Here’s our summary of the five additional candidates who were interviewed by the Edmonds City Council Saturday, Aug. 27 to fill the Position 1 seat left vacant with the death of Councilmember Kristiana Johnson. The council met with six more candidates Monday, Aug. 29, and those interviews will be summarized and posted this week.
(You can read a summary of the five previous Saturday interviews here.)
A seventh candidate, Erika Barnett, was out of town during the interviews and as a result councilmembers will pose questions to her individually once she returns.
The council is scheduled to appoint a new Position 1 councilmember during its Tuesday, Sept. 6 meeting.
During the interviews Saturday, each candidate gave an opening and closing statement, and also answered a series of six questions — one posed by each councilmember — which they received in advance.
Eric Dubbury has lived in Edmonds for 22-plus years. A 2011 Edmonds-Woodway High School graduate, he attended the University of Southern California, where he majored in music industry and minored in jazz studies. He currently works as a sales consultant and musician.
The first question came from Councilmember Neil Tibbott, asking Dubbury to share a recent activity he did in Edmonds that gave him an insight into the needs of the city. Dubbury pointed to his volunteer work with the Edmonds Jazz Connection and DeMiero Jazz Festival, both events he had participated in as a student musician since middle school. “Being involved in those events locally here really highlights something special about our community, and it’s way more than the music,” he said.
Councilmember Will Chen asked Dubbury about his understanding of the ONE Edmonds concept, focused on the city’s unique neighborhoods and how can the city equitably deploy its resources. “Something that is a core belief for me as a resident and as a long-time community member here is unity,” Dubbury replied. “One of the ways that we have to promote that unity…is we have to have open dialogue and communication,” he said, adding it’s important for councilmembers to get to know residents in all the city’s neighborhoods. “We can’t assume that just because we live in one area, we know what the other areas need.”
Council President Vivian Olson then asked if Dubbury was prepared to meet the significant time commitments of being on the council. “Yes, I am absolutely prepared to do that,” Dubbury said. “I’m not a stranger to long hours.”
Responding to Councilmember Diane Buckshnis’ question about his opinions regarding zoning, Dubbury noted that “we have to be open to the fact our city is growing and developing, and we want to be as welcoming and as inclusive as possible to everyone coming into our city.” However, he added, such changes must be “responsible and prudent, very, very respectful and careful.” He said an example of good development is the Main Street Commons project being created by developer Mike McMurray, which includes not only restaurants and retail but spaces for artists and community use. In a followup question from Buckshnis, Dubbury addressed the council’s decision earlier this year to approve an interim extension of designated street fronts in certain areas of downtown Edmonds’ BD2 zone — which prohibits multifamily buildings with no first-floor commercial space in those areas. “The biggest thing is making sure that our small business corridor in downtown Edmonds does not get damaged,” he said. “Our small businesses do so much for this town.”
Paine then asked Dubbury’s opinion regarding the temporary outdoor dining structures known as streateries, and his thoughts regarding the use of city streets for non-vehicle purposes. One example of this was Walkable Main Street, which closed a portion of Main Street to cars during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dubbury, who works as a sales consultant in the beverage distribution business, said streateries were “definitely necessary for a period of time” during the COVID-19 pandemic, providing restaurants with a safe outdoor space to operate. Now that restaurants have returned to regular operating capacity, not having streateries is the right choice because “we also want to keep our streets and sidewalks as accessible as possible for everyone,” he said. He added that he’s a proponent of walkable spaces created by street closures, “but we also have to remember that we must keep our streets as available to traffic to move most of the year.”
Councilmember Laura Johnson asked Dubbury to describe the steps he would take to begin implementing his top three priorities on his application. Dubbury started with his third priority, unity, adding that “unifying our council, having those respectful, good dialogues and discussions…to find common ground and solutions,” is how to address his first two priorities: streamlining city processes, which includes looking at the city’s code, and having conversations about the zoning process. If issues with the city codes are addressed, it would free up the council’s time to focus on other issues, Dubbury said.
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A 15-year Edmonds resident, Elizabeth Fleming moved to the area in 2007 from Southern California. During her 27-year career with Nordstrom, she said she developed a “customer-centric” approach that will serve her well as a councilmember focused on listening to constituents.
