Annexations

There are many neighborhoods bordering our city that are looking at the potential of annexing over the next few years. People in this position often have many questions and concerns, and I’m not going to try to address them all with one journal entry this morning.

I would instead like to convey my basic position on annexations, and invite readers to contact me at 425-271-6913 or leave comments below with any questions they have of me on the topic.

My basic position is this:

If you are in our Potential Annexation Area (PAA), and the majority of your neighborhood wishes to join our city, then I welcome you with open arms. If you are in the PAA, but the majority of your neighbors do not wish to join our city, then I understand and I have no issues with that..peace to you, and your settlement :-). Lastly, if you are outside our PAA, and you wish to join our city, we should work with other jurisdictions to update the PAA and go from there.

My only wish is that you and your neighbors have accurate facts and data to work from (this is my inner engineer’s voice), Therefore, I support our staff’s printing of materials that explain how your situation is affected by annexation. I want this material to be politically neutral, accurate, and readable.

I will generally not plan to attend meetings of King County residents who are weighing an annexation decision, because I don’t want to put myself in the position of taking their decision personally. If I’m not at their meeting, I won’t have my feelings hurt if they decide not to annex…better for them, and better for me!

In summary, if you are in our PAA, treat it like an event invitation. Ask your questions, get the facts, and make the decision that works for you. I’ll support you either way.