Sammamish Mayor Malchow Won't Seek Reelection In 2019

SAMMAMISH, WA - Mayor Christie Malchow won't run for reelection in 2019, she announced on Facebook Friday. Malchow called the mayor job "taxing" on her and her family, but also took time to reflect on some things she is proud of that happened during her watch.

"This last year has been very taxing, not just for me, but on my family too. I’ve poured my heart and soul into this job. I love serving the residents of this city more than I can convey here," she wrote.

Malchow first won the Position 2 seat on Council in 2015, taking over from Nancy Whitten. She defeated challenger Mark Cross with 58 percent of the vote. She was elected mayor unanimously on Jan. 2, 2018.

There are three seats up for election in 2019, including Malchow's. So far candidates Rituja Indapure and Karen McKnight have filed to run, but neither have specified which seat they are seeking. Malchow did encourage anyone who wants to run to reach out to her for advice.

"During the last three years, we have revised the way the city measures vehicle trips on our roadways and the impacts of development on existing facilities," she wrote in her Facebook post. "We have strengthened environmental regulations, we increased and changed how we communicate with our residents, we changed development regulations, acquired acres upon acres of new park land, we continue to champion spawning grounds for the Kokanee salmon, we entered into contract negotiations for a new City Manager this week, and much, much more."