Olson asked about Fleming’s ability to meet the time demands of the council. Fleming noted that she now has her own businesss and works from home, and also serves as a consultant for an ecommerce company. The founder of that company “is in full support” of her city council aspirations, she said, as is her family. “It is a serious commitment, and I take it seriously,” Fleming said.
Paine then asked Fleming’s opinion of streateries and using city streets for non-vehicle purposes. Fleming said the streateries were “a well-intentioned idea and was successful on a lot of levels” to help restaurants survive the pandemic. But she added there could have been better communication with other non-restaurant businesses who felt they were being negatively impacted. As for closing streets for non-vehicle use, Fleming said that she was comfortable with temporary use but wasn’t sure if the city should adopt permanent closures at this time.
Next, Fleming answered Chen’s question regarding her understanding of the concept of ONE Edmonds. That concept, Fleming replied, “is something that we should promote as much as we can, especially given the current conflict over many issues both locally and nationally. She said she lives between Firdale Village and the Highway 99/Highway 104 interchange and she’s excited to see the Highway 99 revitalization project come to life. However, there’s further work to be done in the area, including adding more of a police presence in the Highway 99 corridor to ensure community safety.
Johnson asked Fleming to describe the steps she would take to begin implementing her top three priorities on her application. Fleming said that advocating for public safety and adding to the police presence on the Highway 99 corridor as part of the 2023 city budget is her first priority, followed by a focus on the health and safety of our youth, which includes an awareness campaign around drug overdoses and opioid issues. Another priority for Fleming is balancing housing growth with environmental conservation, and she said her first action step would be “to continue to dig into the [state’s] Growth Management Act.”
Addressing Buckshnis’ question about zoning, Fleming replied that “zoning decisions absolutely have to remain at the local level,” adding that each city and its residents have the best understanding of what their community faces. It’s also crucial to ensure that city codes represent the community’s priorities about zoning, instead of leaving them up to interpretation, she said.
Tibbott concluded the questioning by asking Fleming to describe a recent activity she did in Edmonds that gave her insight into the city’s needs. She pointed to two recent events: Her recent attendance at the Edmonds Civic Roundtable’s presentation on the Growth Management Act, which inspired her to look further into its impacts, and volunteering to assist with Edmonds Marsh restoration. Both of those efforts, Fleming said, reminded her of the importance of balancing growth with environmental protection and inspired her to apply for the vacant council seat.
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Next up for a council interview was Roger Pence, a six-year Edmonds resident who is current vice chair of the Edmonds Planning Board.
Pence noted that he is a regular attendee at city council meetings and events, and also applied — but wasn’t selected — the last time the council had a vacant seat in 2020. “I do think I’m prepared for this opportunity,” Pence said. “My learning curve would be short and I would use my experience…to be a contributing member of this body sooner rather than later. As a strength, he pointed to his “practical experience working with citizens to engage them in the planning process.”
The first question was from Buckshnis, who asked Pence for his opinions about zoning. Pence said that when he was first appointed to the planning board three years ago, the first thing he did was to pick up a copy of the city’s zoning map, which is now framed and in his office. “It is the primary tool we have for implementing the land-use component of the city’s Comprehensive Plan,” Pence said. In a followup question from Buckshnis, he declined to offer an opinion regarding where the line should be drawn regarding the city’s BD2 zone, noting that planning board has not yet discussed it.
Responding to Tibbott’s question about a recent activity Pence did in Edmonds that gave him an insight into the needs of the city, he cited his attendance earlier this year at the 12-week Edmonds’ citizens police academy program. “It was an eye opener for those of us who don’t have a background in public safety issues,” he said. What particularly struck him, he said, was the department’s need to fill job vacancies, and said he would be committed — if appointed to the council — to ensure ongoing funding for those open police jobs.
As for the steps he would take to implement his top three priorities — the question from Johnson — Pence said he would use his priority of “creating a culture of one Edmonds” as a guide in decision-making. A second priority includes improving civic engagment, and said he would work to get “the public better involved in what I call the civic conversation,” which needs to be a two-way process. His third priority, he said, is the Comprehensive Plan work, which is already underway.
As a followup, Chen asked about ways to implement the ONE Edmonds concept, and Pence said he’d likethe city to hold town hall meetings in various neighborhoods, with the idea of fostering two-way communication. Pence also said there should be neighborhood planning efforts similar to what was done several years ago at Five Corners and Westgate. In a followup question from Chen regarding how to tackle high crime rates on Highway 99, Pence said he believes that plans by the police department to divide Highway 99 into two patrol districts should lead to more efficient use of resources.
