2009 Voter Guide
Welcome to Kirkland Views Voter Guide — Election Headquarters for the Greater City of Kirkland
Providing Kirkland with comprehensive information about candidates and issues
This site is focused on the City of Kirkland and the neighborhoods of Finn Hill, N. Juanita and Kingsgate. On the ballot this November you will likely find four Kirkland City Council positions, a voted utility tax and annexation in unincorporated King County. On these pages you will find candidate biographies, Questions for the Candidates* (as submitted by readers like you) and Links to other online resources such as candidate websites, candidate press releases, issue-advocacy websites, related news and analysis. If you have any questions or comments as to the process, please don’t hesitate to contact us kirklandviews@gmail.com.
Kirkland City Council
The race for Kirkland City Council underway with nine candidates vying for the four open positions on the Council. Two incumbents are running for re-election, two sitting Councilmembers have decided not to run again. Council Position #5 has three candidates who will square off in a primary election August 18. The general election will be held on November 3, 2009. Candidate information in this Voter Guide is unedited and posted as submitted by the candidates.
The City Council consists of seven part-time, nonpartisan members, elected at large every two years to staggered, four-year terms. The primary responsibility of the City Council is to establish the policies and long-term goals for the City, and to provide the resources and guidance necessary to carry out these polices. The Council appoints the City Manager and the members of Kirkland’s advisory boards and commissions.
The candidates have agreed to answer questions submitted by Kirkland Views readers. Submit your questions for the candidates here. Compare the candidate’s responses to your questions by clicking on the Council Positions listed below.
Candidate Bios
Get to know the candidates for Kirkland City Council.
CANDIDATE • MUNI LEAGUE RATING
Martin Morgan • Rating: No Active Campaign (Unable to Contact)
Joan McBride (incumbent) • Rating: Very Good
Penny Sweet • Rating: Outstanding
Brad Larssen • Rating: Very Good
Karen Tennyson • Rating: Very Good
Doreen Marchione • Rating: Outstanding
Tom Hodgson (incumbent) • Rating: Good 
The Races for City Council
There are four races for City Council. Position No. 5 has three candidates, so they will face off in the August 18 primary. Click on a race to learn more about the candidates’ positions on the issues and to compare candidates for each race. 
The Issues
Kirkland Views is conducting an ongoing Q&A series with the candidates based upon questions submitted by you, the readers of this blog. Below are the questions to which they have responded to date and links to candidate responses. Watch this space as new questions are posted. Have a question you’d like answered? Submit your question to the candidates below.
QUESTIONS FOR THE CANDIDATES
1. Should public money be directed toward charities? If so, how does a government choose the charity? Candidate responses
2. In principle, do you believe that “the ends justify the means?” Please give an example which best illustrates your perspective. Candidate responses
3. Currently, there is a projected $8 million deficit in 2009. To balance the budget, either the citizens will be asked to pay more or the city must reduce spending. Which do you prefer? Specifically, name some taxes you would increase and name some programs you would cut in order to balance the budget. Candidate responses
4. Families are feeling the economic crunch. Utility fees keep going up, but the city wants to put an additional utility fee increase on this year’s ballot. Do you agree? Candidate responses
5. How would you work to improve cooperation between the city, citizen’s groups and developers and improve the process on downtown development projects? Candidate responses
6. What changes would you like to see in downtown Kirkland, the major neighborhoods, the waterfront, Totem Lake and the BNSF corridor to look like in 5 years? 10 years? Candidate responses
7. Given the budget deficit, should the City of Kirkland consider outsourcing some services to private enterprise if it could save money? If so, which services would you outsource? Which would you not? Are there any city services which you believe could be shared or pooled with adjoining cities? Candidate responses
8. The Level of Service (LOS) for the annexation areas are significantly below the City of Kirkland’s LOS. If annexation passes, the newly minted Kirkland citizens will demand and deserve equal services for equal taxes paid to the city. What solution will you be advocating if annexation passes? If you favor raising LOS in the annexation areas, how will you pay for it? If necessary, would you consider lowering the LOS in existing Kirkland? Candidate responses
9. Annexation will be voted on by the residents of Finn Hill, North Juanita and Kingsgate. If annexation is passes, do you support grandfathering of the cardroom in Kingsgate and allowing it to remain open? Why or why not? Do you support changing Kirkland’s laws forbidding card rooms? Candidate responses
Questions for the Candidates*
Submit your questions to the candidates either by email to kirklandviews@gmail.com or use the form below:
Campaign Finances
CiViK.org has posted campaign finance documents of the candidates for Kirkland City Council. The documents were obtained by CiViK through the State of Washington’s Public Disclosure Commission. Visit http://tinyurl.com/mk7h8z to access:
- Candidate C-1 Registration
- Candidate F-1 Personal Financial Affairs Statements
UPDATED The Public Disclosure Commission posts campaign contributions and expenditures of each of the candidates. Below is the data as of 4:00 AM October 20, 2009:
Annexation
Annexation will be on the ballot for the residents of Finn Hill, North Juanita and Kingsgate, neighborhoods in unincorporated King County, collectively referred to as Kirkland’s Potential Annexation Area. In Aril 2009, the Kirkland City Council passed annexation by a vote of 5 to 2, setting in motion events leading to a vote in November.
