Reporter ISSAQUAH | SAMMAMISH
Friday, August 10, 2012
www.issaquahreporter.com
Primary Results Hot Fifth District senate race; Rep. Reichert stays strong BY CELESTE GRACEY CGRACEY@ISSAQUAHREPORTER.COM
Robin Rodney stands near her recycling and yard waste bins, which aren’t scheduled to be picked up by Waste Management until Aug. 16 –a month after her last pickup.
KEVIN ENDEJAN, Issaquah & Sammamish Reporter
STINKY SITUATION Yard waste, recycling piling up for north Sammamish residents
BY KEVIN ENDEJAN KENDEJAN@ISSAQUAHREPORTER.COM
W
hen Sammamish resident Robin Rodney put fish scraps in her yard waste container, she wasn’t expecting it to take nearly three weeks before they got picked up.
“It’s getting stinky,” the Timberline resident said. Waste Management drivers, who serve the north half of Sammamish, ended their strike Aug. 1 after reaching an agreement. However, that doesn’t mean everything is back to normal. Waste Management picked up garbage in Sammamish on its regular schedule last week, but recycling and yard waste were delayed. Rodney said the company told her it wouldn’t be picked up until Aug. 16 — meaning it will be three weeks since her yard waste was picked up and a month since recycling.
The kicker — she said Waste Management told her that she will still have to pay for the service she did not receive. The reason lies in an old contract then unincorporated King County had with Waste Management. According to City Administrative Services Director Mike Sauerwein, when Sammamish became incorporated in 1999 it took on the old contracts the county had with both Waste Management and Allied Waste, which serves the southern part of the city. He said state regulation requires a city give 10 years notice that it will seek bids from another company. Sammamish gave its notice to both Waste Management and Allied Waste in 2006, which means the contracts will run through 2016. Sauerwein said he has heard several complaints about Waste Management’s recent service. “Our citizens have every right to be upset,” he said. “It’s not the level of service they’ve come to expect from living in the city of Sammamish or a level of service the city is happy with.” Sauerwein said when the city seeks bids
“Our citizens have every right to be upset.” - Mike Sauerwein, City of Sammamish in 2016, it will look for the best options to protect its citizens, but for now, the current contract must be honored. “It’s a private company so there’s not a whole lot we can do,” he said. Waste Management didn’t return calls about the Sammamish situation. “I feel bad about the strike and everything, but a month is ridiculous,” Rodney said. “At least give us a credit. It’s just not fair.”
For the first time in 20 years a Democrat, Mark Mullet, won the Fifth District senatorial primary. The results from Tuesday’s election have shown how competitive the race is for the state, where Democrats are fighting to keep control of the senate. The state is in political flux this year, Mullet said. “I don’t think anyone thought the Democrats could win.” Brad Toft, who was 6 percentage points behind Mullet, wouldn’t comment on the primary results Wednesday, saying he believed when all the votes were tallied, they’d show he was even more competitive. Before the primary, the Senate Republicans sent out fliers framing Mullet as an irresponsible Wall Street currency trader. In return, Democrats mailed fliers highlighting Toft’s unsavory court dealings. “I think from our side, we haven’t done anything but tell the truth,” Mullet said. “I’m sleeping very well at night.” In Washington, primaries narrow down political races to two candidates. In races where there are only two filed, it gives a clear picture of how voters are leaning. Independent Ryan Dean Burkett, who didn’t mount an active campaign, still managed to earn 5 percent of the vote in the Fifth District for the second representative position. It’s a sign that voters are fed up with partisan politics, said SEE PRIMARY, 8
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