Olson then asked whether Pence could meet the time demands of the council job. He replied that he is retired (he did community engagement work at Sound Transit and also was a transit planner at King County Metro) and has the time to devote to the job. City of Edmonds initiatives are already the focus of his life away from home, so it would be an easy transition, he said.
The last question came from Paine regarding streateries and using city streets for non-vehicle purposes. “I thought that the streateries were a useful and appropriate response to the pandemic,” Pence said. As for closing streets, he said he’s not opposed to the idea “but I do want the people on the street — the stakeholders, the property owners, the business owners, the visitors to the area — to be involved in a civic conversation over how those differing uses are structured…in ways that everybody can live with.”
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Michelle Dotsch, a 22-year Edmonds resident, is a retired dentist who served as the CEO of her dental practice for 25 years. She is also the current president of the Alliance of Citizens for Edmonds (ACE), a nonprofit that aims to support reponsible development that complements the character of Edmonds. Dotsch listed three qualities she would bring to the vacant council seat: “A real passion to help lead Edmonds into a prosperous, safe and livable future for all in our community,” along with “a respectful, transparent, independent thoughtful voice for the people of Edmonds” and finally “a leader who will work to bring our city government out of seemingly working in piecemeal fashion and into a holistic framework for the benefit of our entire Edmonds community.”
The first question came from Johnson, who asked Dotsch what steps she would take to begin implementing her three priorities. Dotsch listed those priorities as first, encouraging a holistic view of information and processes, which includes eliminating city departments or volunteer boards and commissions that are working in silos, and prioritizing the process of updating the Edmonds city code, “which currently is confusing,” she said. To act on this priority, Dostch said she favors a program “to oversee and track the effectiveness of the programs and projects the council approves.” As a second priority, she advocates “mindfully keeping a holistic framework” for Edmonds’ 2024 Comprehensive Plan update” which includes a “statistically significant survey process for the critical pieces of community input.” A third priority is focusing on the environmental impacts of new developments, including infrastructure, livability and keep the benefits in mind of preserving the marsh, parks, green space and wildlife. She said she would encourage council and the public “to be updated on the realities of our current infrastructure with honest global assessments” of that aging infrastructure.
Buckshnis asked Dostch’s opinions about zoning. She replied that “zoning is at the core of a thriving Edmonds, and it reminds us to ask, ‘Do we cherish the livability of Edmonds.” The city currently “has a good mix of desirable neighborhoods and nearby commercial zones,” she said, which provide opportunities for businesses and services to thrive in its various neighborhoods. Edmonds is already zoned to be inclusive of growth management target goals through at least 2041, Dostch said, adding there in “an incredible opportunity” for growth in the Highway 99 subarea. The city should take “a creative look” at ways to bring in new types of businesses and jobs along the Highway 99 corridor, she said, plus more affordable housing and green spaces.
As for streateries and the use of city streets for non-vehicle purposes, Dostch said that community engagement was lacking due to the emergency nature of the pandemic. If these ideas are brought back during “non-emergency time,” she said, the process should be much more involved, including “at a minimum a more robust civic discussion or a task force initially to really look at the facts involved in starting a new streateries program.” As far as the closing of streets, any decision needs to keep in mind the needs of those with mobility issues, Dotsch said.
Tibbott asked about a recent activity that gave her an insight into the needs of Edmonds. Dotsch related that she had an “eye-opening experience” while attending a recent coffee chat with city staff about economic development in Edmonds. She mentioned she had read in the local media about a former bartender opening his own cider production company in Lake Forest Park. She asked why this entrepreneur didn’t open his business in Edmonds, and was told that current Edmonds city code doesn’t allow for that type of business along Highway 99. “We were all stunned,” she said. “We need to think about these types of newer businesses — such as breweries, small industries and other creative jobs — for our Highway 99 corridor,” she said.
Chen then asked Dotsch about her understanding of the concept of ONE Edmonds. “I think this council has started on a good process of reviewing the things that we are all wanting in Edmonds,” Dotsch said, adding she believes that “safety is at the top.” She said she supports efforts to ensure that “all citizens of Edmonds feel supported and protected by our police.” She also says the city needs to address issues of speeding and lack of sidewalks citywide. And she supports looking at ways the city can hold more events and activities in neighborhoods.
