September 28, 2011 Locally owned Founded 1992 50 cents
City may allow initiatives
Vance, Bornfreund face off for council
Sammamish honors its heroes
Council will also consider power of referendum
By Caleb Heeringa
By Ari Cetron
Sammamish’s City Council has done generally alright so far, according to Sam Rodabough, but that might not always be the case. “There may come a day when the council takes an action out of step with the community,” Rodabough told the City Council at its Sept. 19 meeting. He argued that the solution to that would be to allow the powers of initiative and referendum within the city. An initiative is a petition-driven measure by which citizens can have a proposed new law placed on the ballot for the citizens to decide. A referendum, also petition-driven, can be used to overturn the actions of the City Council. The state allows localities to have these powers, but they must first be adopted by the City Council. According to Rodabough, most of the city’s neighbors have already done so, but Sammamish has not. “The city of Sammamish is the doughnut hole of direct democracy on the Eastside,” he said. Residents from across the political spectrum came to support Rodabough’s idea, at least in broad terms. Woody Herzog, of the Issaquah-Sammamish Tea Party said his group had unanimous support in recommending the See POWERS, Page 2
Photo by Ari Cetron
The Sammamish City Council and Eastside Fire & Rescue officials recognized residents Greg Barton and Hal Goren at the Sept. 19 City Council meeting for their efforts in pulling a neighbor out of a burning house in the Sahalee neighborhood. From left are EFR Chief Lee Soptich, EFR Board of directors Chairman Ron Pedee, Goren, Mayor Don Gerend, Barton and Deputy Mayor Tom Odell.
Initiative would change the rules for highway tolls By Tom Corrigan
Tim Eyman said that for him, Initiative 1125 isn’t so much about highway tolling as it is a continuation of the same idea he has been promoting with his various ballot issues for 18 years. I-1125 would change the way state conducts highway tolling in several ways. Among other provisions, I-1125 would
require the Legislature to set toll amounts — rather than the appointed Washington State Transportation Commission — and mandate that tolls end when the state finishes paying off projects funded by tolling. The initiative also mandates that state transportation money — including toll collections and gas taxes — cannot be used for non-highway purposes, which would include
the proposed light rail system on I-90. Finally, it requires tolls only be used for projects on the road or bridge being tolled. Voters will decide on the initiative in November. Cynara Lilly, a spokeswoman for the Keep Washington Rolling campaign opposed to
Whether it be the location and operating model for a potential community and aquatic center or their opinions on the recent years-long Shoreline Master Plan process, Tom Vance and Jesse Bornfruend have differing views. Vance, a semi-retired publishing executive and Heritage Hills resident, and Bornfruend, an entrepreneur, former Microsoft executive and Sahalee resident, are running for the Sammamish City Council seat being vacated by Councilman Mark Cross. Ballots are mailed Oct. 19 and must be filled out and submitted by Nov. 8. Aside from policy, the pair also differs in their level of involvement in recent years. Bornfruend, a relative newcomer to city politics, paints himself as a breath of fresh air on the council. “I don’t have an agenda of maintaining the status quo,” Bornfruend said. Vance, on the other hand, has been a mainstay in city government for several years and has left his fingerprints on the several of the city’s major policies, including Town Center and shoreline regulations. He served on the Planning Commission between 2008 and 2010, eventually being appointed chairman, and ran for a council seat in 2009, losing to current Councilman John
See TOLL, Page 2
More tech at Inglewood
Skyline back in the game
schools page 16
sports page 18
Calendar...........20 Classifieds........23 Community.......14 Editorial.............4 Police................9 Schools............16 Sports..............18
See ELECTION, Page 5