Annexation Point/Counterpoint debate
Information:
- City of Kirkland Annexation FAQ page
- onekirkland.org – YES-annexation community website
- nokirkland.com – NO-annexation community website
Voted Utility Tax Increase
The Kirkland City Council will likely place a voted utility tax increase on the November ballot. Details of the city budget and utility tax will be posted here when they are released by the city. Stay tuned for more details as they become available
Voted Utility Tax Prop. 1 Point/Counterpoint debate
__________________________________________________________________________ * Throughout the campaign, candidates will answer questions as submitted by you, the readers of Kirkland Views. If you have questions you would like answered by the candidates, email them to us at kirklandviews@gmail.com. Candidate responses will be posted on these pages. All submitted questions are vetted by an advisory panel representing a cross-section of Kirkland neighborhood, community and business points of view:
Advisory Panel
- Rob Brown 12 year Kirkland resident President of the Portsmith Condominium Homeowners Board Owner of a 23 year-old sales rep agency Frequent council attendee and active participant in downtown discussions
- Rob Butcher Publisher, Kirkland Views Norkirk Neighborhood Association Board Downtown Advisory Committee
- Eric Campbell President, CamWest Development, Inc. St. Andrews Housing Group – Board Member Master Builders Association of King & Snohomish County – Board Member University of Washington Runstad Center Advisory – Board Member Kirkland resident since 1988 St. Andrews Housing Group – Board Member Master Builders Association of King & Snohomish County – Board Member University of Washington Runstad Center Advisory – Board Member Kirkland resident since 1988
- Cami Keyes Resident of the PAA Active in many community issues Independent marketing consultant Denny Creek Neighborhood Alliance Board
- Glenn Peterson Downtown resident Moss Bay Neighborhood Association Board Kirkland Downtown Association Board City of Kirkland Parking Advisory Board Downtown Advisory Committee
KirklandViews.com welcomes your comments and encourages you to join in the conversation as a part of our community. In an effort to maintain the high quality of shared community information on this site, we require all participants to abide by the following Code of Conduct.
Code of Conduct:
Comments on this blog are to remain civil and commenters must refrain from personal attacks. This forum encourages discussion of the issues, not personalities. The use of aliases by political operatives attempting to manipulate voter opinion is forbidden. Such attempts will be dealt with extreme prejudice. Those who might plan on hiding behind a mask of anonymity to make unfounded, defamatory or scurrilous accusations against an opponent will be banned from commenting on this site.
Thank you for your cooperation in keeping this forum open, civil, and on topic. We rely on our community for information and only through civil discourse can we gain a better understanding of the issues. KirklandViews.com remains an informative resource for our community because of readers like you. Thank you for your participation.
Please send any questions, comments, corrections or concerns to Rob at kirklandviews@gmail.com
Disclaimer:
Information on these pages is presented for public edification purposes only. Biographical information provided by the candidates. KirklandViews.com is an open forum in which civil discussion of the issues is encouraged. We always strive for complete accuracy of the information provided in the articles on KirklandViews.com, however, occasional errors do occur and we thank you for bringing them to our attention.
KirklandViews.com cannot be responsible for the accuracy of any comments made by visitors to this site. Always independently confirm information read in the comments portion of any website.