In the final question, Olson asked Dotsch if she had the time for council duties. “I have the ability at this point in my life to devote a great deal of time to the position,” Dotsch said, and that includes research, meeting with fellow councilmembers, citizens and staff, and communication and public engagement. “Integrity, humility and hard work have been the center of my life,” Dotsch said
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The final candidate to be interviewed Saturday was former Edmonds City Councilmember Lora Petso, who served on the council from 2010 to 2016, and is also a current Olympic View Water and Sewer District commissioner. Petso also applied in 2020 for Mike Nelson’s Position 2 seat when Nelson was elected mayor (Luke Distelhorst was appointed to that seat), then ran against Distelhorst in the 2021 primary. (Councilmember Will Chen now holds Position 2.)
Petso began by offering sympathy to the family and friends of Councilmember Kristiana Johnson, noting that during the time they worked together on the city council they agreed that “great care must be taken with land use decisions because the consequences were usually very long term.” She encouraged the current council to honor Kristiana Johnson’s legacy “by demonstrating a commitment to fair process and careful decision making.”
The first question to Petso came from Paine, who asked about her opinion on streateries and using city streets for non-vehicle purposes.
Regarding the debate last year over streateries, “I thought there were good points on both sides,” Petso said. “I find them to be fairly unattractive and somewhat obstructive [in] the downtown,” she added, although agreed they were necessary during the pandemic for restaurants’ economic survival. Regarding street closures, “I’m not really one to fall for buzzwords and the flavor of week,” she said. While she is open to considering street closures, she said “it’s simpler to focus on a narrow mission,” which for streets is safe travel.
Olson then asked Petso whether she could meet the demands required of a council appointment. “During my first term I had three little kids and we were running a home-based business and I still managed to never miss a meeting during that entire term,” Petso said. During her second term, she had a child in high school and a two grandkids. She’s now an empty nester and the business is dissolved and says “the only real negiative feedback got was from the three grandkids, who know darn well that if I’m on council I will have less time to play with them.”
Tibbott asked Petso about a recent activity that gave her an insight into the needs of the city. Petso replied that last week, she and her husband attempted to check out the new Edmonds Waterfront Center and discovered that the ADA parking was difficult to access. “Clearly access is a big deal and maybe you don’t notice it so much until you notice it so much,” Petso said. Asked if she had an idea for addressing the issue, she described the possibility “of developing our own paint scheme and the places next to the handicapped parking spots, we place green lines or something outrageous — and teach everybody that if the handicapped spot is full, go ahead and leave the green one for somebody who might need it, if there’s other parking you can go use.”
Buckshnis then asked Petso to share her opinions about zoning. “For me, as you know. zoning is a tool for land-use planning,” Petso replied. “And I support land-use planning, [which] is far superior to random ‘whim as a property owner development’ and I think it’s what we ought to be doing. She said that conditional-use permits “are a great way to refine the zoning. In other words, we don’t usually allow that [use] here but we think you’re right that in this situation we would like to allow this here, this can be made to work.” She also said it’s important to balance the need for growth with environmental protections.
Next, Johnson asked Petso to describe the steps she would take to implement her top three priorities, which are public safety, finances and environment. For public safety, Petso said she would meet with the police chief and acting public works director “and find out what changes have been made and what still needs to be done.” As for finances, Petso noted that the council has “budget authority but there has to be some followup. When I was on council I would actually review the vouchers and occasionally follow up with staff on ‘why are spending such a large amount of money on X.'” Finally, regarding the environment, “we have a real opportunity right now,” Petso said. “People are finally starting to recognize that preventing sprawl comes at a cost to the immediate environment and that clean air and clean water are essential for life.”
The final question came from Chen, who asked about Petso’s understanding of the concept of ONE Edmonds and how ensure resources are allocated equitably across neighborhoods. Petso talked about her experience of working together with her neighbors to acquire land for Hickman Park in south Edmonds, and shortly thereafter Haines Wharf park was created in north Edmonds, following ciitzens’ demands for fairness. “I think that we need to look at it as equity as not necessarily meaning equal but rather if an area doesn’t have any park at all and we have an opportunity to put one there, maybe we should do it,” she said. That also applies to addressing particular deficits in specific neighborhoods, which ensures that all of Edmonds will thrive, she added.
— By Teresa Wippel
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