Comments on: Kirkland City Council to hold Special Meeting Monday, August 4, 2008

By: Rob Butcher

Rob Butcher — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 04:46:59 +0000

Kirkland Busy Body,
Thank you for your passionate play by play. My attempt to describe the evening may have a different angle…

By: The Eastside Sun

The Eastside Sun — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 04:38:33 +0000

Just got back to the office from this evenings whitewash.

I have never seen that many people willing to allow a law to be broken with a wink and a nod.

HELL, more than a wink and a nod, they allowed Tom Hodgson to;
1) break the law
2) incur a $12,000 debt for outside legal counsel
3) hogtie the council with his action for an entire month
and
4) escape without as much as an apology.

- “It will not happen again” is not an apology
- Reading a hashed out agreement with fellow council members is not an apology
- a $500 fine does not reimburse US for a $12,000 expenditure

look at the nametages CiViK passed out:

- We are proud of you Tom
- Thank you Tom
- Courage
- What BS

OK, the last one was mine.

In 61 BC Julius Caesar divorced his wife because she was present at an event that, it was assumed, a young patrician named Publius Clodius broke a law. Later, when called before the Senate to testify against Clodius , Caeser stated he had no evidence against Clodius. When ask “Why then did you divorce your wife Pompeia? Caeser replied that “my wife ought not even to be under suspicion.”

Please resign Mayor Lauinger.

By: Hodgson fined by City Council - Recall advocates remain silent

Hodgson fined by City Council - Recall advocates remain silent — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 04:34:09 +0000

[...] with temperatures approaching eighty degrees, concerned citizens gathered at City Hall to attend a special meeting of the Kirkland City Council. The atmosphere was congenial as people of many political stripes waited in council chambers for [...]

By: Michelle Goerdel

Michelle Goerdel — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 04:28:30 +0000

Kirkland Busy Body- thank you very much for the executive summary on the meeting tonight. I too worked late and was about to go onto the city website but came here instead just in case someone had already commented on the meeting. I have been greatly saddened by this incident marring the name of the city I have called home since the early 90s. I’ve been watching the council deteriorate for several years now and hoping it wouldn’t come to this sad state of affairs. Now that it has I and my friends who live and work in the city are prepared to start working for a change in the council next year, although finding someone to take on such a mess could be difficult to say the least!

By: kirkland busy body

kirkland busy body — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 04:13:44 +0000

Wow that was exciting! Good thing I didn’t waste the disc space to record it! Sorry I had to work I would have loved to have seen the faces of the audience.
Let me recap for those who missed it.
Meeting starts at 7:07 waiting for Council Member Asher who does show up a few minutes later. Mayor talks about decorum at meetings like this. No applause blah, blah, blah (reminds me of how people behaved at Russian Politburo meetings pre glasnost) 4 members of the audience speak. The first one is a lady who says that the citizens look to the Council for leadership and aren’t seeing any. (She gets it!) Then 3 who have some sort of sticky with words on their chests say things that lead me to think they had Tom’s speech in advance. In a nutshell they say Tom is a great guy, stops his car for kittens in the road and is kind to all these people who showed up to support him in his time of need. He is fair and no matter how illegal his actions may be he is doing the right thing! Mayor thinks all the talking is done but he is wrong. One guy who the Mayor pre-supposes is going to say something nice about Tom who is wearing a button slamms the Council for the McCleod decision and asks them to reconsider before Portsmith falls off the cliff and the people behind them get their view back. The last guy to speak is also wearing a sticky and does make some sense. His advice is similar to what Sternoff had said about the Council not being in touch with the advisory boards. Keep in touch with the Boards even putting a Council member at each meeting.
Mayor turns the show over to Tom.
Tom reads a prepared statement saying only that his actions at the July 1st meeting have been a source of concern for members of the City Council” He goes on to say “that my actions did not contribute to the collegiality that we all agree should be the hallmark of our proceedings and that he regrets that. It will not happen again”. He “shall pay $500 to make amends for the thousands of dollars the City has spent on those concerns”. (I may have gotten some of those last words wrong. I’ll add an extra $5 to the collection plate on Sunday for my bad!)
Then Council member Greenway who doesn’t know when to let someone else have the last word. Says that none of what Tom did bothers her and blah blah blah.
Council Member Sternoff then says that he was one of the “concerned Council Members and that he does have a problem with what happened because it is basicaly breaking the law! He reminds everyone that every Council Member takes an oath of office to uphold the laws of the State and the ordinances of the City. He accepts Tom’s apology.
Deputy Mayor McBride says that the Council needs to deal with the pressing issues at hand.
Mayor Jim wraps it all up by saying something about looking forward to a great meeting in September.
Deputy Mayor McBride reminds the Mayor that there is another meeting tomorrow night. The Mayor says “oh yeah”. I guess tomorrow nights meeting won’t be so great!
This “meeting” was a joke. Whoever scripted it did so to make sure that Tom got a slap on the wrist. Oh and was that the lady lawyer for SRM sitting in the front row taking notes?
Stay tuned tomorrow night for another episode.

