Nine Mercer Islanders took to the Islander Middle School stage on Oct. 15 for a candidates forum presented by the League of Women Voters of Seattle King County, Mercer Island PTA and Mercer Island Preschool Association.
Mercer Island City Council candidates are Daniel Becker (Position 2), Ted Weinberg (Position 4), Lisa Anderl and Johana Beresky (both Position 6) and Julie Hsieh and Adam Ragheb (both Position 7).
Mercer Island School Board director candidates are Julian Bradley (Position 2) and Stephanie Burnett and Robert O’Callahan (both Position 4).
Julie Sarkissian of the League of Women Voters welcomed the crowd of about 100 or so attendees with the message: “We thank you very much for your interest in supporting our democracy.”
Suzanne Zahr of the Mercer Island PTA also addressed the crowd by noting about the PTA, “Together as advocacy representatives, we advocate for the health, safety, welfare and education of all our children and youth.”
Following are truncated statements from each candidate regarding why they’re running for their position and what their priorities are.
CITY COUNCIL
Becker (appointed to council in June): “My goal for council is simple, I want Mercer Island to be a high-quality city. Every decision I make will be based on that principle. In particular, I want excellent public services, strong public safety and a lower political temperature. We are a small community and we need to work together.”
Weinberg (current councilmember): “I plan on expanding our partnerships with the school district and the state and the King County Council and Sound Transit and our neighboring cities so we can work together on the problems and challenges we face together — everything from affordable housing to e-bike legislation.”
Anderl (current councilmember) read remarks from Mercer Island Mayor Salim Nice: “Salim said, ‘I am honored to support Lisa’s re-election to the city council. Since joining in 2018, Lisa has been a dedicated leader, bringing not just her 40 years of experience as an attorney, but also a deep commitment to our community’s values and future.”
Beresky: “Over the last 20 years, I’ve focused my career in operations management, particularly in the veterinary industry. In that industry, I’ve been able to lead very large teams and manage very extensive budgets, and so managing operations is not new to me, and so I want to make sure that I can bring a unique skill set to city council.”
Hsieh: “I have years of experience serving on local boards and volunteering extensively in our schools and our community. With experience as a family doctor, a founder of Yuan Ru Art Center, and a dedicated volunteer, I bring a holistic vision for Mercer Island where children thrive, families flourish, and aging is met with dignity and care.”
Ragheb: “I bring real city experience from my two and a half years volunteering on the planning commission. I recently found and reported two errors in proposed city code that would have allowed emergency shelters island-wide and residential developments to have no parking. That’s the rigor and attention to detail I would bring to the council.”
SCHOOL BOARD
Bradley: “Our district’s reputation for excellence is well-deserved and continues to be true, but it’s not something that any of us can take for granted. We have work to do to help rebuild trust between the board and the community. We have to work through disagreements to do the right thing for our kids.”
Burnett: “I’m running for school board because I deeply believe that every student deserves a high-quality education that meets them where they are, and that means providing them with a first-class education, providing them with the right level of challenge, and also providing them with the support to be able to meet those challenges.”
O’Callahan: “I’ll prioritize budgets, levies, and bonds that support student-facing roles. Teachers, librarians, nurses over bureaucracy. By improving academics and restoring trust, we can boost enrollment, bringing families back to our school. This is the fastest way to stabilize funding while meeting student needs.”
During the course of their time at the microphone, the school board candidates addressed former Mercer Island High School teacher Chris Twombley’s abuse allegation.
Bradley said, in general, that high schoolers are smart, mature and deserve the community’s respect, and the school board has a responsibility to provide them with the information they need to feel safe and be safe.
Burnett said that kids need to feel safe, and that there should be strict rules put in place about when teachers and kids can be alone together out of the classroom.
O’Callahan said the mishandling of the case — where parents weren’t informed until a year and a half later — broke trust. He said that safety is the foundation for learning and growth.
To view the forum, visit: https://www.youtube.com/live/r8Ntf7tYJas
The general election is Nov. 4, and King County Elections mailed out ballots on Oct. 15.
