” Snider said. 

Question: How will the current federal political environment affect the city?

Malek supports the No Kings movement and wants to ban plain closed law-enforcement from wearing masks.

“I agree with what Mayor Bruce Harrell has done… which is ICE cannot come here, wear masks, and not have professional insignias or uniforms and just take people off the streets. That's absolutely not okay…” Malek said. 

“I believe in the No Kings group [and] Indivisible Shoreline, where they're stating, these folks are grooming us, they're conditioning us, they're getting us used to the idea of bringing military force to… supplant our own police,” he said.

Given cuts to federal programs, Snider said local community groups will need to do more.

“The policies that are taking place at the federal level are really insidious… The… cutbacks… [of] SNAP [and] Medicaid… [are] only going to hurt the people who are already struggling…,” she said. 

“Shoreline has said repeatedly [in] city surveys that addressing homelessness and providing basic needs, are the top two priorities for the city,” Snider said. 

“We need to have the shelters… And the churches and the neighborhood associations… ready to engage and be our brother's keeper… And that's… why we have neighborhood associations, so we can help… our neighbors.… And so that falls on… the community…,” she said. 

Question: The Fircrest Institution is having its mission expanded… what do you think is the best use of that land?

Snider supports a plan championed by State Representative Cindy Ryu to build affordable housing and retail on part of the Fircrest campus but wants to ensure trees are preserved and the neighborhood is walkable. 

“Representative Ryu and I had a conversation… last week about that, and… she had… proposed… putting in affordable housing. Or even businesses,” she said.

“What I appreciate about that entire area is how walkable it is, because the grounds are really beautiful… So regardless of what they do, if they could incorporate that type of… walkability and the trees, I think that that would be… wonderful,” Snider said. 

Malek supports a public-private partnership to attract new bio-tech businesses to Fircrest and criticized Ryu’s leadership.

“I know a lot about that state lab, and I think it's a great institution. It's the largest lab in the state… I also know that UW-Bothell Canyon Park is a biotech facility. They have 61 corporations over there, and they are out of space. They are needing places to expand. I think this would be an ideal location, because that… available land that they are talking about is right there beside the state lab. I think it would be a place where they could train… the workforce, and it would also, again, be a place that we could include and incorporate our college. I think that it's a wonderful opportunity over there,”

Malek said.

“If I'm being totally honest, I'm sorely disappointed with Representative Ryu's performance on that land. I think it has stayed underutilized forever,” he said. 

Question: What will you do to keep Shoreline affordable for current residents?

Snider and Malek had very different answers for this question.

Near the light rail stations, Shoreline currently requires new apartment buildings to rent some units below market rate. In return, developers receive a tax break. 

Snider questions the program and wants landlords to offer larger apartments for lower rents.

“What my research has found is that the majority of these housing units that are designated as affordable are studios and one-bedroom units. And… they are for incomes up to $110,000. So that doesn't exactly scream affordable to me,” Snider said.

Speaking about the tax exemption program, she said, “I’m pleased to know that the city… council is going to review it… and I would… like… to make sure that the implementation and execution, or the juice is worth the squeeze, as they say.”

Malek, on the other hand, wants to streamline permitting to make it faster and easier for developers to build more new homes in Shoreline.  

Vacancy rates are low in many apartments, he said, “The places that do have reasonable rent, such as Shoreline 192, are completely filled… There's not enough of them. We need more… The Kinect by 185th Street Light Rail is completely filled… it's simply not enough to satisfy the need. It's a great place for people. You don't need a car.”

“We just need to move swifter… I think we need to… streamline the process…. The [city is] taking way too long. They are discouraging many of the developers… The better developers will go when there's lower hanging fruit. And that's unfortunate for us. Because … we are a wonderful city. And we deserve better,” Malek said.

Question: TREES!

Malek and Snider again sparred over whether the city’s tree canopy is increasing or shrinking. 

