All-mail election could keep decision unknown on Nov. 3
October 27, 2009
When City Council candidate Joan Probala and her supporters gather at Gibson Hall on election night, the crowd could be cheated out of knowing how the months-long campaign culminates. Read more
Candidates tout endorsements as Election Day nears
October 27, 2009
Issaquah city and schools candidates rolled out long lists of endorsements — from elected officials, community leaders, business groups and political parties — during the push for votes.
Endorsements provide fodder for campaign ads and reassure voters with questions about candidates. The nods can also provide clues to party affiliations of candidates in the nonpartisan City Council and school board races.
Voters will decide fire-protection funding measure
October 27, 2009
Voters will decide fire-protection funding measure
Voters in Klahanie, Preston, Tiger Mountain, May Valley and Carnation — the area covered by Fire Protection District 10 — will decide whether to reauthorize a charge to provide dollars for emergency fire and medical service on the Nov. 3 ballot.
Proposition 1 would lower the district property tax rate from $1.50 to a maximum of $1 per $1,000 of assessed value. No organized opposition to Proposition 1 has materialized.
District officials said a lower property tax rate in conjunction with the charge — based upon building size and use — is a more equitable and stable way to pay for emergency services.
Press Editorial
October 20, 2009
Our recommendations in local elections
City Council
Issaquah voters didn’t fare too well this year, getting candidate choices for only two of its four open City Council positions. But the quality of the four candidates running for positions 5 and 7 are excellent. The candidates have generated a vigorous debate about the issues and all merit your consideration. Read more
Watch county, city video voter guides on the Web
October 19, 2009
NEW — 6 a.m. Oct. 19, 2009
As ballots arrive in King County voters’ mailboxes, the county Video Voter’s Guide has returned to help residents guide their decisions before the Nov. 3 election.
Watch the guide on King County TV or on the Web.
The guide enables voters to hear directly from countywide candidates. Advocates for ballot issues are also featured in the guide. Every candidate and issue is allowed to present a two-minute statement.
The guide includes statements from candidates for county executive, assessor, County Council District 9, Port of Seattle Commission and from speakers on countywide ballot measures.
City Council candidates Tola Marts, Nathan Perea outline visions
October 14, 2009
NEW — 12:20 p.m. Oct. 14, 2009
Between now and Nov. 3, Issaquah voters will choose a successor to longtime City Councilman David Kappler.
Besides the Position 7 race, voters will decide between incumbent Council President Maureen McCarry, a Squak Mountain resident, and South Cove real estate agent Joan Probala in the Position 5 contest. Mayor Ava Frisinger, Councilwoman Eileen Barber and newcomer Mark Mullet are running unopposed. Mullet will become the first Issaquah Highlands representative on the City Council.
Meet political newcomers Tola Marts, a Squak Mountain resident and engineer, and Nathan Perea, a highlands resident and mortgage adviser. The candidates hope to succeed Kappler in the Position 7 seat.
Council candidates look toward future at forum
October 13, 2009
City Council candidates envisioned redevelopment of the commercial district, promised to protect crucial city services and looked beyond the defunct Southeast Bypass — the defining issue of the 2007 municipal election — at a campaign forum last week.
Organized by The Issaquah Press and moderated by Publisher Debbie Berto, the Oct. 8 forum drew Position 5 candidates Maureen McCarry and Joan Probala, and Position 7 hopefuls Tola Marts and Nathan Perea. The candidates, bedecked in campaign buttons, spent the hourlong forum fielding questions from Berto about issues including the economy, growth and transportation. Read more
R.S.V.P. for chamber candidate luncheon by Friday morning
October 8, 2009
NEW — 5:30 p.m. Oct. 8, 2009
Issaquah Chamber of Commerce leaders will host a luncheon and candidate forum Tuesday.
The event will feature City Council candidates Maureen McCarry and Joan Probala, and Tola Marts and Nathan Perea, and school board candidates Marnie Maraldo and Wright Noel.
Register for the event by 9 a.m. Friday. Call the chamber at 392-7024 or e-mail Adrianne Pavlik at apavlik@issaquahchamber.com to make a reservation.
The event will be held at Hilton Garden Inn, 1800 N.W. Gilman Blvd. A meet and greet with the candidates begins at 11 a.m. Lunch will be served at 11:45 a.m., and the program begins then. The cost is $25 for members with advance reservations and $35 for all walk-in attendees.
“It is important that candidates for City Council and school board know that the 467 members of the chamber are interested in their stance on issues affecting Issaquah business,” chamber CEO Matt Bott said.
Befitting the host, the questions will be focused on business. The chamber does not endorse candidates.
Candidate forum to be televised live Oct. 8
October 6, 2009
Voters can learn what Issaquah City Council and Issaquah School Board candidates think about key issues at an Oct. 8 forum sponsored by The Issaquah Press. Read more
Maureen McCarry touts experience as she seeks re-election
October 6, 2009
Maureen McCarry
From efforts to build roads, to adding social services, to making city programs more eco-friendly, Maureen McCarry is immersed in details of city projects large and small. As she runs for a second full City Council term, McCarry threads information about municipal programs into conversations about her campaign.
McCarry said she is convinced Issaquah will improve as the years unfold, but she said leadership — her leadership — would be essential in the next four years as city staffers take on a docket that includes construction of a hospital in the Issaquah Highlands and a new roadway to link north and south Issaquah. Read more
