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NEIGHBORS CELEBRATE SAFETY AT NATIONAL NIGHT OUT
INCUMBENTS ADVANCE IN TWO TACOMA RACES BY JOHN LARSON jlarson@tacomaweekly.com
BY JOHN LARSON jlarson@tacomaweekly.com
More than 100 block parties took place around Pierce County on Aug. 6 as part of National Night Out. A nationwide effort that gets neighbors outside to meet each other and interact with the police officers who patrol their neighborhood, the local activities were organized by a number of groups such as Metro Parks and Safe Streets. The parties are a fun way to strengthen neighborhood unity, generate more support for anti-crime efforts and heighten awareness of anti-crime and anti-drug activities.
The event at People’s Park featured music by local jazz guitarist Michael Powers, bounce houses for the kids, people busy grilling meat for their neighbors and information booths staffed by people from Sea Mar Community Health Center, Metro Parks and Sound Credit Union. Darren Pen, who has worked as a community mobilization specialist for Safe Streets since 2005, attended 10 of the parties. “National Night Out is a powerful force. It is about having fun and getting to know your neighbor,” he remarked. “It is about looking out for one another and celebrating one another.” He said there were 26 parties in the
area he mobilizes in, with four of them being new locations. These included Blueberry Park, where live music drew hundreds of people, and Stafford Elementary School. A block watch group that formed three months ago held an event at Thompson Park, where they served fried rice and spring rolls. “The food was amazing,” Pen observed. An event at Jennie Reed Elementary School drew several families who had just moved into the neighborhood, according to Pen. Another party at the corner of South Alaska Street and South 66th Street also drew a lot of new faces. Pen said a safety issue that has been generating concern is an increase in drive-by shootings.
The two incumbents in Tacoma on the ballot for the primary election fared very well, with each coasting to a wide margin of victory in a field of three candidates. Meanwhile, six individuals faced off for two open seats on Port of Tacoma Commission. There are a total of 517,727 voters around Pierce County eligible to vote for Port of Tacoma Commission. There were 104,603 ballots returned, for a rate of 20.20 percent. For Port Commissioner position 3, first place goes to Deanna Keller. She received 40,095 votes, or 48.5 percent. Keller has served as president of KelTech Plastics since 2008. Prior to that, she worked as an educator in the Puyallup and Clover Park School Districts. She was in the U.S. Marine Corps from 198388. In the general election, she will face Frank Boykin, who came in second place with 23,363 votes, or 28.26 percent. Justin Camarata finished in third place with 18,775 votes, or 22.71 percent. He briefly served on Tacoma City Council on an interim basis when Robert Thoms was deployed to Afghanistan with the U.S. Navy Reserve. For Port Commissioner position 5, the two candidates who will advance to the general election finished very close to each other. After trailing slightly after the first count of ballots, Kristin Ang had a slight lead after the second day with 33,157 votes, or 33.94 percent. Dave Bryant is right behind her with 32,447 votes, or 39.09 percent. Bryant served in the U.S. Navy from 1974 to 2001. Since retiring from the service, he has worked in engineering and business development at Boeing in Kent. Ang, a business attorney, is the current president of the board of City Club of Tacoma. Shelley Schlumpf finished in third place. The former president and CEO of the Puyallup/Sumner Chamber of Commerce received 17,052 votes, or 20.54 percent of the total cast.
u See RACES/ page 5
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