Showing posts with label candidate forum. Show all posts
Showing posts with label candidate forum. Show all posts

OCT 1 Candidate forum - Shoreline PTA Council and NUHSA

Friday, September 27, 2019

OCT 1 Candidate Forum
Tuesday, October 1, 2019 at 7pm

Sponsor: Shoreline PTA Council and NUHSA
Featuring: Shoreline City Council and Shoreline School Board

Moderated by the League of Women Voters


Shoreline Room at the north end of the complex




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October is Political Month: four opportunities this week to meet candidates

Ballots for the fall election will go out on October 16 and must be turned in by November 5th.

To help you make choices on candidates for the main races, seven different organizations (so far!) are holding forums and meet and greets so you can see and hear from the candidates in person.

This week there are four.

OCT 1
Tuesday, October 1, 2019 at 7pm
Sponsor: Shoreline PTA Council and NUHSA
Moderated by the League of Women Voters
Shoreline Center
18560 1st Ave NE, Shoreline 98155
Shoreline City Council and Shoreline School Board

OCT 3
Thursday, October 3, 2019 at 7pm
Sponsor: Briarcrest NA, Ridgecrest NA, Shoreline Area News
Prince of Peace meeting hall
14514 20th Ave NE, Shoreline 98155
Shoreline City Council
Shoreline School Board meet and greet

OCT 5
Saturday October 5, 2019 from 10am to 1pm
Sponsor: Meridian Park PTSA
Meridian Park Elementary cafeteria
17077 Meridian Ave N, Shoreline 98133
Shoreline City Council and Shoreline School Board
Candidate Forum with Meet and Greet

OCT 6
Sunday October 6, 2019 from 3pm to 4pm
Sponsor: North Seattle Progressives (NSP)
Shoreline - Lake Forest Park Senior Center
18560 1st Ave NE #1, Shoreline 98155
Progressive candidates from the cities of Shoreline, Lake Forest Park, Kenmore, Edmonds and Lynnwood, King and Snohomish counties, Edmonds, Shoreline and Seattle school boards, Snohomish county courts
Candidate Meet and Greet

The complete list is here.



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Six Candidate Forums scheduled for local races in Shoreline and LFP

Wednesday, September 4, 2019

A candidate forum in 2010
Photo by Steven H. Robinson

There are six candidate forums scheduled locally - so far.

One for the Lake Forest Park city council; five for Shoreline City Council; and four for Shoreline School Board, (although half are meet and greets). One forum includes Shoreline Fire commissioners and Ronald Wastewater District commissioners.

5 candidates running for 3 positions on the Shoreline School Board
6 candidates vying for 3 positions on the Shoreline City Council
6 candidates vying for 3 positions on the Lake Forest Park City Council and 1 for Mayor

No one is including the Northshore Fire commissioners, Northshore Utility District, Lake Forest Park Water commissioners, or North City Water commissioners.

Two forums are still in the planning stage and details might change on some of the others. We'll keep this article updated as information comes in.


OCT 1
Tuesday, October 1, 2019 at 7pm
Sponsor: Shoreline PTA Council and NUHSA
Moderated by the League of Women Voters
Shoreline Center
18560 1st Ave NE, Shoreline 98155
Shoreline City Council and Shoreline School Board

OCT 3
Thursday, October 3, 2019 at 7pm
Sponsor: Briarcrest NA, Ridgecrest NA, Shoreline Area News
Prince of Peace meeting hall
14514 20th Ave NE, Shoreline 98155
Shoreline City Council
Shoreline School Board meet and greet

OCT 5
Saturday October 5, 2019 from 11am to 1pm
Sponsor: Meridian Park PTSA
Meridian Park Elementary cafeteria
17077 Meridian Ave N, Shoreline 98133
Shoreline City Council and Shoreline School Board
Candidate Forum with Meet and Greet
Followed by potluck lunch

OCT 6
Sunday October 6, 2019 from 3pm to 4pm
Sponsor: North Seattle Progressives (NSP)
Shoreline - Lake Forest Park Senior Center
18560 1st Ave NE #1, Shoreline 98155
Progressive candidates from the cities of Shoreline, Lake Forest Park, Kenmore, Edmonds and Lynnwood, King and Snohomish counties, Edmonds, Shoreline and Seattle school boards, Snohomish county courts
Candidate Meet and Greet
Followed by weekly meeting at 5pm

OCT 8
Tuesday, October 8, 2019 at 7pm
Sponsor: Richmond Beach Community Association
Richmond Beach Congregational Church
1512 NW 195th St, Shoreline 98177
Shoreline City Council, Shoreline School Board, Ronald Wastewater, and Shoreline Fire 

OCT 10
Thursday, October 10, 2019 from 7-9pm
Sponsor: Shoreline Chamber of Commerce
Shoreline City Hall Council Chamber
17500 Midvale Ave N, Shoreline 98133
Shoreline City Council
Business focus

OCT 15
Tuesday October 15, 2019 at 7pm
Sponsor: The Board of Third Place Commons
Moderated by the League of Women Voters
Town Center, Lake Forest Park, intersection of Bothell and Ballinger Way NE
Lake Forest Park City Council and Mayor

NO DATE SET

The 32nd District Republicans will hold a forum.

