After being selected as Mayor, Brian Bennett and former Mayor Joan McGilton traded places...

...and Bennett ran the meeting. Photos by Scott Schaefer.

by Ralph Nichols

Brian Bennett is Burien’s new mayor, replacing City Councilwoman Joan McGilton who has served as mayor since 2004.

Bennett, who joined the city council in 2010 and became deputy mayor last year, was elected mayor on a 4-2 vote of his fellow council members Jan. 9.

He was nominated by Councilman Gerald Robison and was also supported by Councilwoman Rose Clark and McGilton.

Newly elected Councilman Bob Edgar, citing Councilwoman Lucy Krakowiak’s experience and leadership, nominated her for mayor.

Councilman Jack Block Jr. was absent.

Clark was then elected deputy mayor, a position she has held on seven other occasions, also by a 4-2 vote, after being nominated by McGilton.

She is “the longest serving deputy mayor in Burien’s history and it is an honor to nominate her,” McGilton said.

Edgar also nominated Krakowiak for deputy mayor, saying “citizens have confidence in her ability.”

A mayor serves a two-year term in that position; a deputy mayor serves for one year.

McGilton was first elected to the city council in 2002 after serving on the Burien Planning Commission from 1995 through 2000.

This is Clark’s eighth term as deputy mayor. First elected to the city council in 2000, then elected again in 2006 and 2010, she has served as deputy mayor under mayors Sally Nelson, Wing Woo and McGilton.

In taking office, Bennett thanked McGilton for her service to the city, noting she has been “the longest-serving mayor in Burien” and “has worked long and hard and made a substantial impact for where we are today as a city.”

He added that she is “recognized regionally for her environmental work.”

Burien Mayor Joan McGilton.

by Ralph Nichols

Things are looking better in three Highline communities, the mayors of these cities said recently during their annual updates to members of the Southwest King County Chamber of Commerce.

Burien Mayor Joan McGilton, Tukwila Mayor Jim Haggerton, and SeaTac Mayor Terry Anderson all pointed to signs that indicate these local economies are improving.

Despite ongoing uncertainty about the future of the all-but-vacant Town Square condominium/retail complex, Burien has “had some real successes,” McGilton said.

Instead of remaining empty, a lot of vacant retail spaces are sprouting businesses,” she noted. “New businesses are moving in all the time.”

These include the Car Pros’ Nissan dealership (“Can you imagine a new Nissan dealership in this economy?”), Grand Central Bakery, and a Ross clothing store (“We haven’t had a clothing store in Burien since Gottschalks closed”).

The Town Square complex situation is out of Burien’s hands, McGilton said. “Unfortunately, the FDIC got involved when the Great Recession came along. It’s of great concern to us,” despite the fact that “the city has no financial interest” in the two-year-old building.

“The good news is that we have Town Square, which is being used all the time,” she continued. “I have great hope that we’re moving in the right direction. Things are just really looking up for Burien.”

Tukwila Mayor Jim Haggerton said the fact that local sales tax revenue is “slightly better” over the last five months, after a steady decline in 2009-10, “is evidence that things have bottomed out.”

In addition to this encouraging news, Tukwila has seen a 22 percent increase in building permits and a 52 percent increase in new building value – and “371 new businesses are coming in,” Haggerton noted.

But Tukwila is “more than South Center,” he added. “Tukwila is a lot about parks and greenery and trails … a lot of people don’t know that.”

Focusing again on economic growth, Haggerton said groundwork will be underway “before long” to get Tukwila South ready for development.

Tukwila Mayor Jim Haggerton, left, and SeaTac Mayor Terry Anderson talk at the SWKCC Mayor's Luncheon.

Additional development activity is in progress along East Marginal Way, while “new developers are interested in … Tukwila Village at S. 140th Street and Tukwila International Boulevard.”

The city, also looking beyond its boundaries, is engaged in “an extensive process” of studying whether the Tukwila Fire Department should join the Kent Regional Fire Authority,” he said.

SeaTac Mayor Terry Anderson said “2010 was a good year for economic development” there, with “10,000 square feet of vacant space leased [and] new jobs were created.” These range “from retail to service to warehousing to hospitality.”

With an “upward trend in sales, lodging and property tax revenues … prospects for 2011 are bright,” Anderson continued.

Making community life even better is “a decline in the number and severity of crimes.” Contracting with the King County Sheriff’s Office for law enforcement services is “one of the best decisions we’ve made.”

