Issue statements from LFP Council candidates Kiest and Resha

Former LFP City Councilman Alan Kiest and candidate John Resha are running for the position that Councilman Bob Lee is giving up.

Here are statements on campaign issues from the two candidates:

Alan Kiest

Alan Kiest

In a 2009 survey our citizens ranked public safety as their top priority City service. Unfortunately, over the last five years the City has reduced resources for public safety. The bike patrol on the Burke-Gilman Trail and the marine patrol have been stopped. The school resource officers have been removed from our elementary schools. And street patrolling has been reduced. We have seen a rise in car prowls, mail thefts and home burglaries. We need to add resources to the police to reverse this trend and to absorb the burden of 450 new families who will be added in the Southern Gateway.

Our City budget is balanced and resources are slightly increasing. Yet the Council is spending down $900,000 in reserves, which will leave no dedicated reserve fund by 2017. We need to develop a fiscal plan which will begin to restore prudent reserves.

This year there were two major land use issues: the proposed Park and Rides in two neighborhoods and the adoption of high density zoning in the Southern Gateway. In these areas the local residents did not feel respected as full partners. We must commit to a more participatory and respectful public process for future land use issues.

John Resha

John Resha

       

Lake Forest Park is a great place to live, and my family and I believe in the future of our community, but there are clear opportunities to make it even greater. Right now, there is a general sense that the City is on solid financial ground, when in fact we are not. We plugged our financial gap with one-time monies and service cuts.

We need to engage in a real conversation as a community, so that we do not find ourselves in a spiral of cutting programs and eliminating services with long lasting effects like increased crime, poorly maintained roadways and minimized environmental and property protections.

We need to partner with the State, Sound Transit and Metro to address the rising congestion in and through our communities, in order to keep people safe while also protecting travel choices. 

We must insist on better engagement with citizens around what is being considered and the crucial decisions affecting our City to create a transparent and accountable government.

As a nationally recognized government efficiency expert, experienced Councilmember and executive, and with my commitment to public engagement, I know how to lead and partner to deliver on these opportunities while moving our community forward.