Back to work

Published 11:59 pm Thursday, October 2, 2008

The election is over and most of the votes have been tallied. In Snoqualmie, it appears that Matt Larson will take over for Mayor Fletcher after the first of the year. We still have time to provide kudos to Mayor Fletcher, so I will do that in a future editorial.

But let’s focus on the issues that will face Mayor-elect Larson in his next four years.

First, police and fire services come to mind. Is the election of Matt an affirmation that the citizens of Snoqualmie want to pursue alternative emergency service providers? I think he has made it pretty clear that he is willing to pursue any option, including outsourcing. I am still not sure that the voters really picked him because of his stand on emergency services and I think the voters should be allowed to make a choice on levy amounts and type of emergency services. I am pretty sure that voters will want to retain their police and fire departments.

Another race that is indicative of the emergency services dilemma is Gil Tumey vs. Bryan Holloway. Tumey has been an avid supporter of local emergency services and has been involved in city government for several years. Holloway is a relative newcomer to the political scene and has said he wants to provide balance between the budgetary needs and future growth when it comes to emergency services. Does the loss by Tumey reflect concern about his desire to retain local services? Maybe voters are concerned, as many voters are across the country, that emergency services seem to continue to ramp up with expenditures at the expense of many other government programs. An important point for any council member to keep in mind is the skill retained by their department leaders. Put the task of balancing need and budget on those leaders’ shoulders and let them come up with a solution. If the desire of the council is to slow down growth in emergency services to be more comparative to other cities, then set that direction. Put your employees at ease by declaring you want them here.

I would hate to see Gil step away from serving the community. I truly believe that all the candidates have their interests and passion in the right place to continue supporting a community that we all love.

The other interesting race was between Tony Yanez and Bob Jeans. Looking at their positions on various issues, it is difficult to figure out why voters would prefer one over the other. Yanez has several years of experience in city government and has served on various committees. Jeans has almost no political experience.

The one issue that I could glean a difference on was that of the community center. Jeans favored the full-meal-deal, a community center with a pool from the start. Yanez preferred the original design, a phased approach that might add a pool when the population could support it. So does the election of Jeans to the council indicate a desire to move forward with the full-blown community center? Are Snoqualmie residents willing to tax themselves for both a structure and operational costs for the next decade with the hopes that someday the community center could support itself?

The school board race was also interesting, pitting a challenger with executive experience against an incumbent who is a teacher. With Kim Horn’s win, it appears that a majority of Valley residents are satisfied with the direction the school district has taken in the past. Re-election of an incumbent, to me, means a vote of confidence. The school district, though, and specifically the school board, will have to address some of the issues raised by Carolyn Simpson. The key to future support is clear communication at all levels with residents of the community. I do believe that Superintendent Joel Aune understands that and is addressing communication channels. The school board should never be perceived as the “good-ole-boys” club by the taxpayers and should address criticism head on. Criticism is a great way to come up with new ideas and get more people involved in the process.

With the news last week that the school board is proposing three levies for next February, the school board has a big job in front of them.

Congratulations to those elected, but also a big thanks to all those that ran. Without multiple candidates running for a specific position, the majority of voters would never hear positions on various issues.