Briarcrest candidate forum focused on the only contested Shoreline City Council position

By Pam Cross

November 7, 2023, Election Day, is just two weeks away.

Voters Pamphlets have been mailed and ballots are ready to be completed and deposited in a ballot drop box or put in the mail (no postage required). 

There is only one contested seat on the Shoreline City Council. The other candidates - Keith Scully and Betsy Robertson - are unopposed.

At the recent Candidate Forum sponsored by the Briarcrest Neighborhood Association, we had the opportunity to hear from Councilmember Doris Fujioka McConnell, who is running for the seat that she has held since 2007, and the challenger, Annette Ademasu, who hopes to bring a new perspective to the council.

Both Annette and Doris are well educated, intelligent women who have a passion for Shoreline. They appear to share similar goals for the city and both feel strongly about a Council that will exchange ideas and work together to accomplish those goals.

Each candidate gave a one-minute introductory comment. You can read similar statements they prepared for the Voters Pamphlet.

Then each individually answered questions proposed by the Neighborhood Association members. Annette was scheduled to go first.

Annette Ademasu
Screenshot from video

Annette is eager to contribute her knowledge of the environment and ecosystems to address how to retain climate resilience while partnering with developers to work with nature rather than against it. She realizes not every tree can be saved. But she would like to see more effort towards alternative methods of building design and sidewalk materials so we can avoid cutting down healthy trees.

Annette believes that all housing, whether subsidized, multifamily or  cottage homes should be livable, humane and attractive. All people need fresh air, light, and access to adjacent outside space. If an occupant just wants to sit outside for a few minutes they don’t want to walk to a park or a green area at the end of the complex. We used to build in a “U” shape that made that possible. But current multifamily housing is built in squares or rectangles with diminished access to a windows and adjacent outside space. 

Doris McConnell
Screenshot from BNA video

Doris emphasized her experience as a long time member of the Shoreline Council and her institutional/historical value as a mentor to new councilmembers. She offers her time to provide them with background on issues they may be somewhat unfamiliar with. 

Doris talked about how intertwined some topics of discussion are. Needing access to light rail, for example, required nearby housing. That also included rezoning, building heights, first story retail, recognizing city growth that is coming whether we like it or not. She believes we have achieved the growth goals they established and now it’s “build out” time.

Video of BNA meeting here - candidate forum begins about 27 minutes in, after the BNA business meeting.

Learn about the candidates and make your vote count.

Doris McConnell
206.940.1365
doris.yumi.mcconnell@gmail.com
www.DorisMcConnell.com

Annette Ademasu
206.271.6103
ElectAnnette2023@gmail.com
www.ElectAnnette.org