The Ridgecrest Public House is considering a candidate meet and greet.


Update 9-4-19  LFP Mayor is included in Oct 15 forum
Update 9-27-19 Added North Seattle Progressives meet and greet Oct 6


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Last candidate forum of the season held by Meridian Park PTSA

Sunday, November 4, 2018

By Diane Hettrick

The Meridian Park PTSA, in the very nicest way, laid down the law for the participants in their candidate forum on November 1 in the school cafeteria.

They issued a set of rules for the participants about how they would present themselves and what they were not to talk about.

Here's one. "We have requested that the speakers answer the following questions with a more personal tone, rather than canned talking points."

It's an approach I haven't seen before, or used, but it worked quite well.

Unfortunately they forgot to give the rules to the audience.

It did lead to the best line of the evening. In the last ten minutes they opened the forum to questions from the audience. A women excitedly questioned Jesse Salomon and to a lesser extent Cindy Ryu about campaign contributions from Chevron, Monsanto, and Stand for Children. The question was longer than most of the presentations but she finally paused and Jesse began to answer. But she interrupted him so often that it was clear she didn't want to hear what he had to say - she just wanted to raise her voice with accusations.

The moderator tried to smooth the waters to let Jesse answer the questions.

The moderator said, "Yes, I too want to hear about his contributions from Chevron and Monsanto - of course I bought gas at Chevron on the way here."

Cindy Ryu tried to bring it down and gently asked the woman, "I'm sorry, are you saying that because we have campaign contributions from those companies, they have bought us?" "Yes!" was the immediate response.

Stand for Children is a child advocacy organization that strongly supports charter schools, a topic not appreciated by the teachers' union and many in the education community. Jesse explained that he had met with them and talked about their shared concerns about the inequities in education. They wrote him a $1000 check but he returned it.

Jesse talked about going to Garfield High School and seeing the division between the kids in the honors program and the local kids and being disturbed about it. Cindy said she had a similar conversation with SFC about inequities in education. It resonated with her because of her personal history as an immigrant and how education made it possible for her family to succeed.

New sidewalks - Prop 1

The initiative opponents were downright genial. The pro and con Sidewalk Prop 1 speakers resembled each other physically, a point they joked about. Dustin McIntyre was on the sidewalk committee and is opposing Prop 1 (to pay for new sidewalks) because he said that the committee was 2/3rds in favor of fixing the existing sidewalks first. He also criticized the staff for changing the committee recommendations, and for the financial structure of the Proposition. He wants the City to start over. He said we need to get creative and find other ways to get new sidewalks like perhaps using money from the Parks bond.

Nicholas Merriam was not on the sidewalk committee. He's a citizen who wants sidewalks and volunteered for the Pro committee. He said he wants sidewalks where he can walk with his kids and that he's afraid that if this Proposition fails, we'll never return to it and we will get new sidewalks only at the very slow rate we are getting them now.

I-1631 Carbon Tax

The speaker for the Carbon Tax initiative, I-1631, Stephanie Celt, is a Washington State Policy Coordinator with BlueGreen Alliance. She noted that this is the most expensive initiative in Washington state history because of the amount of money being poured into the opposition from out of state corporations. The tax would go on the biggest corporations.

Ben Buchholz, the speaker against the Carbon tax, has been a lobbyist since he graduated from the UW some ten years ao. However, he is also a 5th generation family farmer from Yakima with a friendly, folksy demeanor. He said he was afraid that the companies being taxed would just pass it on to consumers at the pump and it would create hardships for low-income people, like his farmworkers who drive an hour to get to his orchards.

I-1639 Gun violence prevention
Speakers did not show for either side.

I-1634  Taxation of items for human consumption
Speakers did not show for either side.

Candidates were asked to say why they had gotten in to politics, how constituents could contact them, how they would stay in touch with constituents, and how voters can make a change in their community.