Both candidates said some factually questionable information in their answers, so here’s what the city has to say: 

Shoreline’s goal is to increase the tree canopy from 37.1% currently to 40% by 2050. According to the city’s 2023 Urban Tree Canopy Assessment, between 2018 and 2023, Shoreline’s tree canopy increased 10 acres (from 2,741 to 2,751 acres). In 2009, the tree canopy coverage was 31%, a slight increase in canopy from 1992, when it was estimated at 30%, according to a 2011 Urban Tree Canopy Survey.

Extolling the value of trees, Malek said, “trees are wonderful. They’re environment for small animals, for nature that surrounds us. They solidify neighborhoods, Urban Forests… [are]… a thing of beauty…”

Malek said Shoreline’s urban tree canopy is expanding and believes the city can achieve its goal of expanding the canopy to 40% by 2050.

Malek said he wants the city to prioritize reducing pollution from cars by encouraging new development near transit. 

“For every single occupant car… it takes the same amount as 15 trees. So 44% of all of our greenhouse gases come from these vehicles… 15 trees for every 1 car. There are 3 million travelers every day on the light rail. That's 45 million trees… is what it does for the carbon load,” he said. 

“I think we need to prioritize development around the light rail and around our … commercial. And for the suburban core, keep the trees.”

Snider says the city’s tree canopy is shrinking, “I have to disagree with my opponent here when it comes to the number of trees, because based off of the city's own data, we only grew from 30 to 37 over a 30-year period… from the 90s… up until 2021, which is the last data point aerial that we had. And since 2019, we have cut down about 5,000 trees. So, I would… venture a guess that it's not even 37% anymore. And instead of… increasing the tree canopy, which is the goal of our comprehensive plan, now that goal… has an even larger gap. Because we've lost our trees. So when it comes to keeping our trees, we have to stop cutting down our trees…”

Question: What are your qualifications for the job, and why do you personally want the position?

Malek: “I would love to have the position of City Council. As I mentioned, I spent 8 years on the Planning Commission. I've done just about every volunteer community position that you can hold… here in the city. I've been fortunate to have every one of them. I was treasurer of my community association, my local neighborhood community association. I was chair of the Council of Neighborhoods. I've been on the Shoreline Planning, Shoreline College Foundation, Rotary Club. I’m still an active member of many of these organizations. ShoreLake Arts especially. I love this community, I understand it at a fundamental level. I understand all of our social organizations and wish to support them to further our community. And I know that I’ll do a great job, and thank you for the opportunity.”

Snider: “Well, I admit that… compared to everyone at the table. I'm the Bob Dylan, Complete Unknown, [in] this race… I was approached, I was actually asked to run because of my passion about Shoreline… I've hosted 5 different international students for a year at a time, and each one of them went to Shorecrest High School… I was a legislative advocate for Shorecrest High School… PTSA because I feel strongly about fully funding our schools, and making our kids safe. I work for King County, that was an active decision. I actually came from big tech and in manufacturing and supply chain. But I decided that I wanted to… be a public servant, and… serve my community in better ways than for-profits, so on that, I ask for your vote.”

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City Council Candidates forum Thursday October 16, 2025 - in person and on Zoom

We’re looking forward to seeing folks at our City Council Candidates Forum this coming Thursday October 16, 2025 at the Prince of Peace Lutheran Church at 14514 20th Ave NE. We’ll try to have doors open at 6pm, start the event at 6:30pm.

We’ll have an online option! Click here to join. This is our first time doing a Zoom event so please bear with us if there are any technical hitches.

Do you have any questions for the candidates? Please send them to briarcrestneighbors@gmail.com or call (206) 289-0185. We’ll also have cards to write down questions at the door.

Briarcrest Neighborhood Association

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Join us for the Shoreline Council candidate forum on Thursday October 16, 2025

Good morning everybody! I'm hoping to see folks this coming Thursday, October 16, 2025 at our Shoreline City Council Candidates Forum at the Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, at 14514 20th Ave NE. 

Forum will be held in community hall in the basement. There is a ramp entrance from 20th Ave.

Doors open at 6pm, and we will start the event at 6:30pm. We'll be wrapping up between 8 and 8:30pm.

New this year, we have an online option! Connect here: Zoom link

Do you have any questions for the candidates? Please send them to me. We'll also have cards to write down questions at the door.

