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The 2007 Primary for City Council

Party of Commons' chairman, Mark Greene, has been active in both local and national affairs. In 2007, he ran for City Council in Newcastle, and proposed that the city try to attract sustainable energy businesses to locate inside it, among other campaign ideas. Please, see the Seattle Times article in the comments section about the primary that year.

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  1. party_of_commonsJuly 23, 2010 at 5:52 AM

    FAIR USE DOCTRINE, U.S. CODE, TITLE 17

    Published July 27, 2007, Seattle Times, written by Sonia Krishnan, reporter

    PART I

    Different visions for downtown Newcastle are at the heart of next month's primary-election battle for a City Council seat. Longtime incumbent Sonny Putter — elected to consecutive terms to the council since 1994 — is up against Russ Segner, 70, chair of the city's planning commission, and C. Mark Greene, 53, an administrative clerk. Neither challenger has run for city office here.

    All three primary candidates say they want to preserve Newcastle's rustic charm and sense of community. In other words, none is pulling for big-box retailers to enter the city's corridors.

    But they differ on how they want the downtown to come together.

    Newcastle, population 9,550, sits shoulder to shoulder with Bellevue and Renton off of Interstate 405. But with little more than a QFC, a Safeway and a Blockbuster downtown, the city lies in the shadows of its neighbors.

    City leaders have been working to boost Newcastle's profile and help it create its own identity. Two years ago, the council adopted goals to transform the city core, after an economic-development report found that the downtown "lacks a sense of place." The council approved zoning changes in June to allow multistory buildings.

    Putter, 60, said he wants to turn Newcastle's downtown into a "vibrant, pedestrian-friendly business center" by attracting mixed-use developers.

    There's an economic incentive, Putter said. Multistory housing, restaurants, stores and entertainment options will generate more tax revenue to help fund city services, he said.

    More than half of the city's operating revenue now comes from property taxes. That's not sustainable for the future, Putter said.

    "We're looking over the long term to diversify, to be not quite as dependent on property tax," Putter said. "The way we do that is to increase commercial property-tax values through more intensive development."

    Segner says he favors a more tempered approach to the downtown.

    "Newcastle is a neighborhood. It's not a destination," Segner said. "Frankly, that's one of the major misconceptions that my opponent and others are promoting. The [retail] destinations are in Bellevue and Issaquah and Renton."

    Segner said he'd like the city to give existing business owners incentives to expand in their current spaces. But he doesn't think the downtown needs a major overhaul.

    The current retailers "are successful as they sit there ... they have enough business to survive," he said.

    Instead, he added, the city should focus on developing other assets, such as its parks and trails, and touting its proximity to major retail centers.

    ReplyDelete
  2. party_of_commonsJuly 23, 2010 at 5:54 AM

    FAIR USE DOCTRINE, U.S. CODE, TITLE 17

    Published July 27, 2007, Seattle Times, written by Sonia Krishnan, reporter

    PART II

    Greene, a newcomer who moved to the city in 2005, said he has an entirely different vision for Newcastle's future.

    The city doesn't need to pursue more retail downtown, he said. Instead, Newcastle should persuade more environmentally friendly companies to move to the city's core.

    Greene said the city should focus on attracting businesses that develop sustainable energy uses, such as windmill technology. He said he didn't have a specific plan yet for accomplishing that.

    "We'd just have to be proactive," he said. "Newcastle could become a model for the U.S. as a suburban community in that regard."

    Greene said he also wanted to find ways to get more residents to council meetings, but added he had not attended any meetings himself in the past year.

    Newcastle ranks as the third-fastest-growing city on the Eastside, according to figures released in June from the state Office of Financial Management.

    Nearly 2,000 new residents have moved to the city over the past seven years, figures from the state Office of Financial Management show.

    This increase, coupled with more than 30,000 drivers passing through to get to Bellevue and Renton during the week, has taken a toll on Coal Creek Parkway, the city's main thoroughfare.

    Putter said he wants to see through to completion the next two expansion and improvement phases of the parkway.

    Segner said he supports the road project, but he criticizes the council for taking too long to do it. Greene, however, said Phases 2 and 3 should not move forward until further study of environmental impacts.

    The primary election is Aug. 21, with absentee ballots to be mailed by Aug. 1.

    ReplyDelete

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