Letter to the Editor: The importance of this year’s LFP City Council elections

To the Editor:

The elections for LFP City Council this fall are unusual for our town because there are three open seats. Two years from now the other three council seats will be up for reelection and may be open seats. The importance of all this is that candidates who are elected this year will have a significant impact in determining the future of this city.

My experience over the last 25 years working with numerous city council members, mayors and commissioners, is that those who have served on the various city volunteer commissions, especially the Planning Commission, are often well-prepared to becoming a city council member. They have an understanding of all the issues facing this city and how the legislative process works.

Washington State mandates that cities have a volunteer Planning Commission appointed by the mayor. The role of a Planning Commission is to act as an advisory group to the City Council on issues of planning, land use regulation, and community development. Commissioners are charged with reaching out to the community, working collaboratively to reach consensus for their recommendations. These experiences cultivate the essential skills to be effective in policy development.

Of the 6 candidates running for the three empty seats this year, two have provided years of volunteer service to our community including being members and chairs of the Planning Commission.

Those candidates are Maddy Larson and Jon Lebo. Without hesitation I have endorsed Maddy and Jon and it is my pleasure to provide this recommendation of them to you. You will find more detailed information about each of them on their websites:

Maddy4lfp.com and Lebo4lfp.com

I hope you will join me in electing both Maddy Larson and Jon Lebo to our LFP City Council. Their experiences and skills will provide you with exemplary leaders on our City Council.

Don Fiene
Former City Council Member 2005-2013