See you,

Sarah

Briarcrest Neighborhood

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Video recordings of candidate forums

Unlike previous years, most of the candidate forums have been recorded and are available online.

Two forums have been held and recorded for King County Executive.

King County
Alliance for Human Services
Executive Candidates
Thursday, September 25
Video recording

King County

League of Women Voters

Executive Candidates
Thursday, Oct 9, 6:30 - 7:30pm
Video recording

The candidate forum for Lake Forest Park City Council members is here.

Lake Forest Park

League of Women Voters
City Council Candidates
Tuesday, Oct 7, 6:30 - 8pm
Video recording

Note that Ashton McCartney, currently on the council, and a write-in candidate for Position #2, was excluded from the LFP forum. Her campaign page is here.

The Chamber of Commerce held a forum for Shoreline City Council, but it was not recorded. 

Our report is here.

Upcoming candidate forums - to be recorded

Shoreline School Board
Student-led forum

League of Education Voters
Wednesday, Oct 15, 5:30 - 7pm
Register here

Seattle

League of Women Voters  
City Council Candidates - City Wide Positions 8 and 9
Wednesday, Oct 15, 7:00 - 8:30pm

Shoreline City Council

Briarcrest Neighborhood Association

Shoreline Area News

City Council Candidates

Thursday, Oct 16, 6:30 - 8pm

Kenmore City Council

League of Women Voters  
City Council Candidates
Wednesday, Oct 29, 6;30 - 8:00pm

This list will be updated as necessary

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Snider and Malek debate Shoreline’s future at Chamber of Commerce Candidate Forum

From left to right, Valerie Snider, Deputy Mayor Laura Mork, Mayor Chris Roberts, Council member Ebon Pobee, and Jack Malek answer questions at the Shoreline Chamber of Commerce candidate forum
Photo by Oliver Moffat

By Oliver J. Moffat

The five candidates for Shoreline city council answered questions at a crowded forum hosted by the Chamber of Commerce at City Hall on Thursday, October 9, 2025.

There are five candidates on the ballot for Shoreline city council this November. Incumbent Mayor Christopher Roberts, Deputy Mayor Laura Mork, and Council Member Eben Pobee are unopposed. 

The only contested race is between Jack Malek and Valerie Snider, who are competing for council position No. 1. Snider and Malek provided more information for voters who want to know where they stand on the issues at Thursday night’s forum.  

The comments from the candidates have been edited for length and clarity. In the interest of time and space, the comments from Mork, Pobee, and Roberts have not been transcribed here. 

Opening Comments

In her opening comments, Snider said there are substantive differences between her campaign and Malek’s. “There are two different campaigns that are being run for this position. One that's more visionary and one that's more, I think, reality-based. Especially when it comes to things like affordable housing,” she said. She criticized the city’s program for incentivizing affordable housing. “We have a vision of providing affordable housing, but in reality… People who even work full-time, at a minimum wage job, cannot afford these affordable units. So I hear that the council is going to be reviewing the multifamily tax exemption [program], and I hope to be a part of that,” she said. 

In his opening comments, Malek said he wants to attract bio-tech businesses to Shoreline leveraging Shoreline College and Fircrest. “We've got a wonderful community college that puts out biotech, bio-manufacturing. We've got the largest laboratory in the state in Fircrest. These are things that are great attractors. We've got people in Bothell Canyon Park that are out looking for places… to expand their biotech companies, and they're out looking in Everett. We need to start reaching out and getting them to look here.”

How do you plan to attract and support businesses that would add to and serve the people of Shoreline?

Snider said, “What the city can do to attract new businesses is to offer temporary assistance and incentives on the financial side in order to bring them here and give them kind of allowances that might be temporary.”

But Malek disagreed. “I don't agree at all with giving incentives for businesses.” 

Instead, Malek said the city needs to do more to crack down on shoplifting. “I think one of the things we can do is actually address the rule of law. So when people go into a drugstore, they cannot walk out of there with their arms full of somebody else's goods and have no repercussions.”

