Many Renton election watchers stunned by Renton Police Guild endorsement

This photo (taken two days ago) shows the continuing deterioration of the deathtrap Park Avenue office buildings through a gap in the unmaintained security fence.   Councilmember Rivera, chair of Renton’s Public Safety Committee, has repeatedly promised the public that the City has reached agreement with property owners to secure this site.  The lack of follow-through puts the public and first responders in danger.

In a move that looks a bit like Superman endorsing Lex Luthor for City Council, the Renton Police Guild leadership shocked many local election watchers by endorsing Councilmember Carmen Rivera’s reelection bid against challenger Mary Clymer.

Considering Carmen Rivera’s history of pushing to defund the police department and  curtail police ability to pursue law-breakers, and her inability as Public Safety chair to make progress on chronic nuisance properties that threaten our first responders, many Renton community leaders have been wondering why this valuable endorsement was given to her.

Recent publications have shown that Councilmember Rivera also has serious anger-management issues that she won’t acknowledge or own up to. She has left a trail of grieving victims of her bullying, many of them former allies that once trusted her.  She’s been arrested for domestic violence in the past, and caused at least one current council member to request legal protection from her.

In contrast to Councilmember Rivera’s record, challenger Mary Clymer has a long history of supporting Renton city employees and the community.  Ms. Clymer has a commitment to safety that she learned from her grandfather Earl Clymer, a two-term mayor of Renton who helped reverse rising crime rates in the early 1990’s.  And rather than let derelict buildings become blight, Ms. Clymer has been beautifying our older buildings through her dedication to public arts, often helping organize community murals and other beatifications– even wielding the paintbrushes herself.

I respectfully encourage the Guild to reevaluate this endorsement.   I would have expected this endorsement to go to the deserving Mary Clymer, who will make an extraordinary Renton City Council Member.

Renton’s well-equipped police station can trace its roots to a study that Mayor Earl Clymer commissioned in 1994. This study recommended a larger police station, which ultimately was the impetus to move Renton City Hall (including the police station) to its current larger location.