Candidate Profile: Melanie Kelsey For Sammamish Council, Pos. 7

SAMMAMISH, WA — General election ballots will land in mailboxes across King County by Oct. 18, as the 2021 election season enters its final stretch heading into Nov. 2. Dozens of key races are in play this year, including contests for King County Executive, four positions on the Metropolitan King County Council and several local city council races.

As voters prepare to fill out their choices, Patch asked candidates to answer questions about their campaigns and will be publishing candidate profiles leading up to Election Day.

Melanie Kelsey is running for the Position 7 seat on the Sammamish City Council.

Candidate

Melanie Kelsey

Age (as of Election Day)

51

Position Sought

Sammamish City Council Position 7

Party Affiliation

non-partisan

Family

N/A

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No

Education

BA in Business (Finance) from the University of Puget Sound; MS in Finance from Seattle University

Occupation

15 years and Microsoft. Current: Sr Business Program Manager. Previous: Internal Audit, Finance, and Operations.

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

None

Campaign website

https://www.melanie4sammamish.com/

Why are you seeking elective office?

I am running for office because I believe that over-development within the city of Sammamish has led to a reduction in the quality of life as we deal with increased traffic, failing infrastructure, overcrowded schools, and loss of open space.

My vision for Sammamish is a safe, vibrant, fiscally sound community where residents can have reasonable commutes, family friendly neighborhoods, excellent schools, and thriving natural environments. I will fight against overdevelopment and for a balanced budget, improved infrastructure, our environment, schools, fellow wildlife, and the residents of Sammamish.

The single most pressing issue facing our (board, district, etc.) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

The most pressing issue facing Sammamish is the consequences of overdevelopment and while there are many, I believe the biggest consequence is the traffic and we've all been stuck in it. It's not just commuting, or school, it is all the time (unless you only drive in the middle of the night). Yes, it's been lighter due to covid, but that will eventually change and we will be back to where we were in 2019.

1. We need a Transportation Improvement Plan (and proposed funding) approved by the council so that our failing roads can be improved. We need to lessen the traffic situation for our residents so that drive times through the city are reduced. The current traffic situation would make any emergency evacuation in a natural disaster very difficult (we saw a preview of this on Friday) and affect emergency vehicle response times which can be a matter of life and death.

2. We need better (or in a number of cases just any) sidewalks and bike lanes to encourage walking or biking and get people out of their cars. Kids living less than a mile from their school should be able to walk safely to school.

3. We need development regulations that put a stop to the overdevelopment. I would continue the work that the Planning Commission and Council have done, and are currently doing, in this area.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

I believe we need to pause/slow development until our infrastructure (roads, sewers, schools) catches up. The Growth Management Act (GMA) requires us to have infrastructure to support our growth (it is not "growth no matter what"). We should have had that infrastructure 20 years ago before all the growth started (or as it came) which was a failure of previous councils that has now come to a reckoning.

My opponent seems to believe we should just take more growth and make it worse which is a terrible option. Kids walking to school is a great idea but we have no sidewalks, and crappy/nonexistent bike lanes (on busy roads) to many of them. Those need to be fixed/added. Yes, we have choke points that need help from multiple jurisdictions and we need to work with them and find a workable solution but we have enough smart people that we should be able to come up with some out of the box thinking.

We shouldn't have to accept high traffic and bad roads so that an out of town developer can make millions by adding thousands of dwelling units.

When Mitzi Johanknecht leaves office, what should the county look for in appointing a new sheriff?

The county should look for someone supported by the residents of the King County contract cities who are actually served by the King County Sheriff's Office (KCSO). The opinions of those residents should matter the most because they are the ones directly impacted by the work of KCSO. Seattle residents have their own police department and their opinions should not influence how some other department is run.

The Sheriff should be supportive of the officers within the KCSO which means promoting a mutually supportive relationship between the residents and our police department to make Sammamish a place where compassionate officers love their jobs and have the trust of ALL our residents regardless of their ethnicity, gender identity, or socio-economic background.

The good officers should be supported and any problem officers should be trained appropriately or let go if necessary.

What are some of your priorities for a post-pandemic recovery?

We need to make sure that the small businesses in Sammamish are getting the support from the city that they need. Sammamish has provided grant money but many are still struggling with the cost of high rent and inability to find staff.

What would you do in office to strengthen preparedness and response efforts for extreme heat and wildfire smoke events?

Sammamish has an excellent Emergency Manager who runs great programs for the City of Sammamish that provide resources and training to the residents of Sammamish. I would continue to support him and I hope that we get to a post-covid world where the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) will be back up and running.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)

N/A - the incumbent chose not to run again.

How do you think local officials performed in responding to the coronavirus? What if anything would you have done differently?

Local officials performed well in responding to coronavirus. I believe our vaccine numbers are a great tribute to the joint efforts of EFR, Sammamish, Issaquah and the Snoqualmie Tribe.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

Ending "deficit budgeting" - the city should live within its means. With resident input, programs should be evaluated, prioritized, and reduced as needed to get to a balanced budget before any new revenue (aka fees and taxes) is considered.

Alleviating the city's traffic problems and failed concurrency BEFORE additional development is taken on.

Encouraging biking and walking throughout the city with more bike lanes and sidewalks.

Requiring larger lots with fewer homes rather than the clear cutting and over-development of large homes on small lots that has led to increased traffic and overcrowded schools.

Establishing the Urban Forest Management Program, as recommended by the Planning Commission, and the corresponding workplan and resources along with acquiring and preserving more open spaces.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

Throughout my jobs at Microsoft I have successfully brought people with different agendas, sometimes opposing, together to solve an urgent problem. One such project even earned me an Execution Excellence award. I believe that once we find the common ground, rather than focusing on what divides us, we can get to solutions that will be in the best interests of everyone.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

Being on time is late

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

Sammamish city council positions are non-partisan and for good reason. The problems that we have cross party lines and the solutions should as well. A council member should not be focused on the issues of a political party when those issues are not priorities for the residents they serve.