Maggie Fimia has announced she will challenge incumbent Kevin Grossman for a spot on the Shoreline City Council in the fall elections.
“This campaign is more than about one candidate or one election,” Fimia said. “It is about reconnecting people with their government and the government with its people. With the help of the great people of Shoreline we will restore, revitalize and realize our potential as a city, leaving it to our children better than the way we found it.”
Fimia is a former Metro King County Council member and for the past year and a half, volunteered full-time with a group called the Coalition for Effective Transportation Alternatives that opposes the Sound Transit light rail project. An initial supporter of light rail, Fimia said she now feels that it is not a good project for the region and is an especially bad deal for Shoreline and Lake Forest Park.
While on the County Council, she also worked to secure funding for the Interurban Trail as well as for other trails and neighborhood traffic calming. Fimia said she plans to make those priorities if elected.
“More pedestrian and bike lanes networking throughout the city will give people an option to reduce short car trips, make those trips much safer, help us connect with each other and potentially add the benefit of improved health,” Fimia said.
Fimia said she is a fiscal watchdog and is committed to getting more direct services out of the city budget through partnerships with other jurisdictions, agencies and businesses, good public process and sound fiscal analysis, before decisions are made. She believes this will also reduce the cost of litigation and reduce delays in many of the projects.
Some of those backing Fimia include: former Gov. Booth Gardner, state Rep. Marilyn Chase, former state Sen. Donn Charnley, Metro King County Council member Rob McKenna, former Metro King County Council member Brian Derdowski, Emory Bundy, Sally Soriano, Ken Prichard, members of the Shoreline Merchants Association, Connie and Sammy Samson, and various city council members from around the region.
The campaign headquarters is located in the “Vote Shoreline” center, 15005 Aurora Ave. N. This center was donated by another candidate in the race, Cindy Ryu, a long-time business owner in Shoreline and active member of the Korean community. Fimia and Ryu want the storefront to also function as a “Citizenship Center.”
Their separate campaigns are soliciting material that can be used to share information about government and civic involvement. Through this center, the candidates are encouraging and providing space for people of all ages and nationalities to share and learn about civic involvement, how government works, and the connection between freedom and responsibility.
Originally from New York, Fimia has lived in Shoreline since 1987 and in the Northwest since 1972. In honor of her Irish grandmother, Margaret McGrath, Fimia said she put the “e” back on her first name, the spelling she used until she was 16.
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