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Rudi Alcott Publisher: ralcott@federalwaymirror.com (253) 925-5565, ext. 1050 Carrie Rodriguez Editor: editor@federalwaymirror.com (253) 925-5565, ext. 5050 Casey Olson Sports editor: colson@federalwaymirror.com (253) 925-5565, ext. 5056 Greg Allmain Reporter: gallmain@federalwaymirror.com (253) 925-5565, ext. 5054 Cindy Ducich Sales consultant: cducich@federalwaymirror.com (253) 925-5565, ext. 3054 Kay Miller Sales consultant: kmiller@federalwaymirror.com (253) 925-5565, ext. 3052 Mary Lou Goss 1957-2014 Advertising (253) 925-5565 Classified Marketplace (253) 925-5565 Letters editor@federalwaymirror.com Fax (253) 925-5750
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ho knew our city is a mecca for garden enthusiasts, with a Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden, Pacific Rim Bonsai Collection, PowellsWood Garden, a garden at the Federal Way Senior Center and others at schools throughout the city? As I’ve gotten out into the community over the past four months since I became editor, I’ve discovered a treasure trove of places like this, and things that make Federal Way unique. There’s the Federal Way Community Center that I recently toured and discovered it had the largest public recreational pool complex in the entire state. And top-notch schools, including Federal Way Public Academy, where students’ scores are through the roof. But I’ve also come across a host of issues the city faces. Take traffic cameras. How useful are they for reducing collisions at some of the city’s key intersections? And City Hall. Should the city move it to a more centralized location where people may have better access to their city leaders? How should the city re-brand itself to make Federal Way more attractive to potential businesses and residents who want to move here? What is our identity? Is the proposed Performing Arts and Conference Center the game changer that will spur economic development in Federal Way? These are just some of the questions we face as the city moves ahead. It’s time to start talking, Federal Way. This week, the Mirror is launching a new monthly feature — the Federal Way Forum. We hope this feature will engage residents on different issues that are important to the community. The forum will offer different viewpoints on particular issues and offer residents the opportunity to respond, thus becoming part of the conversation. We invite you to fill out the survey included in the forum. The survey is available for you to fill out in print and mail it back to the Mirror, or you may complete it online at www.federalwaymirror.com. We will share your responses with city leaders for their consideration as they weigh in on the issues. Please also consider forming your own discussion group and chat over coffee, or have a conversation with your family at the kitchen table. The topic this week on page 5 will weigh the proposed Performing Arts and Conference Center. We invite you to be part of the conversation that will move Federal Way forward and keep our city a special place. Carrie Rodriguez
Agencies should strive to do better job As the current president of the Lakehaven Utility District board of commissioners, I wanted to thank Matthew Jarvis for his recent column grading the local government agencies in this community. As providers of important local services and stewards of significant public resources, we deserve and should expect this scrutiny, both as a simple matter of accountability for the public funds
Change, controversy and more rumors abound What a month of change and controversy. The biggest change was Democratic state Sen. Tracey Eide announcing after 18 years in office she was not going to run for re-election. Insiders speculated she might not run for some time and Republicans were openly recruiting candidates by telling them they didn’t believe she would run. Eide’s skills and clout will be missed. Former Democrat state Rep. Mark Miloscia announced he will run as a Republican for Eide’s position. But the big question is, who will run on the Democratic side? Democratic state Rep. Roger Freeman would be the first choice of the party but he announced he will run for re-election to his seat in the House of Representatives. Freeman acknowledged that he viewed Miloscia as a mentor, which would have made running against him difficult. With control of the state Senate up for grabs an Eide-Miloscia race would have been the top race in the state. Now, Miloscia is the front runner and the Democrats need a credible candidate. Newly-elected Councilmember Martin Moore is thought to have bigger aspirations. But it might be too soon for him. Carol Gregory has run before and would be a good candidate, but she was just elected to the school board. Other names mentioned are Keith Tyler, who ran for the City Council a few years ago, Rick Hoffman, who has also run before, and school administrator Liz Drake. Roger Flygare was planning to join Greg Baruso and run against Rep. Linda Kochmar for the House, but now his plans may have changed.
With control of the Senate hanging in the balance, the Democrats cannot afford to lose this Senate seat, but they will if they can’t find a good candidate and provide them a lot of money. And Republicans are feeling so good about winning control of the Senate that they talk in terms of no longer needing Democrats Rodney Tom or Tim Sheldon in their caucus. Down in Vancouver, there are rumors that Sen. Don Benton, who got a new government job, will step down after filing so the seat will stay Republican. And speaking of rumors, Republican Steve McNey has moved to Federal Way where he has managed several successful campaigns. Could he be interested in a House seat? Or a Council seat next year? But the most interesting rumor? Democrat Shari Song who ran against Reagan Dunn for the County Council on the Eastside will move to Federal Way and run against Miloscia for the senate. She has relatives here. Will she actually move, and how will local Democrats react? And how will voters react? The rumors regarding Song may be the reason that Flygare is now eyeing a Senate bid against Miloscia. Will his move block Song? Could either one defeat Miloscia? Stay tuned, it is starting to get interesting. Over at City Hall, there was also some changes. A new finance director was confirmed by the City Council and longtime Public Works and Parks and Recreation Director Cary Roe took a job in Kennewick. Ferrell is likely to split the job in two Bob Roegner
BOARD
The Mirror’s editorial board: Rudi Alcott, publisher; Carrie Rodriguez, editor; Karen Brugato, community volunteer; Patrick Godfrey, political consultant; Joan Tornow, author, school volunteer and mentor; Bob Case, journalism trainer and former news announcer; Don Hyun, tech industry consultant. Contact the board: editorialboard@ federalwaymirror.com
Mirror launches Federal Way Forum
INSIDE POLITICS
EDITORIAL
www.federalwaymirror.com
EDITOR’S NOTE
F E D E R A L WAY
OPINION
[4] April 4, 2014
[ more ROEGNER, page 7 ]
● LETTERS- YOUR OPINION COUNTS:
To submit an item or photo for publication: email editor@federalwaymirror.com. Letters may be edited for style, clarity and length. we spend and as a valuable source of feedback from those we are privileged to serve. While I only have direct familiarity with Lakehaven, I do believe, based upon my experience as a commissioner and as a member of this community, that each of the four agencies reviewed in the article make every effort to deliver services in a reliable, efficient and responsible manner. As Matt suggests, however, the public is not
always aware of the good work that is being done in local government. This may be because we are too focused on performing the job to recognize the need to communicate about it. Or, in a related sense, it may be that we fail to appreciate that the public wants to hear our story. Whatever the reason is, it is important that we make more of an effort to keep our customers informed about the important work we do. While I believe we are
all doing a good job, I also believe that we can, and should, find ways to do a better job. As Matt points out, the board and staff at Lakehaven take a great amount of pride in the fact that we have some of the lowest water and sewer rates in the state. We recently made a presentation to the Chamber of Commerce about the district. We included details comparing our rates to neighboring water and sewer service providers
and described the ample capacity we have developed in our utility systems to handle future growth. We know that it is important to get this word out. As the grade from Matt suggests, however, the Chamber presentation is only a start and we need to expand the circle of information sharing to better inform our larger customer base. The short of it is that we are taking Matt’s comments to heart at Lakehaven and are evaluating how we might better communicate with our customers. The [ more LETTERS page 6 ]