And the “camaraderie with Burien is terrific,” she observed. Burien also contracts for law enforcement services with the sheriff’s office.

Anderson said she is “especially proud” of SeaTac’s parks – and also pointed with pride to the fiscal stability of the city, which has sustained no cuts in programs or services.

SeaTac has a “vision of redevelopment” that includes technological enterprises and tapping its potential as a transportation hub, as well as “collaborating with the Port of Seattle on development opportunities.”

A ‘Celebration of Life’ for former Normandy Park Mayor and Councilmember George Hadley, who passed away May 8th, will be held on Sunday, June 12th beginning at 2 p.m. at The Cove in Normandy Park.

“Nancy Hadley (George’s wife) explained that the celebration will be an opportunity for people to share their stories about George,” said Normandy Park City Manager Doug Schulze.

Hadley had been fighting a serious form of brain cancer, Glioblastoma Multiforme, since being diagnosed in January. He resigned as mayor in March (read our previous coverage here and here).

He began serving as a member of the Normandy Park City Council in 2004, then served as Mayor Pro Tem from January 2006 to December 2009. In January 2010, the Normandy Park City Council elected Hadley to serve as Mayor for 2010-2011.

He was born in 1943 in Morristown, New Jersey.

He is survived by Nancy, his wife of 30 years.

Everyone at the blog sends out our deepest sympathies to George’s family, friends and co-workers.

The Cove is located at 1500 SW Shorebrook Drive in Normandy Park, WA 98166.

Shawn McEvoy

Former Mayor and current Councilmember Shawn McEvoy was selected by the Normandy Park City Council this week to serve as Mayor for the remainder of 2011.

The Normandy Park Mayor position became vacant when George Hadley resigned in March. Since Hadley’s resignation, Mayor Pro Tem Clarke Brant has assumed the duties of Mayor.

McEvoy was appointed to the Normandy Park City Council on September 10, 2002 and then elected to a four-year term in 2003 and again in 2007.

McEvoy previously served as Mayor from 2006 – 2010.

Clarke Brant will continue to serve as Mayor Pro Tempore.

George Hadley at last year's Normandy Park Hoopfest. Photo by Mark Neuman.

George Hadley, former mayor of Normandy Park, has passed away.

He died at home Sunday afternoon (May 8), confirmed long time family friend Lee Moyer.

“George will certainly be missed by all of us at Normandy Park City Hall,” said City Manager Doug Schulze.

Hadley had been fighting a serious form of brain cancer, Glioblastoma Multiforme, the most common and aggressive type of brain cancer, since January. He resigned as mayor in March (read our previous coverage here and here).

George Hadley began serving as a member of the Normandy Park City Council in 2004. He served as Mayor Pro Tem from January 2006 to December 2009. In January 2010, the Normandy Park City Council elected Hadley to serve as Mayor for 2010-2011.

He was born in 1943 in Morristown, New Jersey.

He is survived by Nancy, his wife of 30 years.

Services are pending, and we’ll update this blog when we learn more.

Former Normandy Park Mayor George Hadley at the 2010 Cove to Clover starting line. Hadley resigned from the city council in March due to a brain tumor. Photo by Scott Schaefer.

by Mark Neuman

The recent four months have been a swift transition for George and Nancy Hadley, from the relatively normal and routine to an acceptance of one of the very difficult inevitabilities of life itself.

We spoke this week with George and Nancy. George was mayor of Normandy Park, until he resigned in early March.

Since just past the first of the year, George Hadley has endured brain surgery and several weeks of concurrent radiation and chemotherapy to treat a form of brain cancer for which there is no cure. The cancer affects the glial cells.

“If you picture a pickup truck with the netting over it to hold things in, the glial cells are the netting that holds the different compartments of
the brain together,” Nancy explained. “So when the cancer is in the glial cells, the cancer is everywhere. They can’t get all of it no matter what they do.

“He actually flew through all that treatment pretty well,” she said. “His bad time came after he finished his chemo and radiation on the 24th of March.

“He hasn’t had any pain through all of this, even before he was operated on. That is the saving grace right there.”

The view from George's living room, where he is receiving hospice care.

George is receiving hospice care at their home on top of Snake Hill in Normandy Park.

“We have a hospital bed in the living room. It’s adjustable and he can look out the window at Puget Sound and the garden,” Nancy said. “The cancer is in a dominant region of the left side of the brain. It affects his reading, writing, speech and walking.

“Here’s a man that throughout his life had a brain like a computer. Now he’ll think one thing but it will come out as something else.”

