Toby Nixon is the right person for Kirkland City Council after all.

While I’ve supported him over the years as a principled, look-before-you-leap, diplomatic, and knowledgeable legislator and homeowner association president, I had reservations about his advocacy of the Kingsgate, Finn Hill and Juanita annexation: I wasn’t sure Kirkland was much improvement over King County, compared to annexation into, perhaps, Woodinville.

But Toby knew the situation better than I thought. We’ve never discussed my position on the annexation, but in his kick-off speech his central emphasis was on solving my very concerns: overregulation of small and startup businesses (I was seriously considering incorporating mine in Federal Way) and land use, and making sure the annexed areas are heard equally in city decision making.

I won’t claim Toby was prophetic or prescient to start the annexation effort before this current recession, but he certainly combines the ability to plan ahead and correctly diagnose problems, and the proven track record of solving them effectively and efficiently.

All of Kirkland – both the annexation area and the original city – will be better off for Toby Nixon’s leadership. I have enough confidence to launch my business in Kirkland now.

K-Y Su, Kirkland