State Senate

Jesse Salomon talked about being deeply affected by the inequities of the world. He said "I'm not comfortable being in the brokenness of this world without doing anything about it." He's proud that he sponsored paid family and medical leave for City staff, that he helped salmon habitat by removing the dam on Boeing Creek, and for his part in siting an apartment building for homeless people in Shoreline. He talked about changing his position on an issue because one person presented him with a written, well thought out rebuttal.

Maralyn Chase talked about going to a country school with 8 grades and wanting to be student body president but being told it had to be a boy. Then trying to get a job when she was a young married and being told they wouldn't hire her because she'd just get pregnant and quit. Then as a widow with a child not being able to get health insurance at the family rate because she wasn't a "family." She decided to be a painting contractor in the early 80s and had to have her brother sign for her business loan because they wouldn't give it to a woman.

She talked about our regressive tax system and the need for tax reform, like taxing "intangibles" like investments in stocks and bonds.

State House of Representatives

Once again, the Republican candidates Frank Deisler and  Diodato (Dio) Boucsieguez  didn't bother to show. They sent statements. Deisler is opposed to sanctuary city policies, safe injection sites, increased taxes of any kind, and "failed socialist, progressive Seattle policies."

Boucsieguez said "We have to bring fiscal responsibility back to Olympia and stop the spreading of Seattle’s impulsive jobs tax. In addition, the creation of drug consumption sites must be prevented. These kind of failed policies hurt our region."

Cindy Ryu, the incumbent, said she worked full time in her family's business, had three kids in three schools but ran for office because of the 1st mile of Aurora. She's in her 5th term in the legislature and she loves committee hearings. "It's like grad school every day!" Email is the best way to reach her. If she doesn't see it, her legislative aide Shoubee Liaw will bring it to her attention. She and Ruth Kagi did telephone town halls with hundreds of people participating and she will continue those with Lauren Davis.

She is endorsed by the WEA, the teachers' union. She said it's not appropriate to accuse politicians of being "bought". She said she takes money from the beer lobby even though she is one of three legislators in the "dry" caucus. When the beer lobby comes to talk to her she listens to their issues.

She said that one person's story can change votes - keep telling your story.

Lauren Davis got involved in politics only by accident. When she returned from working in Africa in preschool programs, her best friend Ricky was depressed, addicted, and near death. She was his primary caregiver for years. One of the doctors on one of many ER room visits, told her that if he could involuntarily commit Ricky to treatment, he could save him but he was prohibited by law. After Ricky recovered, Lauren started lobbying the legislature. In the end she passed the largest investment in alcohol and opioid treatment in the history of the state. Female legislators kept telling her she should run for office and she finally decided she could get more done from the inside. Her issues are early childhood education, suicide (she wrote the Forefront in the Schools curriculum), opioid addiction, and homelessness.

All in all, the Meridian Park PTSA ran a well planned and smoothly executed candidate and issues forum. Audience members did find out more of the human side of the candidates and were able to consider issues in a calm and considered way.



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Meridian Park Elementary PTSA candidate and issues forum Thurs Nov 1

Thursday, November 1, 2018

Meridian Park Elementary PTSA candidate and issue forum Thursday, November 1, 2018.

Doors open 6pm for bake sale and coffee. 6:30pm the initiatives; 7pm the candidates; 7:30 questions from the community; 8:30-9pm closing statements.




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32nd District Candidate forum at Ronald United Methodist Church Thursday

Wednesday, October 24, 2018


Candidates in the 32nd Legislative District will appear in a forum at 7pm tonight (Thursday, October 25, 2018) at the Ronald Methodist Church, 17839 Aurora Ave N, Shoreline 98133.

The weekly community dinner precedes the forum. Doors open at 5:30pm and all are invited to participate.

Doors open for the 32nd Legislative District candidate forum at 6:30pm. It will be moderated by Pastor Kelly Dahlman-Oeth of Ronald UMC.

The forum is sponsored by the Faith Action Network, a statewide political advocacy organization.

All 32nd District candidates have been invited; most have said they will be able to attend the forum.

Candidates on the November 6 general-election ballot in the 32nd Legislative District include incumbent Democratic State Sen. Maralyn Chase and her challenger, Democrat Jesse Salomon; incumbent Democratic State Rep. Cindy Ryu and her challenger, Republican Dio Boucsieguez; and the two candidates seeking to replace retiring State Rep. Ruth Kagi, Democrat Lauren Davis and Republican Frank Deisler.

The 32nd District includes the city of Shoreline, part of northwest Seattle, Woodway and nearby unincorporated areas of south Snohomish County, south Edmonds, the city of Lynnwood and a small part of Mountlake Terrace.


