Patrick O’Brien – Kenmore City Council Candidate Position #6
Patrick O’Brien is the first Kenmore City Council Candidate to bravely go where no candidate has gone before: Kenmore Undressed. I’d like to thank Patrick for jumping into the fray and sharing his vision for the City of Kenmore.
PATRICK O’BRIEN
Kenmore Council Position #6
425-486-5190
6330 NE 181st St
Kenmore
Top priorities
- Prioritize our spending
- Stand for financial realism, integrity and transparency
- Where was your vote on the new City Hall?
- Insist on Ball Fields
- Safety on our city streets
Why I’m running
After seeing our City Counsel blunder into a string of mistakes that’s costing us millions, people asked me to run again. The majority of the counsel is in need of removal due to their lack of openness, rampant spending, and non-public process. The one counsel person doing a good job needs some help. Please support Diane Brennan position #2 also.
Take part in the process
This election needs your vote! Let’s make Kenmore a spacious, affordable town to live in. I promise to keep the vision set during incorporation.
- End city waste of your tax dollars.
- Keep the same level of service the county formerly provided with NO new taxes!
As a long time resident of Finn Hill & Kenmore I have heard and shared our community’s concerns. Now I am asking for your vote to represent the traditional character and integrity of our community while working to sustain and improve the quality of life for all our citizens.
Patrick is a graduate of the Alternative Energy program at Western Washington University. He is close to his family and a strong supporter of his four sisters. One is a teacher who works with developmentally disabled students in the Northshore school district. Patrick is a former board member of Solar Washington and Hope for Horses. He grew up on Finn Hill and went to Thoreau Elementary and Finn Hill Junior High.
MAJOR ISSUES
CITY FINANCES
We have seen inflated budgets and poor transparency. The Counsel engages in out of town retreats that limits access to the citizens of Kenmore. The City has been embroiled in an embarrassing number of law suits with little or no reporting to us.
FAIRNESS
To date, the Kenmore political process has been dominated by small power groups that vote together. They have engaged in one source bidding on projects that waste your money! We want to know the total pay out by the City in law suites and consultant fees. Good government requires we evaluate them. I stand for calm reasoned debate leading to transparency and accountability. My opponent has ignored his promise to put the City Hall project to a public vote if money was to be borrowed.
KENMORE LANES
It is another story of the council’s abuse of power, largely based on personal agendas. The state could have resolved the problem of multiple cardrooms–that was the stated agenda of the council. Lobbying by my opponent and other council members precluded this cost-saving action. The result was a costly legal battle that may require us to purchase the property. Over 100 people have lost jobs and Kenmore has lost a significant revenue source, as well as a gathering place for our citizens. In contrast, Kirkland lobbied for cardrooms and through the annexation process, may acquire two cardrooms, providing jobs and revenue.
KENMORE LIBRARY WILL BE BUILT WHERE?
Kenmore library will be built where our post office is located. The city has offered our city hall building as a temporary post office until Kenmore Village is redeveloped. It shows poor leadership and poor communication in our city planning. Here are my concerns.
- Poor parking–only 27 slots
- 522 Noise and dangerous traffic on the realigned 181st Street
- Possible loss of our Post Office
- Poor access for Kenmore Citizens and students
- The post office may not be willing to move yet again and may just shut down
Bill Ptacek, Director of the King County Library System, stresses the importance of a highly visible store front–no matter how bad the location is on 522. It’s a boondoggle folks! And we are paying for it. Contact the new King County Executive.
OTHER ISSUES
1. Advocate that the City spend its money openly and wisely.
2. Put major spending projects to a public vote.
3. Automatic City paid Counsel trips out of state – bye-bye
4. Help the local business people instead of squeezing them. Meet with them.
5. No funny accounting. Unmask it, and make it understandable for the public to review.
6. Round-about for 61st so that Uplake residences can avoid bottlenecks. Increase safety & access over 522.
7. Fix the problems at the boat launch.
8. Press for a great downtown development, even if that means putting the project out for a “competitive price” re-bid.
9. New playing fields on non-sensitive land.
10. More free recycle days.
11. Prioritize sidewalks and bike lanes
12. Form a Citizens Police review board.
13. Protect air and water quality.
14. Keep St. Edwards Park unspoiled.
15. The city management raised public surface water management taxes with virtually no public comment.
August 28th, 2009 at 9:23 pm
[...] invited all of the City Council members (more than once) to contribute election commentary and only Patrick O’Brien has contributed a post so far. Frankly, I am disappointed that only one council member responded. [...]
August 29th, 2009 at 11:21 am
[...] Allan’s November opponent for position #6, but have not yet received a reply (however, he has responded to a similar request over at James Lupori’s “Kenmore [...]
November 1st, 2009 at 3:39 pm
[...] Patrick O’Brien on Kenmore Undressed [...]