Two Queen Anne residents - one a recent transplant, the other a longtime community member - are squaring off against each other for a position on the Seattle City Council.
Speaking at an Oct. 3 meeting of the Queen Anne Community Council, incumbent David Della (the newbie) and challenger Tim Burgess (the old guard) each took turns touting their neighborhood connections and qualifications for Position 7 on the city council.
It was not a debate format, though, because Della had to leave early to visit someone in the hospital, he said. Instead, Della and later Burgess gave long, detail statements and fielded questions.
THE INCUMBENT
Della said he came from a background of lower-class working families in the 1940s, when they could afford a house in Seattle. These days, even middle-class families are finding it nearly impossible to afford a place, Della noted. Because of that demographic shift, the incumbent said he wants to focus on making housing affordable.
Della said that he helped reduce City Light's $57-million debt and lower rates by 8 percent as vice chair of the Energy and Technology Committee. He also sponsored "the largest family and education levy in the city's history" in 2004, Della said.
The council member also touted his accomplishments lately as chairman of the Parks, Education, Libraries and Labor Committee. "I was able to break the backlog of parks projects, including on Queen Anne," he said. In addition, his efforts led to the banning of pesticide use in city parks, Della said.
The council member also touched on a controversial and now-dropped proposal to demolish three homes to make way for an expanded and updated Fire Station 20 on Queen Anne Hill.
"I was one of the council members who questioned that," he said. As far as Della was concerned, he added, the Fire Department and Fleets and Facilities came up short finding suitable alternatives that would save the homes.
Della stressed that he also wanted to enhance pedestrian safety on the city's streets. "This is a passionate issue for me because my chief of staff was hit [and killed] by a car driven by someone talking on a cellphone," the council member said. Della said he helped put $3.5 million in the budget to study engineering fixes and to enhance education and enforcement of existing laws.
Community council member John Coney noted that Della had favored the rebuild option for the Alaskan Way Viaduct, and he asked Della what he thinks now since Seattle voters shot down both the rebuild and tunnel alternatives.
"The voters of Seattle spoke, and I respect their decision," Della answered. "I'm willing to give the options we have a chance, including the surface option."
Community Council member Kirk Robbins took Della to task for supporting the plan to replace the DuPen sculpture fountain at the Seattle Center with a skateboard park to replace the one lost at the site of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation headquarters off Fifth Avenue North.
The issue of replacing the skateboard park took more than a few twists and turns, Della noted. At one point, a location on Elliott Avenue West was favored but later dropped because it was unsuitable, he said.
"So we kept asking the Seattle Center to come back with other [on-campus] options," Della said, adding the Seattle Center recommended the DuPen site.
When that choice caused an uproar, the city council took another look and recommended the Pavilion site to southeast of the KeyArena. Della said he favors that location, and he noted that the Century 21 Committee also recommended that site.
THE CHALLENGER
Burgess - who chaired of the community council in the late 1980s until he became a member of the Ethics and Elections Commission - also touted his working-class background.
Burgess grew up on Capitol Hill, and his father sold office supplies while his mother worked at the Meany Middle School cafeteria. The cafeteria job came in handy, Burgess said, because he would show up to eat leftovers there, not knowing if the family would have any dinner.
The family home was repossessed when he was 12, Burgess added before he segued into an area Della had already addressed. "The danger I see today is Seattle becoming a city of the wealthy and childless."
Burgess was a reporter who covered city hall for KJR Radio, and he also worked for eight years as a police officer and later a detective, the candidate said. "And when I take office on January, I will be the only one with hands-on experience with public safety," Burgess added.
He also slammed the declining number of police in Seattle, saying there will be fewer cops at the end of this year than last year "and less than when I was a cop in the '70s."
Burgess also said he runs an advertising agency that works exclusively with nonprofit organizations, adding that he expected someone at the meeting to ask about his work for a nonprofit anti-abortion organization. No one asked.
Touting his street cred in the area, Burgess said he's been involved with Queen Anne Neighbors for Responsible Growth, a group of 2,000-some members formed to oppose plans to replace the Metropolitan Market in Upper Queen Anne with a QFC and residential units. "And it's that kind of grassroots leadership I want to bring to the [city] council," Burgess said.
He also said neighborhood planning should be based on grassroots efforts, a point that prompted community council member Craig Hanway to ask a question. The city is updating neighborhood plans, said Hanway, who is wary of the effort. "We feel it's going to limit input from neighborhoods," he explained.
"I'm very opposed to that, and many [city] council members are," said Burgess, adding that neighborhood planning needs to stay "at the sidewalk level."
Don Harper, who chairs the parks committee for the community council, is worried about the effect increasing density downtown will have. "What I see is, we're not increasing parkland," he said, adding that the trend will squeeze downtown residents into parks in Queen Anne and Capitol Hill.
Noting that the Pro Parks Levy expires next year, Burgess took a swipe at Della for not doing anything to renew it since he took office. "I would continue the park levy," he said.
Burgess also said he was quite outspoken about police during the four terms he served on the Ethics and Election Commission. He's also been critical of police chief and fellow Queen Anne resident Gil Kerlikowske, the candidate added. But Burgess thinks he will be a good voice on the city council because he was a cop. "So every citizen in every neighborhood will have confidence in the police department."
Staff reporter Russ Zabel can be reached at rzabel@nwlink.com or 461-1309.
[[In-content Ad]]