Malek also wants to see lower construction costs for businesses. “I also think that the cost of new construction on these ground levels is way too high,” Malek said. And he mentioned an Adaptive Reuse proposal from the Chamber of Commerce that would lift regulations to allow more businesses in existing houses near the transit stations. 

How will Shoreline balance the needs of ongoing development in the city, both residential and commercial, while protecting trees and green spaces?

According to Malek, the city’s tree canopy has increased since 2013. “They told me we were somewhere around 13% to 15% tree canopy. And that our goal was 20%, and it takes years to get there. I thought, this is a meritable goal.” He said, “We got to 20% much sooner than that. We are currently at 37.1% canopy, tree canopy.”

Malek praised the benefits of trees but pushed back against criticism over tree removals to make way for improved mass transit. “The light rail has the equivalent of 45 million trees in terms of carbon load elimination. 44% of greenhouse gases are from our automobiles and vehicle trips. That can be mitigated mostly by the light rail,” he said. 

Snider decried the loss of trees and called for more preservation. “If you're going to increase your tree canopy, you have to invest and maintain the base. We have removed recorded almost 5,000 significant trees in the last almost a little over five years. You can't knock out the base and then try and build more. There's a very modest goal by the city to increase the tree canopy by a very modest 3%, and then there is a pie in the sky number to build it increase it by 25%. I don't think either of those is realistic if you keep knocking down the trees.”

“It's what makes people want to live here and build a business here and retire here,” Snider said. “It's not just one designated place to have a forest, because you have to drive there, and that counteracts all of the benefits of having mass transit.”

How will you attract and support businesses by removing permitting obstacles to getting a business up and running in the city of Shoreline?

Snider said, “I would endorse having a liaison with the business community… so that the folks who are coming here can understand what the process is, what permits need to be done, who to reach out to, in order to expedite that... I would have a dedicated space that folks can go to… where those folks can reach out to to understand what the process is, how to expedite it and move it along and get through it, and if they need any grants or financial assistance, how to go about that as well.”

Malek pushed back against comments from incumbent council members who said the city has improved the permitting process. “I’m intimately associated with the process, and I will tell you we have not improved, not meaningfully, and we do need to desperately.”

To emphasize his point, Malek blamed the city for how long it took for Suni’s in North City to reopen. “It took almost three years to get a place that burned down: Suni’s across the street to open their doors and then another year or so to expand into the space next door. That's not tenable. That's not tenable… We can do better, so much better.”

Snider was asked what her approach to homelessness and mental health issues will be. 

“When it comes to homelessness, this is a top priority that the residents of Shoreline have reiterated… through the city surveys… It's a very complicated issue, but the success models have shown that the best way to address the homeless situation is to take money out of the equation and for the government or the homeless organizations to own the land and to partner with nonprofits like Habitat for Humanity, for building up the residential areas and those units.”

Presumably referencing a project in Kenmore, she said, “We have seen this being done with our neighbors over at the city of Kenmore, and we don't need to reinvent the wheel here and scratch our heads and try and start from ground zero.”

As a longtime realtor with connections to developers in the area, Malek was asked to address his potential conflict of interests. 

“I will promise you, if I ever become compromised in terms of a client of mine that I'm working with or land that I own myself, I would recuse myself from that decision. I don't believe that will be a problem. I don't believe you'll find that I have an overwhelming amount of landholdings or developers that would conflict, but if it were, I'd be happy to recuse myself, if necessary,” he said. 

The candidates were asked to talk about the possibility of bringing a pool back to Shoreline. 

Malek says he supports the pool but wants to pay for it by growing sales tax revenue instead of increased property taxes. “I think we're a large enough city now of 64,000 people. We have enough of a tax base. We could do better with a business sales tax revenue base, and that's something that we really need to do. I don't think that we should keep taxing everybody with levies, interim levies, and bonds… I do think we need some way to balance getting business in here, getting it paid for, and getting it done… I think a lot of folks really need that pool. It's really not too much to ask for a city of our size and for what we have. I think we need to just make it a priority, and we can fund this thing without leaning on property taxes even more or levies and bonds. I think there are ways that we'll perhaps need a bond, but there are ways to pay it back through business sales tax revenue.”

