Shoreline City Council: John Ramsdell

John Ramsdell

Hello Shoreline residents. 

My name is John Ramsdell, and I will be one of the new members of the Shoreline City Council in January. 

I wish David Chen, my campaign opponent until last week, best of luck in his new position as legal counsel for Central City Concern in Portland Oregon.

A little more about me: I moved from New Hampshire to Seattle in 1994, after several trips to the Pacific Northwest. 

The first trip was as best man at my college roommate’s outdoor wedding at Magnuson Park. As an avid skier, sailor and backpacker, it did not take me long to fall in love with the area. A foretelling of my eventual move decades later, I became a fan of the Seahawks as a kid during the Steve Largent, Curt Warner, Dave Craig era.

Shortly after arriving in Seattle, I completed my Master’s of Clinical Psychology in 1999 and worked for nine years at the City of Seattle Aging and Disability Services providing social work outreach to homebound seniors and adults with disabilities, as well as providing counseling to Veterans experiencing depression. 

In 2010 I accepted a behavioral health counseling position with Evergreen Hospital where I worked as the lead clinician on the prestigious Geriatric Regional Assessment Team for another nine years. For a year I worked as a behavioral health specialist with foster children and foster to adopt in crisis while completing my second master’s degree in public administration. 

In my current role as a clinical account executive at First Choice Health’s EAP program I provide and manage behavioral health services to over 60,000 employees in more than 150 organizations.

Since I was a little boy going door to door collecting donations from neighbors in an orange Oxfam box, I have been interested in making my community a better place to live. 

This principle has been a constant theme in my life, which I have continued to practice as a resident in Westminster Triangle over the last 12 years. One of my recent volunteer accomplishments included initiating and shepherding the acquisition of a neighbor’s lot to be the future Westminster Park. 

I encourage the reader to visit my campaign website at www.electjohnramsdell.com to see a complete account of my volunteer accomplishments in Shoreline and my issue statements, including the expansion of open park space, affordable housing, police reform and the environment.

Finally, I want to express my sincere hope that residents will feel comfortable coming to me to express their concerns about our community. I may not always agree, but I can promise that you will receive my respect and attention.

Correction: He began work at Evergreen Hospital in 2010