Saturday, June 06, 2009
The Next Lakewood City Council
Yesterday was the filing deadline to run for election to the Lakewood City Council. So now we know who's running.
What this first means to you is that it's not that long before you are going to see signs in yards. However, there's a good chance you won't see as many as usual (or for as many candidates).
And of course, more importantly, this also means some of the people listed in this posting will serve on the council that decides what sort of services the city provides and how your tax dollars are spent.
As has been long rumored, three of the seven council members are retiring: Ron Cronk, Pad Finnigan, and Helen McGovern. The only incumbent to run again, Mayor Doug Richardson, does not have an opponent.
Yep. You read that right. That's sure a change for Lakewood. My guess is that it speaks to Doug's qualities as one of the two members of the original Lakewood council who are still serving with us (the other being Claudia Thomas, of course). And ... dare we say it ... does it speak to a relative satisfaction with city government?
I'm sure Doug will still be out and about because that is the kind of candidate and council member that he is. On a personal level, I'm happy for him that his election will clearly be less personally stressful.
The bigger surprise is that normally, even Mother Theresa would get an opponent in Lakewood. The fact Doug didn't says a lot of things, probably better said when I'm not starting on a head cold. Right now, let's just call it pretty interesting.
So this is how the election shapes up now for the other three. The candidates are:
Position 1, currently held by Ron Cronk: Mary Moss and Darrel Shiley.
Position 2, currently held by Pad Finnigan: Mike Brandstetter, Connie Coleman-Lacadie, and Levi Wilhelmsen. I believe this will be the only race with a primary, hence expect to see some signs.
Position 3, currently held by Helen McGovern: Sam Ross and Jason Whalen.
What's interesting about all of these people is that while they have different philosophies of government, I would define them all as very positive people.
Some of them have been very critical of individual things the current council has done, which is of course good and the sign of critical thinking and a healthy democracy. But I know all but one of them reasonably well, and even from what I've heard about the other person, I'd be honored to sit on a council with any of them. This list of good-hearted people bodes very well for Lakewood.
OH HEY .... One more thing. I've signed up for Facebook to try to find another way to share news with people. You can sign up for my page without having to 'friend' me, which can be awkward if we don't know each other personally. So check out the page, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Walter-Neary-Lakewood-WA-City-Council-Walters-Lakewood-Journal/105879106413?ref=nf
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What this first means to you is that it's not that long before you are going to see signs in yards. However, there's a good chance you won't see as many as usual (or for as many candidates).
And of course, more importantly, this also means some of the people listed in this posting will serve on the council that decides what sort of services the city provides and how your tax dollars are spent.
As has been long rumored, three of the seven council members are retiring: Ron Cronk, Pad Finnigan, and Helen McGovern. The only incumbent to run again, Mayor Doug Richardson, does not have an opponent.
Yep. You read that right. That's sure a change for Lakewood. My guess is that it speaks to Doug's qualities as one of the two members of the original Lakewood council who are still serving with us (the other being Claudia Thomas, of course). And ... dare we say it ... does it speak to a relative satisfaction with city government?
I'm sure Doug will still be out and about because that is the kind of candidate and council member that he is. On a personal level, I'm happy for him that his election will clearly be less personally stressful.
The bigger surprise is that normally, even Mother Theresa would get an opponent in Lakewood. The fact Doug didn't says a lot of things, probably better said when I'm not starting on a head cold. Right now, let's just call it pretty interesting.
So this is how the election shapes up now for the other three. The candidates are:
Position 1, currently held by Ron Cronk: Mary Moss and Darrel Shiley.
Position 2, currently held by Pad Finnigan: Mike Brandstetter, Connie Coleman-Lacadie, and Levi Wilhelmsen. I believe this will be the only race with a primary, hence expect to see some signs.
Position 3, currently held by Helen McGovern: Sam Ross and Jason Whalen.
What's interesting about all of these people is that while they have different philosophies of government, I would define them all as very positive people.
Some of them have been very critical of individual things the current council has done, which is of course good and the sign of critical thinking and a healthy democracy. But I know all but one of them reasonably well, and even from what I've heard about the other person, I'd be honored to sit on a council with any of them. This list of good-hearted people bodes very well for Lakewood.
OH HEY .... One more thing. I've signed up for Facebook to try to find another way to share news with people. You can sign up for my page without having to 'friend' me, which can be awkward if we don't know each other personally. So check out the page, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Walter-Neary-Lakewood-WA-City-Council-Walters-Lakewood-Journal/105879106413?ref=nf