George began to experience motor skills difficulties over the Christmas holidays while he and Nancy were visiting friends in Arizona.

“He wasn’t reading as much as he usually does,” Nancy recalled.

The problems did not get better.

Back in Normandy Park in early January he was running errands. He came home, walked in the door and said to his wife: “We need to talk about my health.”

George Hadley has always been, in a sense, a man of few words.

“For him to say ‘we need to talk,’ I dropped everything and we talked. He said ‘something’s wrong.’”

He was having vision problems, particularly in his right eye.

The next day Nancy took George to Highline Medical Center where he underwent a CAT scan, an MRI, X-rays and blood tests.

He underwent brain surgery the next morning, January 13.

“The doctors informed us it was Glioblastoma Multiforme,” Nancy said. “They told us that George might live two to three months with no treatment. But with the treatment he has received he has a fifty percent chance of living at least one full year.”

George Hadley and Nancy Louise McDonald were married July 12, 1980.

“We met over the KVI Love Line, would you believe that? His friends challenged him to go on the program.”

Personality wise, going on the radio show “was so much not him and it was so much not me, but it just happened.”

Lee Moyer has known George for 40 years.

“We both joined the Washington Kayak Club, we were both whitewater paddlers,” Lee said. “For one thing, George is not only a nice guy, he’s probably the smartest guy I ever met. He’s brilliant. He was building and using computers before most people knew what a computer was.”

Lee remembers playing a computer game George designed and built in the 1970’s.

George Hadley at the first-ever Normandy Park Hoop Fest in July, 2010. Photo by Mark Neuman.

“It was called ‘Landing a Rocket Before Running Out of Fuel.’ He worked at Boeing on a lot of (military) stuff he’s not allowed to talk about.”

George Hadley was born in 1943 in Morristown, New Jersey. He attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before going to work for Boeing.

He spent five years teaching computer science at the University of Stuttgart in West Germany in the 1970’s.

He was a standout chess player in his early years, and an avid soccer player throughout his life.

George Hadley began serving as a member of the Normandy Park City Council in 2004. He served as Mayor Pro Tem from January 2006 to December 2009.

In January 2010, the Normandy Park City Council elected Hadley to serve as Mayor for 2010-2011.

Prior to being elected to the City Council, George served on the Normandy Park Board of Adjustment.

Understandably, George does have some trouble finding just the right words while speaking and he tires easily. Nancy intuitively knows his meaning and helps him communicate.

“He is saying he is very appreciative of all the love and support he has received,” she said.

His many visitors have included the Normandy Park Police Chief, many police officers, Normandy Park City Council members, the City Manager, city workers and neighbors and friends.

Nancy said “I think one of the things George stands out as is someone who has always served the community and enjoys anything connected with helping people.”

Lee Moyer continued:

“George is a guy that tends to take whatever he’s doing very seriously. When an issue came before the city council, there’s one guy that has done his homework very thoroughly and it’s George.

“If he says something, he knows what he’s talking about. He studies. He is a very intense guy, but not uptight. He’s a relaxed and fun guy.

“When he does something, he does it with a full commitment. He does the very best he can.

“That’s always been the way George is.”

Former Burien City Councilmember Sally Nelson.

The King County Council announced Tuesday (Jan. 18th) that it had unanimously appointed four members to the King county Districting Committee, including former Burien City Councilmember and Mayor Sally Nelson.

The citizen committee is responsible for redrawing Council districts based on the 2010 Census data.

Nelson, long time civic activist and leader in South King County, is a former charter member of the Burien City Council, its first Deputy Mayor, as well as its Mayor for two years. Nelson has been active in a wide variety of organizations serving the region, the state and the nation. She retired as an elected official in 2009 after 16 years of public service.

“The Council worked together to find committee members who have a deep knowledge of our local communities, an understanding of the government and the political process, and an ability to work together on challenging issues,” said Larry Gossett, King County Chair.

King County Councilmember Julia Patterson commented that the members who have been appointed would “ensure that there is geographic equity, a sound understanding of the political process and a broad range of community and public service among members of the Districting Committee.”

The first meeting of the new Committee is scheduled before the end of the month. The King County Charter places the authority of adopting a final districting plan with the citizen Districting Committee, not the County Council. The Committee will hold public meetings to collect community input. All work by the Committee must be completed by January 15, 2012.

Picture a small boy in India, in the early 1940s, his family’s home being personally visited by Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru themselves.

