Janet Way runs for Council

Local environmentalist Janet Way has thrown her hat into the race for Shoreline City Council.

Way has registered her campaign on the state Public Disclosure Commission website and is holding a kick-off July 30 at Paramount Park. She has not yet determined who on the Council she plans to challenge.

City Council Mayor pro-tem Kevin Grossman and council members Bob Ransom and Rich Gustafson are up for re-election this term. The primary is set for Sept. 16 and the general election, Nov. 4.

“The main reason I am running is for the environment,” Way said. “There hasn’t been anyone who consistently speaks out for the environment in such a way that it’s effective, and I feel the Council has been lax in its advocacy for the environment when it comes to development.”

Way, owner and manager of a freelance commercial art studio, is also the co-founder and president of the Thornton Creek Legal Defense Fund and a founding member of Thornton Creek Alliance, which is advocating for “day lighting” and the restoration of Thornton Creek.

The Thornton Creek Legal Defense Fund is involved in an appeal with the City of Seattle over development at Northgate Mall and is a party of record on an appeal in King County Superior Court against the city of Shoreline and Aegis of Shoreline. Aegis is an assisted living facility that has been built near a channel of water that some argue is a habitat for salmon, but the city argues is a ditch.

“When we plan for development projects in this city, the critical areas have to be protected … I feel like the fish and wildlife habitat has been second fiddle here to development and Aegis is the primary example of that. The city needs to stick up for the environment instead of bending over backwards for developers.”

Way said the litigation she has been involved in “has always been a last resort, when developers and communities don’t listen to the community and it’s always been in the form of an appeal.”

Way is also the founder and president of the Paramount Park Neighborhood Group, which has received several grants to enlarge and improve Paramount Park.

“I think I have a lot of experience on projects locally and working on policies regionally…With Paramount Park we did wetland restoration here, and we were able to add on 3.5 acres to the park. I feel this is an example that I can set for the whole community,” she said.

Way says she is more than a one-issue candidate.

“For starters, one of the things I’d like to see change is citizen input. The city needs to listen to citizen opinions and take them into account when making decision. We need to restore some of the public comment time that was reduced recently,” she said.

The Aurora Corridor Project, a project to widen Aurora Avenue N. that is being contested in King County Superior Court by several small businesses on Aurora, is another concern she has.

“We also need to stand up for small businesses in our city, because they are the backbone of our local economy,” she continued. “I think of Aurora as a laboratory for small businesses. People can get their first start as a business there— it doesn’t necessarily need to be giant development which is exclusive of small businesses.”

“I am also very interested in standing up for Fircrest School,” a state institution for the developmentally disabled located in Shoreline. The state biennial budget calls for downsizing the facility. “Fircrest should be the pride of Shoreline and the City Council has not taken a stand to stand up for it.” Way is serving on the city’s Fircrest Master Plan committee, she said.