I am a lifelong Eastsider – born on Mercer Island, had my first job on the Eastside Journal in Kirkland, raised my children on Somerset, and now live in downtown Bellevue. The Eastside has changed considerably in six decades. During my 40 plus years in politics, media and government, I’ve seen lots of changes there, too. What the Eastside deserves now and has an opportunity to get is a representative in King County Council’s 6th District who grasps those changes and will champion Eastsiders and their future.

I have worked with both candidates while in the King County Executive’s office. At King County, Claudia Balducci served as the jail director, and architect of a well-planned juvenile detention facility. She knows how King County works and will make it work for us. This, coupled with her experience as Bellevue’s collaborative mayor, shows us what strong leadership looks like, getting the tough things hammered out, like Sound Transit and responsible budgets.

Her connection to and understanding of the growing diverse Eastside is unsurpassed. Both women have served the community, but for our future, we need Claudia Balducci’s energy, abilities, enthusiasm, credibility and can-do attitude on the King County Council. It’s time for leadership. It’s time for a change.

Elaine Kraft, Bellevue