Renton’s award-winning former Economic Development Leader, Sue Carlson, says Renton needs Denis law

Year 2000 Public Employee of the year Sue Carlson reminds Denis Law’s campaign of some of the intricate work it took to jump-start Renton’s struggling economy in the 90’s, and how we can lose our momentum today if we don’t have new leadership in the mayor’s office.

I had the honor of serving as City Council President the year that our amazing Economic Development/Long Term Planning Administrator, Sue Carlson, won the title of Outstanding Public Employee from the King County Municipal League for her contributions in turning Renton’s economic fortunes around. That year we got the veterans park and the Henry Moses Aquatic Center started with year-end fund balance windfalls. These revenue windfalls came from new sales tax collections from new retail businesses Sue had recruited. That same year also began the advanced planning for the Landing, as you can see in the Municipal League write-up (linked below).

While Sue Carlson no longer works for Renton, she has a strong passion for our community and is very active in our campaign to get Denis Law elected mayor. Sue Carlson reminded our campaign recently that she helped encourage Denis Law to start the Renton Reporter in 1993, as a means to give our city an identity, a sense of community, a way to market itself to outside bsinesses, and a way for Renton businesses to advertise.

This was around the same time that Sue was bringing our city the support of Eric Temple and his Sprit of Washington Diner Train. Mr. Temple and Mr. Law were two of the first major believers in Renton’s 1990 downtown Renaissance, and the two of them remain great freinds and strong believers in our city. (Unfortunately, this year Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railroad struck a deal with state DOT that ended the Dinner Train’s run in spite of council majority objections; Kathy Keolker’s campaign got a contribution from BNSF for her role, and Denis’s campaign recieved a contribution from Eric Temple for his. I and many others believe we would not have lost the dinner train if Denis had been mayor.)

Sue Carlson is widely known as one of the greatest Economic Development experts in our state, and we finally lost her only because her private sector value was so high that our city could only pay her about a fraction of her market value. Her last few years with our city were very charitable on her part, given the outside job-offers she was passing on. She is one of the many believers in Renton that are going to help Denis Law win this campaign.

Muni News
VOLUME 90, ISSUE 5 – MAY Special Edition 2000

Municipal League Announces 2000 Civic Award Winners
The Municipal League of King County will honor several citizens and organizations that have made outstanding contributions to our community at the League’s Annual Civic Awards luncheon on Friday, June 2, 2000, from noon to 1:30 p.m. at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center. All community members are encouraged to join the Municipal League in this celebration of civic excellence.

Since 1960, the Municipal League has recognized citizens, government leaders and organizations that work hard to improve the quality of life in the Puget Sound region. The 2000 Civic Award winners truly represent what the Municipal League of King County is all about: fostering open, efficient and accountable government. Each of these award winners made significant contributions to our community over the past year and the Municipal League is pleased to recognize them at the Civic Awards luncheon.

CIVIC AWARD HONOREES FOR YEAR 2000

Public Employee of the Year: Sue Carlson, Director of Economic Development and Strategic Planning, City of Renton

In her position with the City of Renton, Sue Carlson is responsible for planning, organizing, directing and evaluating all economic development activities for the city. Since joining the City of Renton in 1993, she has persuaded numerous major businesses to move to the city, including IKEA, HomeBase, and City University. She also played a key role in the development of a $400 million, 60-acre business campus that will ultimately provide jobs for 10,000 people.