Patterson chosen as mayor of Carnation
Published 3:11 pm Thursday, October 2, 2008
CARNATION — The Carnation City Council appointed council
member Bob Patterson as mayor at the city’s first meeting under its new
form of government.
Patterson “ran” unopposed for the post last week. At the same
meeting, the group unanimously chose council member Stuart Lisk as mayor pro tem.
The new council — Patterson, Lisk, Don Raybuck,
Yvonne Funderburg and Joan Sharp — spoke informally about who would be
the city’s next mayor, and they agreed that one of the incumbent council
members would be the best candidate.
“So, that narrowed it down to the three of us,” Patterson said.
“Don can’t do it and Stu works and is away a lot, so I was the one who was left.”
“It looked like the most logical thing to do.”
With time, Patterson said he felt more comfortable with his role as
the community’s representative and is ready to take on the challenges of
the position. “I accepted it and think I should do it,” he said. “And now
that I’ve arrived, I’m committed to do it and desire to do the best job possible.”
Many people might recognize Patterson’s name from his school
days at Tolt High School, now Tolt Middle School. Patterson served as the
principal from 1959 to 1963. He then went on to other districts and retired
from the public school system in 1980. Since then, he founded the
Eastside chapter of Habitat for Humanity and was a board member for Lake
Washington Technical College.
Patterson was originally appointed to the city council in April 1998
after former councilman David Shoemaker resigned from the position due to
“being called once again out of town.”
As soon as Patterson took his oath as a councilman, he was forced to
deal with several problems including the investigation of members of the
Carnation Police Department and the resignation of Mayor Jack Stein.
In the next year, Patterson anticipates dealing with more
challenges such as the bringing a sewer system into the community — an issue
that already has its supporters and protesters.
“Carnation has a good future as a small city and the question is
always growth, and that’s what we’ll need to face,” he said. “We can’t stop it,
but we can handle it to keep the small-town atmosphere.”
“People are afraid that the sewer will bring unlimited growth, but
we do need the sewer.”
With the mix of the new and old council members, Patterson said,
they should be able to handle any situation that impacts the city.
“Joan has her reputation throughout the Valley, so I don’t think I
need to say what she can do. She’s an imaginative and creative person and
straight forward. You always know where she stands,” he said. “Yvonne is in
the business community, and prior to that, we haven’t had someone from
the businesses.”
As for the veteran council members, Patterson said they have a
history of working well together, and along with the new members,
“the chemistry will be excellent.”
Funderburg agrees that her involvement with Carnation’s
business community will offer a unique perspective to the council. One of
her goals is to encourage more community participation in the political
process.
“My interest is in the welfare of the town,” she said. “I’ve always
been service-oriented and I just enjoy volunteer type of jobs … from Camp
Fire Girls on.”
Funderburg added her first meeting as a new council member was
a challenge, since she didn’t know a lot of the history of certain agenda
items. So, when making her decisions, Funderburg relied on the reason
she originally ran for the position.
“I was cautious on most things … so I had to take a look at it from
my point of view as servicing the people of Carnation.”
The Carnation City Council meets at 7 p.m. on the first and third
Tuesday of every month.
