The Wallingford Community Council (WCC) will hold its Annual Membership Meeting and Election of Officers and Directors on Wednesday, May 25, 2016, 7:00 PM in the Chapel of the Good Shepherd Center, 4649 Sunnyside Avenue N. Everyone is welcome!
Special Guest Speaker
The Honorable Frank Chopp
Speaker of the House, Washington State Legislature
As Speaker of the House, Representative Frank Chopp is the most powerful member of the Washington State Legislature. He is also a long time Wallingford resident. Representative Chopp will share his thoughts on critical state and local issues impacting not only state, but city and neighborhood interests. He recently put on hold an element of the contentious Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda (HALA) proposal which required state authorization.
Election of WCC Officers & Directors
WCC Bylaws require the election of Officers and Directors at its Annual Meeting in May of each year. The Bylaws also provide for a nominating committee to present a slate of candidates for each office 10 days prior to the meeting. The following individuals have agreed to be nominated. Nominations will also be accepted from the floor at the meeting.
President: Miranda Sofia Berner
Community is important to me, as it forms the net that holds us all up. As president of the Wallingford Community Council, I would continue to work with everyone on how to improve Seattle 2035 / HALA so that it is inclusive of people (both livability & housing) and solutions to mitigate/ offset climate change and environmental impacts, as well as to support the many other Wallingford interests such as the waterfront, schools, safety, open spaces…
The first time I came to Seattle was right after university – I lived in Capital Hill, found a job in Bellevue and discovered Thai food, Theater Schmeater, and Duck Dodge. After a couple of years, I moved back to the East Coast. I returned to Seattle from Pennsylvania with my husband and our cat in October of 2010. Our daughter was born at Swedish Hospital in November of the same year. 12 months later, we moved to Wallingford. This time around, I have discovered playgrounds, preschools, and the Wallingford Farmers Market (magical!).
I got involved with the Wallingford Community Council thanks to the Wallyhood blog. I answered the call to make comments on the proposed Seattle 2035 comprehensive plan, to door knock the Urban Village and to help set up for the WCC informational meeting on the proposed Seattle 2035 & HALA initiative held in the Chapel at the Good Shepard Center in January. Since then, I have been the Chair of the WallHALA committee.
P.S. Also thanks to the Wallyhood Blog, I volunteered with SolarizeSeattle – Northwest in 2013.
Vice President: Ted Hunter (for re-election)
I’ve been a resident of Wallingford for over 30 years; first in a house in north Wallingford and now in a condominium in south Wallingford. I have degrees in Social Psychology from Portland State, and in Law from UW. I founded and am professionally active with Sound Law Center, which provides dispute resolution services to cities, counties and individuals throughout Puget Sound. I enjoy running (though marathon days are past), singing (Seattle Peace Chorus, Seattle/Tacoma opera chorus, a professional quartet), and playing guitar and didgeridoo (but not at the same time).
My past involvement in Wallingford community includes: helped restore WW 19 east of Gas Works Park; member of Good Sheppard Advisory Board for several years – worked to restore/preserve orchard, find more appropriate places for homeless, and cleaned up shelter; coached with Boys/Girls Club Basketball, North Central Little League, and Woodland Park Soccer; helped obtain MLB grant to improve Lower Woodland ball fields; participant in and support of ‘Kiddies Parade’ for many years; helped in litigation to protect shorelines from office development; helped keep WCC alive in response to efforts to dissolve it.
My current involvement with the Wallingford Community is focused on public access to Lake Union. We have eight waterways in Wallingford and each should provide and encourage water access. A few are in excellent shape (WW 15, 18, 19). Others, however, are illegally occupied by the Seattle Police Department (WW 20); being taken over by a vertical marina (WW 16); serve as a hangout for street people (WW 21); and lack safe pedestrian access (WW 22). All waterways should be user friendly, and encourage all Wallingford residents to use them to enjoy Lake Union. I hope to continue and expand the Wallingford Waterway Walk to help make this vision a reality. The WCC has a key role to play in making this happen, and I would be honored to serve on the board.
Secretary: Kim England (for re-election)
I have been the Secretary for the last year and I am keen to continue that role. I moved to Seattle about 16 years ago, and have lived in the same house in Wallingford for most of that time. I have attended Wallingford Community Council meetings for about six years; initially prompted by the plans for the Wallingford Transfer Station and the Brooks building in south Wallingford. I have attended the monthly meetings regularly in the last three years.