Snider opposed the previous pool as too expensive but is open to the idea now. “When it comes to the pool, personally, I had kind of mixed feelings because the original initiative was very, very expensive. And I didn't think that that was a great use of taxpayer money. That being said, the new design… for the pool has a much lower price tag, and the people who would benefit from it, largely our seniors and our students within the school district, not to mention our families, there would be a community-wide benefit for having a pool, especially right next to the senior center. So I am leaning towards a pool. I'm very interested to understand what comes out of the committee, in terms of how expensive it is, how it would be financed, and how the county and maybe the park bonds would assist with funding that pool.”

How would you address providing affordable housing options for those who may be priced out of living in the city of Shoreline while also attracting developers to develop in Shoreline?

Malek wants to see faster permitting to increase the number of homes. “I think to make affordable housing, we need competition, we need volume. We don't have it…. We need to improve the permit times… People can't waste two to three years to get a simple permit to get town homes or single-family homes built. The more volume we get… the more competition, the lower the prices. It's just simple, simple math.”

Snider rejected the argument that building more homes is bringing down housing costs. “I live in the rezone area down in Ridgecrest, only a few blocks from the Light Rail. And getting those areas rezoned from single-family to multifamily, it was a very, very hot topic. It still is, years and years later. And when you're knocking down a single-family home and putting in multiple townhomes that go for $800,000 apiece, you're not lowering the costs of housing.”

Closing statements

Malek closed with, “I’ve got two parting comments. One, it's not about us. It's not about our children. It's about our children's children. That's a saying that I absolutely adore and I believe in. And my final one is from the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts of America: ‘Leave it a little nicer than you found it.’”

Snider mentioned her endorsements, the 32nd District Democrats, the King County Democrats, the National Women's Political Caucus, and State Representative Cindy Ryu.

Snider ended by saying, “I’ll say what I told a gentleman I asked, what message do you want to give to the Council of Shoreline? And he said, ‘Stop knocking down our trees.’ And I will say to you what I told him, ‘I’m your girl.’”

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Candidate forum in Lake Forest Park with nine candidates for city council

Nine candidates for LFP city council participated in the candidate forum on October 7, 2025
Photo by Mike Remarcke

By Mike Remarcke

The League of Women Voters of Seattle-King County presented a public forum featuring candidates for the Lake Forest Park City Council on Tuesday October 7, 2025.

Each candidate appearing on the November 2025 ballot attended the event. In addition to the regularly scheduled election for positions 1,3,5, and 7, candidates for Position 2 will also be on the ballot because of the untimely passing of Deputy Mayor Lorri Bodi. The successful candidate will fulfill the remainder of Ms. Bodi’s term on the City Council.

The event was held at the Third Place Commons in the LFP Town Center and was sponsored and moderated by the League of Women Voters of Seattle-King County.

Below are the candidates for each position along with their web site explaining their views on a variety of issues important to the city of Lake Forest Park.

Council Position No. 1

• Semra Riddle
• Bryce James

Council Position No. 2

• Fred Grant
• Matt Muilenburg

Council Position No. 3

• Josh Rosenau
• Jon Lebo

Council Position No. 5

• Reid Olsen 
• Tracy Furutani

Council Position No. 7

• Larry Goldman

In addition to the nine candidates at the forum, there is a write-in candidate for Position 2, Ashton McCartney. She currently sits on the council as the interim filling in the unexpired term of Lorri Bodi until the November election. The League of Women Voters excluded her from their candidate forum. Her campaign page is here.

The event started with a one minute opening statement, then on to pre-set questions followed by questions from the audience, once again with one minute responses.

The first question had to do with the city budget, how it comes about and who is involved. Most of the candidates say they have had experience with budgets, from small nonprofits to large operations like Sound Transit. Jon Lebo, the chair of the council Budget & Finance Committee has experience with budgeting at several large organizations and has led the process in LFP. Bryce James feels the budget lacks a process where citizens participate. Others discussed how budgeting represents the values of the community.

The next question had to do with how the city interacts with the larger community and the state to improve LFP's sense of community. Most candidates felt it was in the best interests of LFP to step out and be involved in larger issues. Several members of the council today sit on boards for a variety of operations in the region and at the state level.

