Background
Bryan Holloway was born in Virginia and then moved with his family to Maryland at age 8 and then to North Dakota at age 10. He grew up there, graduating from the University of North Dakota in 1985 with a degree in mechanical engineering.
A job offer from Boeing brought him to Washington in 1986, and he originally settled in Renton. He and his wife of 12 years, Wendy, moved to Issaquah in 1992.
He and Wendy moved to Snoqualmie in February of 1999. They have two children; 4-year-old Alex, who attends preschool, and 2-year-old Rachel.
Holloway has worked at Boeing for 19 years, most recently as the program deputy and project manager for Phantom Works, a research and development unit of Boeing that focuses on electronic and electrical system designs. He was also taking classes toward a masters degree in business until recently, when he paused his studies to focus on his campaign.
Though a newcomer to politics, Holloway has participated in Snoqualmie’s Starlight Cinema.
Holloway had been thinking about running for a while, but he had to carefully weigh his family and professional obligations after a council member approached him about running. After much consideration, he decided to give it a go.
Growth and finance
Holloway said the city is about to come into a difficult financial time. His campaign has pointed out the potential budget losses that the community could face once Snoqualmie Ridge Phase II (SR II) is fully developed.
For comparison of the potential future state of the budget, Holloway explained that if one were to take the money currently associated with development out of the current budget, the city would have a $2-million shortage. He said adding 5 percent for inflation to the $2-million deficit and including the effects of Tim Eyman’s Initiative 747 that confined property tax increases to 1 percent will exaggerate the problem. Property taxes are the next largest revenue source for the city after development money.
Holloway advocated managing that financial transition over the next five years to adjust for the changes.
He said he concurs with the activities the council is doing currently to look into the numbers to see what could be done to maintain service levels along with the budget.
The city’s newly formed Economic Development Committee will also be a benefit, he said.
He has been in initial discussions with some of the current council members about developing incentives to attract businesses. He said that speeding up the occupancy of the business park could start a cash flow now that would benefit the city in five years when the SR II development has been completed.
The city needs to do things to increase economic activities, he said. He said that finding a balance and the right mix between residential and the business/retail community is also needed.
He suggested the business park on the Ridge be utilized with light industrial companies, while implementing a retail focus for the more tourist-friendly downtown area, though retail should also be available on the Ridge. He advocated keeping the downtown area’s small-town character.
“Snoqualmie really has no option to do the Issaquah solution,” he said, noting that continued growth is not really a possibility considering the geography and legal boundaries.
Holloway said that a comprehensive flood plan downtown would also be something worth pursuing as it might decrease start-up costs for businesses wanting to locate there.
Currently, he said, a business wanting to build something has to invest in a flood analysis. If the city already had a comprehensive plan available for review, the business would most likely be able to review that document instead, potentially reducing start-up costs.
Holloway also advised paying attention to the recent development report suggestions.
“You’ll hear from both me and my opponent that there’s grand opportunity in a lot of the reports that are coming out right now and we need to look at those and pick out things we can start doing now,” Holloway said.
For flood issues, Holloway advocated more engagement with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in terms of redefining the flood plan and maintaining the city’s FEMA rating, since it affects insurance rates.
Holloway said that as the city builds out, he anticipates that tax revenue would increase. He said that he does not believe the city is growing too fast, though he would be concerned if it grew any faster as the city still needs to address the current and future issues with the budget over the next five years.
Police and fire
Holloway does not see a current problem with the way in which police and fire are handled, and he thinks its status is not in jeopardy of changing.
He wants to keep services local. He said he agrees with the council’s approach to public safety, developing a range between 1.3 and 1.6 officers per 1,000 people.
“We have a plan; we’re working on it,” he said. “We know where we’re going. We’re going to keep the police local.”
Holloway would like to start analyzing calls per shift per officer and crime rates in order to understand the true level of service.
Anticipating the population to reach between 10,000 and 15,000 people, Holloway advocated letting the city grow into its numbers for police service, monitoring its development and letting “the city come up around us.”
Holloway said that he is a proponent of providing services to North Bend, noting that the opportunity for the city in exploring that partnership might lead to benefits such as concentrated coverage at needed moments.
Community center
Holloway is in favor of a community center. He suggested the city ask community members how they want to fund a center and how much they want to spend by putting out a survey for citizen feedback.
In regards to a pool, Holloway is supportive of the community’s decision. However, he noted that North Bend and Issaquah already have pools, with the North Bend pool recently receiving an upgrade.
Holloway suggested finding out the North Bend pool’s retirement schedule and then holding discussions about joining forces. While he would not want to merge with the park district, he is open to contributing jointly to a pool once a location that “best supports that total community” is decided upon.
Tourism
Holloway is interested in looking into promotion ideas for the community and exploring ways to encourage visitors to stay in the city longer; leaving more dollars.
He said he thinks the new convention center at the Salish Lodge will help a lot, adding that one thought he had to inform visitors about the area was to add copies of books written about Snoqualmie’s history to the hotel’s guest rooms.
However, Holloway is interested in exploring other options and tourist venues, as well, and said the downtown area is better positioned to take advantage of the tourist dollar than is the Ridge.
He said he envisions the area filled with places that emphasize the small-town feel of the area. For the Ridge, he said he would like to see more retail, but of a “different flavor” than would be in the downtown area.
In this way, he said the city would get a mix of what it has to offer.
Vote for me,
not the other guy
Holloway said his management style and technique, level headedness and ability to focus on the facts, as well as his experiences working with people and working with multimillion dollar budgets, contribute to why he would make a good council member.
Not afraid of the numbers, he said he is interested in providing more than just statements for the people; he wants to give them “meat” so that people can see, read and understand the issues.
He said he believes that the citizens deserve to have complete information available to them, and that council members should “bring all cards to the table.”
He also emphasized his list of six current council member endorsements.
“They know my working manner and how I do things,” he sai
