Nine city council candidates file for November election

Five Kirkland City Council positions are up for election this year. Nine people have filed to run for the open positions, including four current councilmembers.

Position 1

Incumbent Jay Arnold is being challenged by Martin Morgan.

Arnold currently serves as Kirkland’s deputy mayor, a position appointed by the council. He was first elected to the council in 2013, and he was chosen to be deputy mayor in 2016. He chairs the council’s Planning and Economic Development Committee, and in a release, Arnold said he is running for re-election to strengthen neighborhoods and prepare for new retail centers in Totem Lake and downtown Kirkland.

He represents Kirkland on the Eastside Transportation Partnership and Eastside Rail Corridor Regional Advisory Council and serves on the regional Growth Management Policy Board. More information about Arnold can be found on his campaign website, votejayarnold.com.

Morgan’s campaign website, martinmorganforkirk land.com, says he moved to Kirkland in 1977 and has volunteered for a variety of local organizations. The site says he is a board member of the South Rose Hill Neighborhood Association and has been involved in Kirkland baseball as pony commissioner, Little League coach and umpire.

Morgan has run for council previously in 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2015. The Reporter published a story in 2009 that outlined Morgan’s criminal history and his issues with the city. At that time, he owed the City of Kirkland $20,000 for violating city codes.

Position 2

Tom Neir is the only candidate running for the seat, currently held by Jon Pascal.

Neir has served on the Kirkland Transportation Commission for eight years, including two as chair, and is a co-founder and board member of the Kirkland Parks Foundation. He applied for this seat last year when Shelley Kloba vacated the position to devote her time to being a First Legislative District representative following the November election. More information about Neir can be found at tomneir.com.

Position 3

Incumbent Penny Sweet is running unopposed.

Sweet was first elected to the council in 2010, and she has served two terms as deputy mayor. She chairs the Public Safety Committee and sits on the Planning and Economic Development Committee.

Regionally, she serves on the boards of Cascade Water Alliance and the King County Economic Development Council. On behalf of the Sound Cities Association, she chairs the Emergency Management Advisory Committee Caucus and is a member of the Solid Waste Advisory Committee and the King County Regional Water Quality Committee.

More information about Sweet can be found at sweet forkirkland.org.

Position 5

Incumbent Amy Walen is being challenged by Jory Hamilton.

Walen has been the mayor of Kirkland since 2014, and she was first elected to the council in 2009. In Kirkland, the mayor, who is a member of the city council, is appointed by the council. Walen has served on the council’s legislative and finance committees, and she is also the vice president of the Sound Cities Association and a member of the Puget Sound Regional Council Transportation Policy Board.

She also serves on the Board of Trustees of the EvergreenHealth Foundation. More information about Walen can be found at amywalen.com.

Like Neir, Hamilton also applied for the open Position 2 last year. He also ran against Kloba and two other challengers for the seat in 2015.

As of press time, his campaign website, joryham ilton.com, does not appear to be active. As previously reported, Hamilton’s family has been in Kirkland for three generations, and he grew up in the Juanita neighborhood, a 2009 graduate of Juanita High School. A Facebook page for his campaign, facebook.com/pg/Jory HamiltonForCityCouncil, states that his priorities are enhancing Kirkland’s education, fostering local business, protecting the environment, compassionate elderly care and increasing affordable housing.

Position 7

This seat is currently held by Doreen Marchione, who is retiring at the end of her term. Jon Pascal, Imran Peerbhai, and Uzma Butte have all filed to run.

Pascal was appointed to the Position 2 seat on the council following Kloba’s departure. He serves as the chair of the Public Works, Parks and Human Services Committee and the City/School District Coordinating Committee. Pascal also represents Kirkland on the Eastside Transportation Partnership.

He previously served on the Kirkland Transportation Commission, the Kirkland Planning Commission and the Finn Hill Neighborhood Alliance Board of Directors. More information about Pascal can be found at jon pascal.com.

The website for Peerbhai’s campaign, imrankirkland7.city, was not active as of press time. His Twitter page, twitter.com/ipeerbhai, says he is into the software world, business problems and the Internet of things (IoT).

His LinkedIn page says he is a data scientist, and he has a personal blog at ipeerbhai.wordpress.com.

Butte did not include a website when filing for office but did provide the email address UzmaForKirkland@gmail.com. She has applied to serve on the City of Kirkland Human Services Commission and was recently chosen as a finalist to be interviewed by the city council at a special meeting on June 12.

Butte is the director of Spectrum Academy, a school that serves children in preschool, kindergarten and first grade, in Redmond.

Look for interviews with all of the city council candidates in future editions of the Reporter.

Other offices

Here’s a look at the candidates who have filed to run for other local positions this November. Filing week was May 15-19.

Kirkland Municipal Court Judge

Michael J. Lambo (incumbent)

Houghton Community Council Position 1 (currently held by Rick Whitney)

Bill Goggins

Houghton Community Council Position 2

Betsy Pringle (incumbent)

Houghton Community Council Position 3 (currently held by Bill Goggins)

Rick Whitney