Dear Neighbors:

I want to invite you to a Town Meeting on the important subject of Public Health. I have invited Dr. David Fleming, the new Director of Public Health – Seattle & King County, to be my guest.

Citizens across King County ranked Public Health as one of their highest priorities in our recent Citizen Budget Priorities initiative. Given that finding, it is timely that we are having this Town Meeting.

Town Meeting with Dr. David Fleming
Thursday, May 3rd
7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
(Public reception at 6:30)
Meridian Park Elementary School
17077 Meridian Ave N. in Shoreline

This is a great opportunity to learn more about King County’s many public health programs which cover everything from public clinics to preparation for a pandemic flu to child immunization. I hope to see you there!

Step It Up - A Call to Action on Global Warming

I had the pleasure of joining more than 1,000 citizens and community leaders for the April 14th Seattle Step It Up event in downtown Seattle.

A key goal of the Step It Up organization is to encourage a day of public rallies and demonstrations held nationwide to raise awareness about climate change. Visit the Step It Up website for information about local groups and events in your area.

I encourage you to get involved in this effort locally by joining with your neighbors to contribute to a healthy planet. Learn how you can be part of the solution.

Survey Update!

Thank you for those of you who responded to my 2007 citizen survey. We had an incredible response with more than 5,000 citizens completing the survey—and they are still coming in!

By participating in the survey, you provided me with important information that will help shape public policy in King County. Your opinions are important to me and I will take them into consideration in my role as your councilmember.

For those of you who asked specific questions in the “comments” section, I will personally respond as quickly as possible. I appreciate your patience. Because we had such an overwhelming response, the tabulation is not yet complete. The results will eventually be posted on my website at www.metrokc.gov/ferguson. I will also include the final tabulation in my e-news, as well as my next newsletter.

Budget Report

On April 23rd the Council formally accepted the final report on the Citizen Budget Priorities initiative—a citizen engagement process that allowed county residents to express their funding priorities for the King County budget.

Through a series of focus groups, workshops, community forums and an online poll, participants repeatedly cited public health clinics as one of their top priorities. Substance abuse treatment programs and low-income housing received strong support countywide while North King County residents in particular ranked emergency preparation and management as a major concern. Residents from all over the county voiced the need for more frequent bus service. You can see a copy of the full report on the Council website.

In the end, nearly 1,000 King County residents participated. I appreciate the time and effort put forth by these citizens. As Chair of the Council’s Operating Budget Committee, it is important to me that the budget process be transparent and accessible to King County citizens. I will be participating in a roundtable discussion on the Citizen Engagement process for King County Television on May 8. If you have a question about the Citizen Engagement process please e-mail me and we can try to answer it on the air.

Switch to All-Mail Vote Requires Further Elections Security Measures

The Seattle Viaduct vote in March may not have yielded conclusive results but one thing is certain: King County’s largest all-mail election was a success—turnout was high and the election went smoothly. The county is planning to switch to all-mail voting for all elections by 2008. However, it is important to remember that new advances require new precautions.

In preparation for this change, the Elections department is planning on purchasing new high-speed paper ballot tabulation equipment as well as ballot tracking and signature verification software as part of a federal Help America Vote Act (HAVA) grant.

Specifically, the Election Department recommends purchasing equipment from Diebold. I have concerns about Diebold. As a result, I recently co-sponsored legislation to create an independent review process to ensure that we are purchasing equipment that will enhance election security, efficiency and transparency. Specifically, the Council motion calls for three different groups to evaluate the equipment: first, experts in computer and elections security; second, current and former election workers from other jurisdictions and third, citizens who are concerned about election security.

To read an article on this discussion, click on the following link: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003678475_diebold24m.html

As part of this process, I invite you to share your opinion on the new paper ballot tabulation system at a public hearing hosted by the King County Citizens’ Elections Oversight Committee (CEOC):

Monday, May 14
6:30-8:30 p.m.
King County Council Chambers
King County Courthouse, 10th Floor
516 Third Avenue
Seattle, WA 98104

You can read the County Executive’s summary of the proposal or read the full detailed analysis.

Alert! Signature Verification Coming to District 1 Mailboxes

The Elections department is mailing signature update letters to all King County poll voters who live outside Seattle over the next few months (excluding those who received them in February prior to the Viaduct vote). The Elections department will mail out signature update letters to residents of District 1 on May 10th. If you have never voted by mail, it is possible that your signature on file is outdated and may have changed. Therefore, I strongly recommend that you complete and return this form to minimize the chances that your future votes will not be challenged due to a signature mismatch.

District 1 Dates:

Below are a few upcoming events I will be speaking at in the month of May:

Public Health Town Hall Thursday, May 3rd, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. (Public reception at 6:30), Meridian Park Elementary School - 17077 Meridian Ave. N. in Shoreline

Meadowbrook Community Council Tuesday, May 8th, 7:00 p.m., Meadowbrook Community Center - 10750 30th Ave. N.E. in Seattle

Green Lake Community Council Wednesday, May 9th, 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m., The Hearthstone - 6720 East Green Lake Way N. in Seattle

About my E-Newsletter
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Phone: (206) 296-1001 | Fax: (206) 296-0198 | TTY/TDD: (206) 296-1024 | Toll Free: (800) 325-6165
Mailing Address: King County Courthouse, 516 Third Avenue, Room 1200, Seattle, WA 98104-3272