The Rumor Mill

Many of you read the news last week that our State Representative for the 41st district, Fred Jarrett, will be seeking the office of State Senate (currently held by Brian Weinstien). And in a dramatic move will also be switching political parties. Read more in the Seattle Times. But one outfall of this is that the rumor mill has begun in full force about who would run for the position that Fred is leaving vacant.
I have heard from more than one person that my name has been circulating the rumor mill (amongst many others) as a person possibly interested in pursuing the office. I will state here clearly that I DO NOT have any ambition to pursue any position outside of the Newcastle City Council for the foreseeable future. My current work and family commitments would make it almost impossible to consider a position such as this. I am flattered that people would even bring up my name in reference to such a position but it just isn't in the cards!

Windtree Park Groundbreaking

Stay tuned, but it looks like there will be a Windtree Park groundbreaking ceremony sometime in January. Details to come.

Public Transit and the Fallout of Prop 1

I began this post shortly after the election but just now have found the time to complete it.
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I have mixed emotions about the failure of Prop1 the "Roads and Transit" measure. On many accounts it was not a perfect solution for the region. But on the other hand, inaction in this case I believe is an even more imperfect solution.


My support for Prop 1 materialized in September when something happened at, of all places, the Microsoft company meeting. It was at that meeting where my employer announced that the company was going to begin providing bus service from several areas around Puget Sound for employees. Now this in itself isn't that earth shattering, but what struck me was the reaction from the crowd. We had been sitting in Safeco Field for the better part of a day, listening to speeches, watching demos, and participating as normal in the "pep-rally" that makes up the company meeting. Nothing in my 7 years of attending company meetings has ever garnered the reaction that this announcement did. Cheers, applause, excitement, they could all hardly be contained. And this reaction came from a group of people that are tasked with solving problems that will literally change the world, yet buses provided by the company quickly became the "talk" around campus. I found this reaction to be fascinating and started me thinking and asking around about why the reaction was so dramatic and positive, even from people who wouldn't even be using the service.


I will summarize my analysis as the fact that most folks here at the company want something done and have the realization that no solution will ever be perfect (perhaps this is a problem with the mindset of us Microsoft folks when discussing our products, but that is another story). And ironically (to me at least), it illustrated a lack of faith and trust in the government establishment to be effective in its ability to deliver. (Ironic in the sense that people would trust Microsoft, the software company, to provide a higher quality transport system than the local government) Possibly this is an indication that we should at least consider some sort of privatized system.


Ultimately all of this led me to believe that Prop 1 was necessary for the region. And for all of it's faults, at least it was a plan to DO something. But now that the fate of the measure has been determined, we need to look at the next opportunity to solve our regions problems. And I will save that discussion for another time.