Beyond taking minutes, I have been most active in issues related to the Wallingford public waterways. Initially this was around receiving a grant from WCC in 2014 (funds actually came from the Waste Management Think Green Recycling Challenge) to work with UW urban design doctoral student, James Thompson, to create maps and display materials for the waterways (this material was on the WCC website, and will be returning soon). This interest has since evolved into exploring how to preserve and increase public access to Wallingford’s public waterways. I organized the October 2015 Wallingford Waterways Day, where we visited each waterway to generate ideas and make plans. And I am also active in other initiatives associated with the waterways (like Friends of North Lake Union).
I am pairing the WCC waterways efforts with my teaching at the University of Washington (I am an urban geographer). For the last few years I have worked with undergraduates and graduate students to create online portfolios of North Lake Union (the lower part of South Wallingford) based on old maps, archival photographs, historical newspaper articles, contemporary planning documents and the students’ own observations (some of their work can be seen here: http://lulab.be.washington.edu/omeka/lulab and other work will be publically accessible soon). An additional ongoing activity (some with UW students and with help from some WCC members) is collecting historical information about Wallingford in general and the activities of the WCC, with the goal of ultimately making this a publically available online archive/exhibit.
Treasurer: Paul Willumson (for re-election)
I have lived in Wallingford for twenty six years. I was part of the committee for the design of the Transfer Station, fought the Brooks Building and have been the Treasurer for WCC for as long as I can remember (4 years). In my position I pick up and deposit checks, write checks that have been approved by the board, and do what the accountant tells me to do.
At-Large Board Members: Three to be elected. (Bios in the order received.)
Susanna Lin
I am originally from Virginia. I went to school in Chicago, earning my bachelor’s in psychology and a doctorate in physical therapy. I moved to Seattle in 2008 to escape the cold midwest winters. I also was lucky to have friends here and wanted to be near the mountains. In 2010, I got married and we bought a house in Wallingford. We now have two sons that are five and three years old.
I became involved with the Wallingford Community Council after attending the large meeting in January warning us of the proposed upzones and other HALA related changes. I had already been noticing, like many of us, the recent boom in construction over the last few years and was concerned that my neighborhood would be negatively affected. I have jumped in with both feet to the WallHALA effort. I am on the WallHALA Steering Committee and chair the Research subcommittee. I have been to countless meetings, given public comments, met with City Councilmembers, and have attempted to educate and share information with the neighborhood and others interested in our efforts. I have contributed to WallHALA email campaigns and website updates as well as forming a Facebook Page called Wallingford Housing and Development Discussion Page where I share information. It is an important time for local involvement in city politics. I look forward to working with my neighbors to ensure that Wallingford continues to be a wonderful neighborhood.
Doug Trumm
My wife is a Seattle Pacific University graduate and had lived in Wallingford during that time. She left for law school in Minnesota. Upon finishing her studies and after hearing many stories about how great Seattle—and especially Wallingford—was, we moved to Seattle in 2014. I quickly fell in love with the neighborhood and the city as I explored its restaurants, cafes, parks, and stores and met great people engaged in making the city better. I feel very lucky to live here.
While my day job is doing political research, I got involved with blogging for The Urbanist and advocating for transit, biking and housing affordability. As a resident of a new apartment building, I think the Wallingford Community Council has to be supportive of more housing not just in other neighborhoods, but also in our own. Apartment and condo buildings of good design deserve to be built where zoning allows. I aim to make Wallingford better by improving transit (i.e. a RapidRide E stop at 38th street) and bike facilities. I think our neighborhood is ripe for a protected bike lane to feed into the Burke Gilman trail. I hope the WCC can be a vehicle to advocate for those changes and make our lovely neighborhood welcoming to more people.
While my opinions may differ from many present council members, I’m dedicated to working collaboratively, finding common ground, and trying to represent the plurality of views in our district, including younger renters like myself.
Donn Cave
I have lived in or near Seattle since 1958, in Seattle since 1977, Wallingford since 1990 and SW Wallingford since 1999.
My educational background is Botany and Landscape Architecture, professional background is computer programming. Other random interests include coffee, the tuba, referential transparency, old jazz, a real wool shirt, an old house, a casual garden, and hanging out with my neighbors.
I care a lot about the character and quality of my neighborhood and appreciate very much the role that the Wallingford Community Council plays in that, after attending the monthly meetings for a year or two. WCC has put in a great deal of high quality work over the years towards community improvement, and has done a lot to make sure that Wallingford is treated with respect. I’m embarrassed to say I didn’t know a thing about what they were up to until 2012 when my neighbors and I got involved in land use issue with a multinational builder and local tycoon, and I saw how effective WCC can be and how important it is to us. I have since then also been involved in the efforts to address recent city land use initiatives like HALA and the 2035 Comprehensive Plan. I hope to carry on the good work that WCC has been doing.
See You Tonight!
