Category: Uncategorized

In my previous post I showed that our state’s traffic fatalities are up dramatically since Washington’s police non-pursuit law was implemented.  Highway fatality rates which had been getting better for decades went up across the US in 2020 due in large part to police choosing not to pull people over for unsafe driving during the pandemic.  As Covid concerns diminished, other states began rigorously enforcing driving laws again, and road safety started trending back to baseline. But Washington State implemented a new non-pursuit law, and our highway fatality rates are climbing faster than ever.  Deaths on our roads and highways are 37 percent higher than pre-pandemic, and climbing fast, representing a current excess death toll of 207 lives lost per year over the baseline.

Thank you to all of you who left comments on my blog post.  I also received many great comments and questions in a private facebook forum where I shared this post. I’ll respect others’ privacy by paraphrasing and bundling their questions, but because others may have the same questions, I will share my answers here. Continue reading →

This is part one of a four-part entry about the damage caused by the 2021 Washington police pursuit law.  This entry covers the lives lost to traffic accidents as a result of this legislation.  The associated spike in drunk drivers will be covered in part two, the unprecedented crime wave and it’s horrendous impact on Renton residents and businesses will be handled in part three, and the setback to Washington State environmental progress will be covered in part four.  10/28/2023 Update:  I’ve covered this topic extensively during the past ten months, since publication of this first article. To see these later entries, click here

Last week Washington Transportation Safety Commission reported that 2022 saw the most traffic deaths on Washington roads since 1990, a total of 745 last year.

After decades of positive safety trends on Washington highways,  our lawmakers in Olympia have seemingly put Renton’s and other Washington streets on the path to becoming Fury Road.

Continue reading →

Dear Beloved Renton Community,

After more than 27 years of serving you on Renton City Council, I’ve decided not to seek an eighth term in this coming election season.  A shifting situation in my extended family has caused me to reassess where I want to focus my time and energy in the next few years.  Additionally, I was going to run another term to help the city recover from the pandemic, and now I’m increasingly confident that we can get the COVID-19 crisis behind us, resolve our financial challenges, and restart our businesses before the end of this term.

I am enthusiastically endorsing long-time Renton Chamber of Commerce Board Member James Alberson for my vacant position.  James has served as President of the Chamber Board for six years, and is a business owner and business development consultant who is very active in our Renton community.  I endorsed him during his run for City Council position 3 in 2019 and he came within 2 percent of winning the seat.  A few months later I nominated him as a finalist for the vacant Council 2 position and during his Council interview he demonstrated excellent preparation and readiness for a council position.  He will be an outstanding council member.  Please join me in supporting James.

Continue reading →

This coming Monday March 22, a seemingly small “street vacation” item on our Council Consent agenda will usher in construction of another 275 units of affordable housing for households making between 60-80% of area median income.  It’s another typical week for those of us in Renton working hard to build affordable housing.

The latest project in the Renton Housing Authority’s pipeline, Sunset Oaks Apartments, will provide homes to 60 low income families when completed later this year.

Continue reading →

To increase our affordable housing options, we have recently completed and approved a ground-breaking new ordinance to encourage backyard cottages.  These cottages, technically known as Accessory Dwelling Units, can be enjoyed by your family or rented out to an individual or family in need of housing.  Our new ordinance gives you a choice of beautiful, pre-approved designs and waives the building permit fees.  We’ve also dropped several other impact fees and slashed hook-up charges.   The City will soon put links on its website that show you how you can begin planning a backyard cottage.  Until the links are up, you can get started by phoning Community and Economic Development at 425-430-7200 and letting them know you would like to get started on an ADU.  As you’ll see in the presentation below, the city can get you approved in just a couple weeks.

As we approach primary election day I’ve been meeting with residents on their porches and in coffee houses. When they ask what distinguishes me in this race, I say city hall experience on top of my professional engineering and management background.

Continue reading →

Continue reading →

Today a newer resident told me that they heard that all of Renton City Council had once tried to move the library off of the Cedar River.  This is simply not correct.  Three of us on Council– Marcie Palmer, Greg Taylor, and I– put up a tireless battle to keep the library right where it is over the river.  Of the three of us that fought to keep it in its rightful spot, I’m the only one still in public office.

The controversy arose shortly after King County Library System (KCLS)  took over the management of Renton’s Library System, and needed Renton to either remodel the existing library or build a new library of approximately the same size.  Three of us on Council wanted to remodel, and the other four wanted to build a new library at the Piazza.  After weeks of debate and public comment, the three of us were out-voted.

Continue reading →

Let’s keep our Renton River Days Parade fun!

In decades past our Renton River Days parade became a magnet for political campaign entries.  And not just local races, but county, and state races as well.  The parade occurs right before the primary, and as soon as one candidate entered, their opponents felt compelled to enter the parade to maintain a level playing field.  While I appreciate the first amendment as much as anyone, the net effect of so many campaign entries is that children (and probably most of their parents) became antsy and bored at the endless groups walking past with campaign signs.

Continue reading →

At a recent council meeting, some youthful visitors asked Council whether we were actively working toward a sustainable future and a reduced carbon footprint.  They also asked if the city has considered solar energy programs. Puget Sound Energy is sponsoring programs in which customers can commit to buying solar energy under a long-term fixed contract that’s priced higher than fossil-fuel-generated power today but will probably be lower than fossil fuel in the future– and it helps save the planet.

I appreciated the visitors for asking the question, and I applaud their concern for our environment and our future.  One of the solar programs they referred to is called the Green Direct Renewable Energy Program. It gives cities the opportunity to source their electricity from renewable energy sources (solar and wind). Customers enter into Power Purchase Agreements to purchase renewable energy, which provides certainty for development of renewable energy sources. PSE has completed two phases of the program. No new customers are currently being accepted, but we think they will expand it in the near future.  When they do, I would like the City of Renton to join to get renewable energy for powering city facilities and streetlights.  Residences and businesses are being offered similar programs now or in the near future.

During my 25 years on council I’ve helped with many initiatives to save energy and our environment.   Our staff put some of these initiatives together in the following list:

Continue reading →

Believe me. I feel it too. We all pay too much in taxes. Some people have had to sell their homes and move away from our area because of high property taxes.

I’ve worked hard to hold down taxes in many different ways, and City-of-Renton-imposed property tax rates have actually been decreasing for many years under my watch.  Recent hikes in our total property tax bills were mostly voter-approved Sound Transit 3 and State education taxes from the McCleary decision,  along with other growth at state and county levels.

Continue reading →

Raising our food in our own backyard, balcony or in a nearby community garden has many benefits.  Urban farming increases our food security, gives us healthy organic options, makes efficient use of our land, is educational, saves money, creates beautiful urban landscapes, and saves fossil fuel in food production and transportation.  Small farm animals, like chickens, ducks, and bees, can be symbiotic with our gardens to maximize the amount of food coming from our backyards.

Continue reading →