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Candidate Reception October 17

Sunday, October 14, 2018

Ridgecrest Public House
Photo by Steven H. Robinson
The Forum that was not to be, and the reception that remains

In today's climate, it is vitally important for people to get in front of candidates well before sitting down with their ballots and the voters pamphlet. 

Who are you choosing to elect? Anyone can write the right things, but do the people themselves have authenticity, integrity, intelligence, and listening skills?

There are precious few forums organized in the area that give voters the opportunity to see candidates in person, but also to hear them in action, responding in real time to questions and differing points of view.

One such forum was planned for October 17, to be held at the Crest Theater with a meet and greet following at the Ridgecrest Public House, the corporate sponsor of the forum. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be. 

Senator Maralyn Chase, challenger Deputy Mayor Jesse Salomon, and Representative Cindy Ryu confirmed. Candidate Lauren Davis had a conflict, but would have sent a representative to read her responses to questions. Candidate Frank Deisler had a conflict, and did not take up the offer to respond to questions. And Candidate Dio Boucsieguez did not respond at all.

And so the forum was cancelled. However, there is interest and energy among these candidates to meet the public. So, with the gracious support of the Ridgecrest Pub, the reception is ON.

Please join us for this informal chance to talk with candidates:

32nd Legislative District Candidate Reception
8pm Wednesday October 17
Ridgecrest Public House 

Confirmed attendees include Senator Maralyn Chase, challenger Deputy Mayor Jesse Salomon, and Representative Cindy Ryu.

The Ridgecrest Pub is a 21+ establishment, so please plan accordingly.



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Richmond Beach candidate forum is lively but professionally run

Jesse Salomon answers a question
Photo by Steven H. Robinson


By Diane Hettrick

The Richmond Beach Community Association has been holding candidate forums for almost two decades, and moderator Tom Petersen has been presiding for a dozen of those years.

In that time, as the ad says, they have "learned a thing or two."

They needed all that expertise at their forum on October 9, 2018, which featured a somewhat rowdy audience, sets of "gotcha" questions, no show candidates, and a major date conflict.

A date fluke put their forum on the same night as the League of Women Voters Snohomish County - both inviting all the candidates from the 32nd Legislative District. The two organizations coordinated their presentations so the candidates could appear at both.

Moderator Tom Petersen, center. Left is candidate Joe Campagna
right is candidate Les Ponomarchuk
Photo by Steven H. Robinson


District Court Judge

This gave the Shoreline District Court race pride of place on the agenda. Joe Campagna and Les Ponomarchuk are vying for the open seat left by the retirement of Judge Doug Smith. Both candidates live in Shoreline. Both have deep experience and good ratings.

Oddly, Ponomarchuk asked to have a supporter introduce him - something quite unusual in time-limited candidate forums. Superior Court Judge Catherine Shaffer, also a Shoreline resident, stood up to introduce him. After a couple of minutes it was clear that it was more than an introduction, but the kind of speech that a campaign chair gives at the fundraising event for the candidate.

The audience started shouting for the candidate to speak for himself. Tom Petersen intervened and pointed out that he had agreed to an introduction only and that it was time for the candidate to speak. All this time the audience is shouting, Judge Shaffer is still extolling the virtues of her candidate, and the candidate is standing by. Finally Ponomarchuk spoke for a few minutes, in a halting and fairly inarticulate manner.

In response to audience questions which were written on index cards and handed in to Petersen, the candidates discussed the idea of community courts, which would handle low level property crimes. Both agreed that it was a good idea but Ponomarchuk said there was no money to do it. Campagna said there were costs involved with not doing it which would offset the cost of the court. Many people charged with these crimes are homeless, mentally ill. When they can't make bail, they stay in jail and we pay the cost of their incarceration awaiting trial. We pay for a deputy to transport them from south King county to court. A community court would connect them to services.

When asked what they would do to make the court run more efficiently, Ponomarchuk said that as a court commissioner he presides over the busiest calendar in the state of Washington and is very adept at processing cases quickly.

Campagna said that there are a large number of people who miss their court dates and have to be rescheduled. If Shoreline instituted a reminder system of text messages it would not be necessary to issue warrants, reschedule, and drive them to court.

State Senator

By this time, some of the other candidates had started to arrive from Snohomish county, so Tom brought up the candidates for State Senator for the 32nd District. Maralyn Chase is the incumbent senator and Shoreline Deputy Mayor Jesse Salomon is the challenger. Salomon won the primary with Chase coming in a close second, thus dropping the third Centrist candidate, Keith Smith, from the race.

