One incumbent and one political newcomer have declared their candidacies for the Lake Forest Park City Council election this fall.
Incumbent Alan Kiest and resident Don Fiene are the latest additions to the roster.
Open positions for four-year terms are: Position 1, held by Kiest.; Position 3, held by Mary Jane Goss; Position 5, held by Carolyn Armanini; and Position 7, held by Nate Herzog.
Armanini and Herzog have announced they will not seek another term.
Candidates are required to file with the state Public Disclosure Commission within two weeks of announcing as a candidate. Previous filings were recorded from residents Sandy Koppenol and Marjorie Ando.
Fiene, a 28-year resident, declared he will run for Position 5. Fiene serves on the Planning and Environmental Quality Commissions, co-chairs the Lake Forest Park StreamKeepers and administers the Good Stewards Community Wildlife Habitat project.
Issues of importance in Lake Forest Park, according to Fiene, are ensuring that the city’s uniqueness is preserved, while continuing to grow as a community. The future of Towne Centre is important to Fiene, who advocates for its continued evolution and development as a center for the community.
“The next four years will bring opportunities as well as challenges to Lake Forest Park,” Fiene said in a press release. “Balancing Lake Forest Park’s growth in relation to that of the greater Seattle area, the requirements of the Growth Management Act and maintaining Lake Forest Park’s unique environment is one of those challenges.”
Other issues Fiene hopes to address are cottage housing, smaller residents for seniors, improved transportation, sidewalks and improvements to the Burke Gilman Trail.
Kiest announced his intent to seek a fifth term on the council. During the past four years, Kiest has strived to make the city more friendly to senior residents, to reduce youth crime, to support the Teen Court and Youth Council and to maintain a financially stable government, according to a press release.
“I have been asked by some of our city’s most dedicated volunteers to support their efforts to improve environmental quality and public safety,” according to Kiest’s press release. “They also have asked me to preserve our zoning for large lots against the pressures of the Growth Management Act.”
Kiest, who is an administrator of an area Community Services Office for the state Department of Social and Health Services, is a member of the countywide Reinvestment in Youth Steering Committee and is a charter member of United Way of King County’s Older Adults Impact Council.
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