Protecting veterans and seniors
We must never forget those in our community who need help. I spent a year in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps running an emergency services office. I will continue to fight to streamline the County Council budget to save funding for critical human services.

Restoring faith in King County Elections
I didn’t receive my absentee ballot in 2002, yet three years later problems remain. At my insistence, the council approved an independent management audit of elections. We need to know exactly what went wrong in order to fix King County Elections.

Expanding affordable bus service
There’s plenty of talk on the council about mega-projects, but little focus on Metro Transit. I am the only councilmember that rides the bus to work every day.

I opposed the fare increase on seniors and students because the most important thing the county can do to ease congestion on Bothell Way and Aurora is to get people out of their cars and onto the bus.

Preserving open space
It was wrong for King County to ignore the community and sell government property originally designated open space to a developer. As an attorney I volunteered my time to help protect Kruckeberg Garden in Shoreline. I will fight to leave a legacy of parks and open space for our children and grandchildren.

Helping the homeless
Some politicians think it helps the homeless to give 48 hour notice that tent city is opening in the neighborhood. I spent a night at tent city. I met residents who were working hard to save their first month’s rent.

We need transitional housing, and in this time of budget crisis, we can’t rule out future encampments. But we must provide proper notification and address neighborhood concerns to bring the community together.