In Salomon's opening statement he said that he had been seven years on the Shoreline council, a prosecutor working with abused children, and he was running for office because he wants to help to make things better. In this political climate, he said, it's dangerous that political opponents become enemies.

He said that he wants to be someone who gets things done, that it's not enough to just be in office for 17 years. The way to get things done is by building relationships and working together.

Chase said she had been in the legislature for 17 years, 7 in the House and 8 in the Senate, and before that she was a general contractor and she looked forward to serving another term. She said there were ongoing issues in the legislature and cited the McCleary decision, international trade, jobs, and transportation issues.

Part way through the questions that followed, Tom Petersen's skills were challenged again when an audience member started shouting that her questions had not been asked, that her rights were being violated and he was suppressing free speech.

Tom explained that he was disregarding the "gotcha" questions, the questions aimed at only one candidate, and questions that did not pertain to the senate race. The audience member continued to argue, but finally subsided when Tom suggested she write a letter to the editor.
  • State Income Tax: Chase said that we have a regressive tax system and need a state income tax. Salomon said voters were 64% against it and said we need to look at some of the hundreds of tax exemptions on the books like the one for bull semen.
  • Homeless: Salomon said that some have mental issues, some need to get their act together. Shoreline is doing its part with the 198th Street Project. Chase cited an Edmonds CC program educating inmates so they don't end up on the streets when released from Monroe.
  • Unemployment / trade jobs: Salomon said people come from out of state for tech jobs - why aren't we training our own kids? Why are we funding classes in high school that have no practical application? Chase cited the Edmonds CC classes training inmates for trades.
  • Public disclosure for legislators: Chase said that it's important to safeguard citizens and whistleblowers who consult their legislators. (See Op-Ed by Chase). Salomon responded by reading from The Seattle Times' editorial in response to Chase's op-ed and stating that everything he has ever done on the city council is open to the public.

After this session, Tom Petersen declared a brief break and half the audience, which had been standing room only, took the opportunity to leave.

Maralyn Chase answers a question
Photo by Steven H. Robinson


State Representatives

The remaining candidates, for the State House of Representatives, were Cindy Ryu and Lauren Davis. Both were endorsed by Ruth Kagi, who is retiring from her seat in the legislature. Ryu is the incumbent in her race. Both Ryu and Davis won their primaries with huge margins and their Republicans opponents - Frank Deisler against Lauren Davis - and Diodato (Dio) Boucsieguez against Cindy Ryu - have apparently given up.

The Republicans did not respond to invitations to appear at this forum. The League made contact with them but they did not attend that forum. Neither did they appear at a forum at Edmonds-Woodway High School.

Lauren Davis
Lauren Davis has a compelling biography, starting with creating educational programs for preschoolers in Africa, and being the primary caregiver for six years for her best friend, who was drug addicted and suicidal. From this experience, she went to the UW where she wrote Forefront in the Schools, a program designed to train parents and community to identify and help suicidal teenagers. The program is now presented in both Shorecrest and Shorewood as well as other high schools in the state.

She became painfully aware of the deficiencies and limitation of resources to help with addiction treatment and spent months lobbying the legislature, finally passing “Ricky’s Law,” one of the largest investments in addiction treatment in state history.

Cindy Ryu
Cindy Ryu has been in the legislature for eight years. She said she is in the middle of a lot of projects that she wants to continue working on. She loves infrastructure, taking care of the things that you don't see and aren't so interesting but are vital. For example, sewer pipes have to be maintained - if they break, you have a crisis.

She is the chair of the housing committee, which includes housing for the homeless. She was able to pass a law in the last session that allows cities to donate or sell property at a loss, rather than selling to the highest bidder. This change in the law made it possible for the City of Shoreline to work with partners to create homeless housing on 198th and Aurora.

Future candidate event
Candidates will appear in one more event, at the Ridgecrest Public House on Wednesday, October 17, 2018 at 8pm.



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Candidate forum Tuesday

Monday, October 8, 2018

2011 RBCA Candidate Forum


Everyone is welcome to attend the RBCA Candidates Forum, Tuesday, Oct. 9, in the lower level of the Richmond Beach Congregational Church, 1512 NW 195th Street in Shoreline, at 7:00pm.

Shoreline City Councilperson Jesse Salomon is challenging long-time State Senator Maralyn Chase for her seat in Olympia, and this promises to be a spirited debate. In another closely watched race, Republican Frank Deisler and newcomer Lauren Davis are vying for the State Representative seat left vacant by Ruth Kagi's retirement. In the other State Representative race, incumbent Cindy Ryu is opposed by Republican Dio Boucsieguez.

