Shoreline Council Candidates Talk Economy

It’s the economy, the stupid.

Economic development, one of the most important priorities for Shoreline residents, was also identified as a top goal for Shoreline City Council candidates but differences exist in how each candidate wants to get there as the races continue to heat up.

All six candidates in the three races appeared before about 100 people at Meridian Park Elementary School, Thursday night.

Pre-approved questions coming from the four neighborhoods sponsoring the event—Meridian Park, Echo Lake, Ridgecrest and North City —were asked by League of Women Voters moderator Ellen Barton of Seattle of all candidates.

Robin McClelland, a former Shoreline Planning Commissioner, and candidate for Position 6 responded to a question about new Council goals, by stating, “we cannot ignore what is going on around us, we cannot ignore Occupy Seattle, we cannot ignore houses that are going under in our community and people that are being put out of their houses.”

“The economy needs to rise to top of goals,” she said. “ Our vision is in place, it’s been in place. We have lots of plans, we have lot of regulations we have strategies. We need to implement them more than ever in terms of getting Aurora Ave. going.”

Her opponent Jesse Salomon said he preferred to talk about priorities than goals given the limited city budget.

“We need to have growth and economic development as a priority or a goal and I think it’s best done in the Town Center area that’s the best area to absorb the new housing so it doesn’t spill out into single family neighborhoods we do need to be respectful of the business that exists there.”

Other top priorities for Salomon are creating more sidewalks for traffic safety and maintaining the park system.

Position 2 incumbent Chris Eggen said the healthy city initiative was important for youth and children but he said emphasizing economic development was important.

“Although we’ve worked on it, it isn’t solved,” he said. “I will say we’ve made some progress. We’ve seen the city and Chamber of Commerce come together and work together for the first time in years.”

He said a transit-oriented development near 192^nd St. and the passage of the Town Center Plan are paving the way for the future.

“This is just the start,” he said. “ We need to improve our economy and bring jobs and services for the citizens. It brings in tax revenue which will be essential for us to provide services in the future.”

Position 2 challenger William Hubbell, a business consultant, said most of the cities goals deal with economic development but to get there the goal to layer on top is communication as the modes of communication change rapidly.

“Service isn’t what we think we’re giving, it’s what people think they’re getting,” he said. “We have to be careful with what language we use when we’re addressing every issue with every citizen.”

Position 4 challenger, Janet Way said she wanted to bring back the goal of an environmentally sustainable community and brand the city as such.

“Tell everyone what’s great about Shoreline, the parks, entertainment, education,” she said, adding that an emphasis should be placed on the heritage of the area, the development of Aurora Avenue and Richmond Beach.

Position 4 incumbent Doris McConnell said she believes in keeping goals to a minimum so they are manageable and within reach given the current financial situation.

She said economic development is the priority but because previous Councils changed the rules so often it created unpredictability.

“It’s really important for you to pick a Council that brings development back,” she said. “We missed the opportunities when we had a great vibrant economy. Now we are trying to prepare for the next turn. We lost economic development directors because of the difficulties in working with us.”

One of those projects was a development at the old Cascade Bingo site in Ridgecrest, which was the subject of a question.

Way and Eggen, who were on the Council at the time, said it failed for complex reasons and attributed the loss of the project to problems with the water system and the bad economy.

McConnell, who was on the Council, saw the loss of the project as a result of constant delays on the part of the city, which made it less attractive to the developer. McClelland, who was on the Planning Commission, indicated that it was a missed opportunity and it would take time for another opportunity to return.

Hubbell said developers would have to see more people in the neighborhood shopping there before committing to a project. Salomon, who lives in Ridgecrest, said he did not favor the possible six-story building heights.