Aurora business owners George Daher and Cindy Ryu are challenging school administrator Rich Gustafson for his seat on the Shoreline City Council. All three candidates head to the Sept. 16 primary where one candidate will be eliminated from appearing on the Nov. 4 ballot. The candidates outlined their stances on several issues recently.
Gustafson said he should be re-elected because he wants to finish some of the goals that the council has started.
“I want to improve the quality of life for the city, make it a safer community, to develop and improve our infrastructure and be fiscally responsible,” said Gustafson, 63. He is assistant principal at Shorewood High School and is former athletic director for the Shoreline School District. He has served on the city council since 1998.
George Daher, 35, the owner of City Vacuum on Aurora, is former chair of the 32nd District Republicans and of the Hillwood Neighborhood Association. He said he is running to put the issue of a new city hall to rest.
“In the 2002 citizens survey, city hall was a lowest priority, and in the 2003 budget it shows that between 2003 and 2008 we will be putting $15 million into this structure that we don’t need. I’d rather see that money go for sidewalks and safety,” Daher said.
Ryu, 45, is an Allstate Insurance agent and owns the Westover Plaza on Aurora. She is a political newcomer and said she is running because she wants to make the council more accountable, and would also like to see the City Hall project put on the back burner.
“The city council needs to be more fiscally responsible in dictating how the priorities are set, and right now, the capital projects approved by the council do not reflect the needs of the citizens,” Ryu said. “What got me mad enough to run is that I was told this was a good time for going into debt, to get the interest rates on a bond, but to me, no time is a good time to get into debt.”
Gustafson said when he was first elected he was opposed to a new city hall, but has changed his mind.
“Right now we pay rent, and as time goes on, that rent will increase,” Gustafson said. “I feel it is prudent for the city to have its own property and pay equity rather than rent. The short-term cost will save the city tremendously in the long run.”
All three candidates think economic development is important. Daher said building a better relationship with business owners is the first step.
“With my experience in this community and my relationship to business owners and my chairmanship of the Republican party and Hillwood neighborhood, I’d be a good conduit for that relationship,” he said.
Ryu said: “The three miles of Aurora could be a vibrant shopping area. I am in the first mile and I can really tell when the city leadership sets the tone on what is important and who is encouraged to thrive and who is not. Right now we business owners are not being encouraged. With that animosity, why would other businesses locate in Shoreline?”
Gustafson said economic development is already a council goal.
“We are working vigorously on this,” he said. “I agree with George and Cindy that we need to do a better job of communicating with business owners and that there has been a breakdown, but at the city council meeting (Aug. 18), business owners showed us their support for the fact that we are bringing business into the process and communicating.
“We need to have growth and provide places for people to shop, and I think the Aurora Corridor project (to widen Aurora) will enhance opportunities for businesses to come in and become an important tax base for us,” Gustafson said.
Gustafson said he favors the city’s Aurora Corridor plan to widen and redevelop the road through Shoreline into seven lanes with bus/transit lanes and a planted median down the middle.
“I am concerned about the cost… but in comparison with Federal Way and Des Moines (who are doing similar projects) we are in a reasonable ballpark. I am an advocate for the Aurora Corridor plan and believe we need to take a long-range vision and do it right away, right now, for safety reasons and to enhance the city and economic development.”
Daher and Ryu are members of the Shoreline Merchants Association, which is appealing the city’s design in King County Superior Court. Both say they want the project slowed and the cost reassessed.
“Starting Jan. 2 I would request staff to bring Aurora back to us, with all the numbers,” said Ryu. “Right now it’s $25 million for the first section and the second and third sections are at about $60 million, so that’s $90 million – it’s a huge capital cost. The current City Council has blindly trusted the staff and management, who mostly do not live in Shoreline. I would ask tough questions and oversee their recommendations and numbers.”
Daher said: “Within three weeks of being elected, the ‘roving eyes’ would be gone forever. Within three weeks I would have a complete audit of all financial expenditures for the entire project. I would initiate a full (environmental impact study) for at least six blocks on either side of Aurora. I am more worried that this project will be outdated before we even get started on it.”
Daher and Ryu say they want the city to support keeping open Fircrest School as a working facility for the disabled. Gustafson said the city should work with the state to determine what will be done with the 90 acres of land once the state closes the facility.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