Those candidates for state office will appear later in the program, as they will be speaking at the League of Women Voters' forum at Edmonds Community College during the dinner hour. Much thanks to the LWV and the candidates for working with the RBCA to appear at both events.

Joe Campagna and Les Ponomarchuk, both rated exceptionally qualified, are seeking the Shoreline bench at King County District Court. Incumbent Marcine Anderson's opponent in the race for judge in the same court dropped out, but she is invited to appear at the forum nevertheless.

The candidates for U.S. Senate, Maria Cantwell (D) and Susan Hutchison (R), and 7th District U.S. Representative, Pramila Jayapal (D) and Craig Keller (R), are invited to Richmond Beach but may or may not attend; often the candidates for federal office send spokespeople.



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Mark your calendar: Richmond Beach Community Association's Candidates Forum Oct 9

Wednesday, October 3, 2018

The driveway to church parking is hidden
by the trees
Google Earth
Richmond Beach Community Association's Candidates Forum
Tuesday, Oct. 9, 7:00 p.m. (note earlier start time)
Richmond Beach Congregational Church
1512 NW 195th St, Shoreline 98177

Candidates Forum at October Richmond Beach Community Association meeting

In what might be the most critical mid-term election in 160 years, many of the tensions and divisions are found down to local level.

Though the national partisan divides appear in only a few of the elections being contested in Shoreline, there are sharp contrasts and hot contests within the same party for some other races.

Everyone is welcome to attend the RBCA Candidates Forum, Tuesday, October 9, 2018 in the lower level of the Richmond Beach Congregational Church, 1512 NW 195th Street in Shoreline, at the special start time of 7:00pm.

Shoreline City Councilperson Jesse Salomon is challenging long-time State Senator Maralyn Chase for her seat in Olympia, and this promises to be a spirited debate. 

In another closely watched race, Republican Frank Deisler and newcomer Lauren Davis are vying for the State Representative seat left vacant by Ruth Kagi's retirement. In the other State Representative race, incumbent Cindy Ryu is opposed by Republican Dio Boucsieguez.

Those candidates for state office will appear later in the program, as they will be speaking at the League of Women Voters' forum at Edmonds Community College during the dinner hour. Much thanks to the LWV and the candidates for working with the RBCA to appear at both events.

Joe Campagna and Les Ponomarchuk, both rated exceptionally qualified, are seeking the Shoreline bench at King County District Court. Incumbent Marcine Anderson's opponent in the race for judge in the same court dropped out, but she is invited to appear at the forum nevertheless.

The candidates for U.S. Senate, Maria Cantwell (D) and Susan Hutchison (R), and 7th District U.S. Representative, Pramila Jayapal (D) and Craig Keller (R), are invited to Richmond Beach but may or may not attend; often the candidates for federal office send spokespeople.

Each candidate will speak, and a moderated discussion using questions from the audience will take place.


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League of Women Voters Snohomish County Candidate forum Oct 9

The League of Women Voters of Snohomish County will run forums for candidates from six districts in October. In each case all candidates are invited, although some choose not to attend.

Candidate Forums are scheduled twice in the Black Box Theatre at Edmonds Community College in Lynnwood, 20310 68th Ave W, 98036.

  • October 9 at 6:00pm the League has invited candidates of Legislative Districts 21. and 32 (includes Shoreline)
  • On October 16, at 6:30pm, the invited candidates are from US Congressional Districts 1, 2, and 7 (includes Shoreline, Lake Forest Park, Kenmore, and more).

The League urges the public to attend to understand more clearly the ideas and intent of each candidate before voting.

The League of Women Voters partners for these forums with the Sno-Isle Libraries, the Edmonds Community College, the AAUW, the NAACP, the Everett Herald, and the Snohomish County Elections and Voter Registration office.



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Chamber forum had the best seats in town

Thursday, October 19, 2017

Chamber of Commerce President Dale Sutton
welcomes audience and candidates to the forum
Photo by Steven H. Robinson

By Diane Hettrick

The Shoreline Chamber of Commerce candidate forum audience had the best seats in town. Literally. The forum was held at the Crest Theatre on Tuesday where attendees relaxed in comfortable theater seats to enjoy the show.

Dale Sutton, President, Shoreline Chamber of Commerce, welcomed the crowd and introduced the council candidates.

The forum was moderated by Ellen Barton, League of Women Voters.

Candidates participating:

Position 1
  • Jin-Ah Kim
  • Keith McGlashan (Incumbent)
Position 3
  • Will Hall (Incumbent, Unopposed) 
Position 5 - open position
  • Carolyn Ahlgreen
  • Susan Chang
Position 7
  • Chris Roberts (Incumbent, Unopposed)

Each candidate was given time to introduce themselves.