A citizen’s question asked about housing density and candidates' thoughts were all over the place on this, but there was not enough time to fully discuss the issue. There were thoughts on building affordable housing, ADU’s, condos and apartments in the Town Center area. 

Another issue is tree cover and how to keep it. It is a very complex issue, with those who want to keep LFP as it is and those who see that some change has to occur, both by law and attitude. An example of the complexity are seniors who would like to downsize yet stay in LFP. Today that is not easy to accomplish.

The above goes hand in hand with the next questions, “what policies are needed for low income and working class housing and opportunity?” This is also a very tough question to answer. Most homes are over a $1 million, so creating low income housing is difficult. Matt Muilenburg thought more transportation services were needed to bus folks in to work; and more stores paying living wages was suggested by Semra Riddle. James thought that large apartment complexes would completely change LFP. Josh Rosenau would like to have a community his kids could afford to buy into. Creating low income housing in LFP will be an uphill economic battle.

There was a question on support of Prop 1. The property tax increase for public safety is on the ballot this year and citizens want to know how the candidates stand on this issue. Most were for the increase and felt this is needed for keeping the city safer. Reid Olsen, Bryce James, and Jon Lebo were against for a variety of reasons, mostly that reserves can cover the costs.

What should the city do for climate change? Views ranged from home improvements by citizens, to reducing traffic and speaking with citizens. The city has a climate plan and is working with neighboring towns and has plans to hire a climate manager to ensure climate issues are a priority for the city. Muilenburg felt we were being overwhelmed by mosquitoes and action needs to take place to alleviate the issue.

Another issue the city has dealt with over the past few years is the disagreements with Sound Transit, particularly with the widening of Bothell Way. Several incumbents voiced their opposition, but the fight is over and Sound Transit won. Now all they can do is mitigate on key issues the best they can. The city negotiated a change in the plan where homeowners were allowed five more feet in their side yards, a victory. A couple of candidates had issues, but the debate is over, Sound Transit has the power to override and the changes will happen for the future public transportation needs of the region.

The final question, what is your vision of the future of LFP. This was interestingly very much the answer across the board: They would like it to be much like it is today. They saw more parks, more bike lanes, more children playing in safe streets and neighborhoods with garage coffee shops!

There were many areas of concern covered in this gathering. As a reporter, it was difficult to keep up with so many questions thrown at nine candidates who did their best to cover the topic in the time allowed. We have included the web page of each candidate that spells out more completely their thoughts and ideas and why they are running for the LFP city council.

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Candidate forum online for King County Executive

Candidates for County Executive
Claudia Balducci / Girmay Zahilay

Hear the two King County Council members running for King County Executive (Girmay Zahilay and Claudia Balducci) explain why they want that job.  

Get the Zoom link to hear the candidates for King County Council say why they are running and answer questions. 

Sign up for free at: King County Candidate Forum Tickets, Thursday, September 25, 2025 at 6:00pm.

You will get a "ticket" notice back that confirms you are signed up. Closer to the event you will get the Zoom link.

An easy way to hear the candidates from the comfort of your favorite chair.

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Shoreline Student-Led Virtual Forum with School Board Candidates

Our Next School Board: A Shoreline Student-Led Candidate Forum

October 15, 2025 at 5:30pm online

Webinar ID 892 3858 5266

Passcode 466909

Join us for a student-led forum with Shoreline School Board candidates Lama Chikh and Emily Williams, where students will ask questions, share their priorities, and engage directly with district leaders.

Designed and led by Shoreline students, this event highlights the issues that matter most to young people and gives attendees a chance to see students take the lead in shaping the conversation. 

You’ll hear from the candidates, explore pressing topics facing Shoreline schools, and experience the impact of student leadership in education.

Whether you’re a student, educator, parent, or community member, this forum is a chance to learn, engage, and center student voices in local education discussions.

Hosted by League of Education Voters and the Shoreline Parent Teacher Association.