By: Fleur de mer

Fleur de mer — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 14:03:09 +0000

I hope your right busy body because as much as I like Kirkland’s parks and waterfront, I don’t think it is ever going to annex us. I actually live closer to the Kirkland boarder than Bothell but if they want us then fantastic. It doesn’t matter much to me I just want the police to show up when I call them. I don’t think that is too much to asak.

By: SRM Development requests Disqualification and Recusal of Councilmember Hodgson

SRM Development requests Disqualification and Recusal of Councilmember Hodgson — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 12:18:38 +0000

[...] Kirkland City Council has scheduled a special meeting on Monday, August 4, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. to address this issue. The meeting is open to the public and [...]

By: kirkland busy body

kirkland busy body — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 06:28:14 +0000

Unnamed,
I am no expert just someone who has seen much happen in my time here.
I believe from what I hear and see that this City is divided down the middle. I see a City Council that is elected to provide leadership tied up in their underwear. One Council faction seems to want to freeze time and act like the nothing need change or only change with today in mind. The other Council folks seem to be more open to the future and trying to find common ground. Would a different Mayor make a difference? I don’t know but it couldn’t hurt.
What is needed is for this Council to agree and implement a vision for the next 25-50 years. Let’s take the ambiguity out of what we want to be and make a committment to get there. Some of the work has already been done. There are growth management population goals for our City. This means growth will happen here. Other long term issues are centered around how will we stay afloat financially? Today we are having a hard time with our budget. I can’t imagine how we will pay for services without getting larger. I have a co-worker who lives in Bothell. He says that there is great interest in his City to annex the areas that are to our North. He thinks it is because Bothell will gain efficiencies over time that will lower overall costs and benefit their citizens.
Our Council must be made to answer the above and tells us where we are going and why? This budget crisis is a rude wake up call. We can’t wait much longer or we may very well see an even greater change in demograghics here. The old timers can’t afford to live here now and the ability of young families to find a reasonably priced home here is difficult. Honestly, I don’t know how much longer my family can afford to live here. I have a good job, a home that is 2/3 paid for am see some of my City Council people advocating for a vote on higher taxes. These people must have more than me and not be concerned about the rest of us.
It is my hope that this blog can be a forum for all of us to give some ideas to our Mayor and Council.

By: unnamedCuriosity

unnamedCuriosity — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 04:58:23 +0000

Thank you for your answers KBB. I respect your position and that you have paid far more attention to these issues than I have so I have another question or two for you. What should we do to promote open and honest discussion from our city? What do you think are good questions to ask of our officials to best improve the way things run? There seems to be much wrong right now. Where should we focus?
I think the current budget is troublesome from what I have read. What do you think would fix it?

By: kirkland busy body

kirkland busy body — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 03:44:22 +0000

Unnamed,
Thank you for reading my post carefully and not asking for any more clarification on the other four points I commented on.
Since you asked.
The “all” was in reference to “care”. Care about being fair and honest and ethical. See below comments for follow up.
Budget Shorfalls and Asleep at the Wheel: All Council assignments are available at http://www.ci.kirkland.wa.us/depart/council/Meet_The_Council.htmI
But since you must know it is the Mayor, Jessica Greenway and Joan McBride. I submit that the Budget woes are not new and is the stated reason for denying the annexation. I remind you that this was after a costly 2 year study. I now agree with you that “aslseep at the wheel” does not fully describe the situation!
Things to do different: Prioritize, Prioritize, Prioritize! Then economize! This City has so many Boards and Commissions whose members donate their time and expertise too and who have no idea if they are going down the right road or not. I challenge you to contact some people on these boards and get their take. Years ago I applied for a Board. That Board met with the Council twice a year and still it wasn’t enough. I determined that the time committment for me would not work. Now that board meets once a year. I am at a loss as to any orgaization can go that long without some guidance. But let’s add some more boards and find time to meet with them while the real issues like the Budget simmer.
We won’t get the whole story because we won’t be able to ask the questions in a timely manner. Like how much has this whole B of A debacle cost the City in terms of legal, staff time, Council per diem and most importantly things that had to be put on hold while this circus was in town. I sure don’t expect to get it by attending a Council meeting!
The gang of four is motivated like any other majority: Staying in Power. I now understand the last election. Go review PDC reports and see who the Campaign Coordinators were, gave the most money and in kind contributions. See if you recognize any of the names that are front and center in todays favorite topic. For the record both my wife and I gave money to “the candidate” who talks into the camera about “transparency” in both of the elections. I am a union guy and because my union gives money to all sorts of candidates I decided to look up the PDC stuff on some and was amazed. Unnamed, I invite you to go look for yourself and report back to the blog about what you find.

I didn’t invent the term gang of four. I’ll give you a break and ask that you just watch the meetings since the first of this year. Draw your own conclusions. The gang of three isn’t much of a gang. And a pair doesn’t fit either. The three are as different as they come.
I really do hope for an open and honest discussion about all of the above and most importantly that our Mayor and Council hear and respond to our concerns.
Finally, for the record I am a big time “D” for what it matters anymore!