The following five questions were posed to all the candidates, who were given equal time to answer.

The questions dealt with the following topics:
  1. Economic Development in Shoreline, what will you do?
  2. City implementation of a B/O tax, Yes or No
  3. What role, if any, does the city council play in rezoning?
  4. Do you support the maintenance of parks and the tree canopy in Shoreline?
  5. What are your ideas for creating available low income housing in Shoreline?

At the end of the question/answer period each candidate was given one minute to make a concluding statement.

After the forum, many of the candidates and audience moved to the Ridgecrest Pub across the street, sponsor of the event. Candidates met with attendees in small groups, answering individual questions and listening to ideas and concerns.



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Lake Forest Park candidate forum Wednesday

Tuesday, October 17, 2017

Reminder: Wednesday, October 18th - LFP Candidates Forum

Meet the candidates for School Board and LFP City Council at Third Place Commons on  Wednesday, October 18th at 7:00pm.

The Forum will be moderated by The League of Women Voters.

Bring questions for the candidates.

Town Center, Lake Forest Park, Ballinger Way



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Candidate forums on Tuesday and Wednesday

Sunday, October 15, 2017

The last two candidate forums before the November election will be held this week on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Tuesday, October 17, 7pm, doors open at 6:30pm. Shoreline City Council

Chamber of Commerce and Ridgecrest Public House sponsor a forum for Shoreline City Council candidates, including those running unopposed. Questions were prepared by Chamber members about the future of Shoreline. "We will ask about economic development, the City's financial sustainability, protecting natural areas, redevelopment around light rail stations, and more." Crest Theatre, 16505 5th Ave NE, Shoreline 98155.

Reserve your seat with a free ticket available here:

Tickets will also be available the night of the event. One ticket per person, limited availability and first come first serve.


Wednesday, October 18, 7-8:30pm, School Board, LFP City Council


The format will focus on the contested seats, particularly the open school board seat for District 2. There will be questions from both the League of Women Voters moderator and audience. The unchallenged incumbents will also have time to present their views and answer questions.



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LFP candidate forum focus on school board district 2 position

Saturday, October 14, 2017


Lake Forest Park Candidate Forum
Wednesday, October 18, 2017
7 pm to 8:30 pm
Third Place Commons, Town Center
Bothell and Ballinger Way NE, LFP


The Lake Forest Park Candidate Forum will be held on Wednesday, October 18, 2017. It will focus on the contested seat for the Shoreline School District Board. And although the election is district wide, Jill Brady and Heather Fralick are running from District 2, which includes most of Lake Forest Park.

The other contested election is for the Lake Forest Park City Council position 3 incumbent John Wright and his challenger Ben Gonzalez O’Brien are vying for this seat.

Semra Riddle is the incumbent in position 1, Mark Phillips in position 5 and John Resha in position 7. These incumbents have no challenger.

The format will focus on the contested seats. There will be questions from both the League of Women Voters moderator and audience. The unchallenged incumbents will also have time to present their views and answer questions.

This is the last forum for school board candidates and the only forum for LFP Council candidates.



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Briarcrest / Ridgecrest forum asks the tough questions of Shoreline council candidates

By Diane Hettrick

Candidates for contested Shoreline Council seats took a lot of deep breaths before tackling the complex and thoughtful questions presented at the Briarcrest / Ridgecrest / Shoreline Area News candidate forum on Thursday evening at the Prince of Peace church on 20th NE.

Multi-part questions dealt with city-wide issues, some immediate, such as their position on injection sites, and others very long-range, such as their ideas on homelessness.

Other questions dealt with affordable housing, income tax, property taxes, upcoming bond issues, and rezone issues of tree loss, open space, and infrastructure.

There were some sharp contrasts. Jin-Ah (pronounced Gina) Kim, running against Keith McGlashan, and Susan Chang running against Carolyn Ahlgreen for an open seat, both took very moderate views of past actions by the city council. "You don't get a magic wand when you become a council member," said Jin-Ah. Susan Chang had been part of many of the decisions in her role on the Planning Commission, and has been attending city council meetings since July.


Carolyn Ahlgreen, on the other hand, listed a litany of accusations against the current council, saying they had threatened Dreamers, parks, and threatened people who opposed them with arrest, that they were not acting as voices of the people and were failing to protect and defend citizens.