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Five LFP council positions are on the ballot - come hear from candidates at public forum Tuesday October 7, 2025

The 2023 LFP council candidate forum at Third Place Commons.
Photo by Mike Remarcke

The League of Women Voters of Seattle-King County will present a free public forum featuring candidates for the Lake Forest Park City Council on Tuesday October 7, 2025 at 6:30pm at Third Place Commons in the Lake Forest Park Town Center, intersection of Bothell and Ballinger Way NE.

Each candidate appearing on the November 2025 ballot has been invited to participate. In addition to the regularly scheduled election for positions 1,3,5, and 7, candidates for Position 2 will also be on the ballot because of the untimely passing of Deputy Mayor Lorri Bodi. The successful candidate will fulfill the remainder of Ms. Bodi’s term on the City Council.

Lake Forest Park voters and interested community members are encouraged to attend. Questions from the audience will be solicited.

The League of Women Voters is a national nonpartisan political grassroots organization that works to empower voters and defend democracy.

More information about the League of Women Voters can be found at lwvskc.org. For more information about this forum contact VoterServices@lwvskc.org

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Shoreline Chamber of Commerce to host candidate forum at City Hall

The Shoreline Chamber of Commerce is proud to host a Candidate Forum on Thursday, October 9, 2025, at 6:30pm in the Council Chambers at Shoreline City Hall 17500 Midvale Ave N, Shoreline, WA 98133.

This important community event will feature candidates running for seats that Shoreline voters will decide in the upcoming election. The forum provides residents, businesses, and community leaders an opportunity to hear directly from the candidates and better understand their priorities and perspectives.

Event details

• Doors open: 6:00pm
• Candidate Forum: 6:30pm – 7:30pm
• Informal meet-and-greet: Until 8:00pm

The format will include:

• Two-minute opening statements from each candidate
• A moderated Q&A session led by Dr. Tim C. Norton, Shoreline Chamber of Commerce
• One-minute responses, with a 30-second rebuttal if a candidate is named

“This Candidate Forum is part of our ongoing commitment to strengthen Shoreline’s business and civic community by ensuring access to informed dialogue and civic engagement,” said Kevin Barrett, President of the Shoreline Chamber of Commerce.

“We encourage residents and business leaders alike to attend and participate in shaping Shoreline’s future.”

Attendance is free, but advance registration is requested. Please RSVP by October 1, 2025. 

Register here

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Shoreline City Council Candidate Forum October 16, 2025

The Briarcrest Neighborhood is pleased to announce our upcoming City Council Candidates Forum, our first full format candidates event since 2019.

Details:
6:30-8pm Thursday, October 16, 2025
Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, 14514 20th Ave NE

Sponsors:

• Briarcrest Neighborhood Association
• Ridgecrest Neighborhood Association
• Shoreline Area News

Schedule:

• 6:30-7pm open chat
• 7-8pm Q&A (questions TBD)
• 8-8:30pm wrap up Q&A, final chance to chat
• After 8:30: you get a broom

Do you have questions you'd like to ask? Send them to briarcrestneighbors@gmail.com

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Public forum with candidates for Lake Forest Park City Council on October 7, 2025 at Third Place Commons

The 2023 LFP council candidate forum at Third Place Commons.
The 2025 forum will be held at the same location.
Photo by Mike Remarcke

The League of Women Voters of Seattle-King County will present a free public forum featuring candidates for the Lake Forest Park City Council on Tuesday October 7, 2025 at 6:30pm at Third Place Commons in the Lake Forest Park Town Center, intersection of Bothell and Ballinger Way NE.

Each candidate appearing on the November 2025 ballot has been invited to participate. In addition to the regularly scheduled election for positions 1,3,5, and 7, candidates for Position 2 will also be on the ballot because of the untimely passing of Deputy Mayor Lorri Bodi. The successful candidate will fulfill the remainder of Ms. Bodi’s term on the City Council.

Lake Forest Park voters and interested community members are encouraged to attend. Questions from the audience will be solicited.

The League of Women Voters is a national nonpartisan political grassroots organization that works to empower voters and defend democracy. 

More information about the League of Women Voters can be found at lwvskc.org. For more information about this forum contact VoterServices@lwvskc.org

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