Moderator Sara Kaye of Briarcrest announced that she was getting rid of the first question, as the City Council voted unanimously Monday to take Hamlin Park off the list of sites under consideration for a maintenance yard, eliciting applause from the audience. Chang, Kim, and Ahlgreen still pointed out they had all participated in the protest. McGlashan said that after the first staff presentation he had a private meeting with the City Manager and advised her to remove Hamlin Park from the list.

All the candidates said they were opposed to "injection sites" except for Kim, who has a unique perspective as a recovered opioid addict. All agreed that Shoreline was a poor location for such a site and already has Therapeutic Health Services on Aurora.

A question about the new development at the post office site not having retail space elicited comments about wanting restaurants and businesses, but noting the number of empty storefronts in North City.

A question of what to do about homelessness elicited several comments about finding the roots of the problem and developing solutions. One commented that the family whose rent was raised is in a different situation from an alcoholic / drug addict who is on the street and require different solutions. Ahlgren referred to addicts' choice to continue using as an impediment to solutions.

Councilmember McGlashan said that he served two years on the King county Committee to End Homelessness in Ten Years, which had every social service and government in the county represented. He said "after two years of work on the committee, I feel more hopeless now than when we started."

The Shoreline Council candidates will appear together for the last time at the Chamber of Commerce forum on Tuesday, October 17, 7pm at the Crest Theatre in Ridgecrest. (see article)



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Shoreline City Council Candidates Forum at the Crest on Tuesday

Friday, October 13, 2017

Candidate forum at the Crest Cinema Centre Tuesday
Photo by Steven H. Robinson


Shoreline City Council Candidates Forum at the Crest

Tuesday, October 17
7:00-8:30 pm | doors open at 6:30 pm

Crest Cinema Centre

Free
All Ages


​It’s almost Election Day; do you know who your city council candidates are?​


​Six candidates are vying for election to four city council seats on Election Day, Tuesday November 7th.

Two incumbents are running unopposed: Will Hall and Chris Roberts. Incumbent Keith McGlashan has a challenger in Jin-Ah Kim, and Susan Chang and Carolyn Ahlgreen are vying for the open seat.

See and hear all the candidates in person as they answer prepared general interest questions about the future of Shoreline. We will ask about economic development, the City's financial sustainability, protecting natural areas, redevelopment around light rail stations, and more.

Bring your family! Snacks and beverages will be available for purchase in the lobby.

Adults, feel free to join us before or after across the street at the Ridgecrest Public House!

Tickets available at these locations:

· Ridgecrest Public House (520 NE 165th Street)
· Beach House Greetings (626 NW Richmond Beach Road)
· Reserve tickets online (will-call at the event)

Tickets will also be available the night of the event. One ticket per person, limited availability and first come first serve.

This event is sponsored by Ridgecrest Public House.


Thank you to the Crest Cinema Center for hosting and to the League of Women Voters for providing a moderator.

The Shoreline Chamber of Commerce is a non-profit organization supporting Shoreline area businesses through networking, education and mentoring.

For more information, email info@shorelinechamber.org.



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PTA forum Thursday for school board candidates

Wednesday, October 11, 2017



Shoreline School Board Candidates Forum 
Thursday, October 12th, 2017 


Shoreline PTA Council 6.12 is hosting a forum for the Shoreline and Lake Forest Park communities to meet the candidates who are running for the Shoreline School Board in the November 2017 election. This is a great a opportunity to learn about State and local education issues.

Join us on October 12 at 7:00pm in the Mt. Rainier Room at the north end of the Shoreline Center, 18560 1st Ave NE. Shoreline 98155.

The event will be moderated by Washington State PTSA Region 6 Director Sherry Rudolph. 

The schedule will be posted on the PTA website.

More information here and on Facebook.


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Candidate forum Thursday for Shoreline city council candidates

Tuesday, October 10, 2017


Shoreline City Council candidates will participate in a question and answer session sponsored by The Briarcrest and Ridgecrest Neighborhood Associations and the Shoreline Area News.
Thursday, October 12, 2017
6pm Meet and Greet the school board candidates
7pm City Council Q/A

Prince of Peace Church, 14514 20th Ave NE, 98155

Why should you attend a candidate forum? Read this.




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Candidate forums this week

Monday, October 9, 2017

There are three opportunities this week for residents to hear from the people who are running for office.

Tuesday
  • The Richmond Beach Community Association forum on Tuesday, October 10, 7pm is the most comprehensive for Shoreline residents, as they have invited every candidate - Shoreline City council, School Board, fire commissioners, Ronald Wastewater Commissioners. The forum will be held in the basement of the Richmond Beach Congregational Church, located at the corner of Richmond Beach Road and 15th Avenue NW.
Thursday


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