Imagine that same boy, just a few years later, on August 15, 1947, being held lovingly by his family atop the hood of a car as they and millions of others celebrate India’s independence from British rule.

Visualize a young graduate student in Amherst, Massachusetts, being utterly moved by the words and visions of a young U.S. President, “full of energy, strong in his views and personality,” delivering a 1962 commencement speech, a mere 15 rows away.

See a trim and vibrant gentleman recently sipping decaffeinated coffee in Olde Burien, who keeps in shape by swimming several laps every day, and tending to his garden at the same house he and his wife have lived in for almost forty years.

Conjure all of that, and you will see Dr. Arun Jhaveri, the first mayor of Burien.

“Our whole family crammed into our little car, including all the kids,” he said with a smile during an interview last week with the B-Town Blog, referring to that August 1947, day. “They put me on top because I was the youngest and I remember going around the city the whole evening, fireworks going. People were just jubilant.”

When asked if politics was part of his upbringing, Dr. Jhaveri’s answer is more than a mere Yes.

“My uncle was a very active member of the Congress Party, before the independence, against the British Crown,” Dr. Jhaveri said. The Congress Party was the political party of Mahatma Gandhi and future Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

“My uncle looked very much like Nehru in his personality. He wore the white cap and the long white coat and everything. My grandfather, my father and my uncle had just gone to a political rally in Bombay. And after the rally they were coming back in a horse-drawn carriage. A fanatic saw my uncle and mistook him for Nehru. The fanatic came from behind and killed my uncle with a dagger.”

The Jhaveri family was soon visited by Gandhi and Nehru, who came to express their condolences.

Young Jhaveri eventually moved to the U.S., earning his Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Washington, before moving on to earn his Masters in Physics from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.

On that “beautiful day” 46 years ago, “President Kennedy was such a charismatic leader, the way he spoke to the students. I was extremely inspired,” Dr. Jhaveri recalled. “It was an excellent opportunity for me to see a real president just a few feet from me speak about educational and political issues.”

Dr. Jhaveri, a physicist and mechanical engineer, earned his Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Seattle University, and, early on, worked for Boeing on the development of the 727, 737 and 747 aircrafts prior to their FAA certification.

Dr. Jhaveri worked in 1992 to help earn Burien a little independence of its own, so to speak. The voters said Yes that year to Burien becoming a city in its own right, and the new City Council elected him Mayor. He served from 1992 to 1998.

In 1997, Dr. Jhaveri was one of eleven mayors from the United States to participate in the Global Climate Conference in Kyoto, Japan.

Jhaveri is co-authoring a book, titled “Carbon Reduction – Policies, Strategies and Technologies.” It is scheduled for release later this year.

He is currently an Adjunct Professor at the Argosy University, teaching two Doctoral courses, one on Educational Leadership and the other on Program Evaluation.

“I am an eternal optimist,” Dr. Jhaveri says. “The key is to educate the young people of today – about the care of the world’s environment.

“The earth’s future is truly in their hands.”

Mark Neuman is a Writer as well as Marketing Dude for The B-Town (Burien) Blog.

He has interviewed two US Presidents, cops, cooks and cartoonists, authors and artists, senators, scholars and senior citizens, and the B-Town Blog is proud to have him on our team.

Mark can be reached at mark@b-townblog.com.

by Stephen Lamphear

Following in the steps of the likes of Seattle City Attorney Tom Carr, the city of Burien is preparing to reduce its responsiveness to public records requests.

Here’s a screenshot of “Ordinance 517” on pages 121 – 123 of the last week’s council packet (from http://burienwa.gov/archives/30/081709a.pdf):

(click here to see full version of Ordinance 517)

The proposed change will eliminate:

• The requirement to respond within 5 days by providing or denying requests
• The requirement to state a timeframe for response
• The requirement to provide partially discloseable documents by redacting exempt portions
• The requirement to seek clarification if request is unclear
• The requirement to provide a statement why a request is denied

The city’s proposal addresses internal processes while totally eliminating responsiveness to the public. The proposed ordinance is totally outside the spirit of the public records access law – a law that was enacted by an initiative of the people.

Where is that “transparency” we so often hear from the likes of Rose Clark and Joan McGilton?

We need to loudly oppose the city’s retrenchment into secrecy.

– Stephen

(Stephen Lamphear is a longtime Burien resident and former City Councilmember.)

[EDITOR'S NOTE: We welcome all opinions, and publish pertinent ones at our discretion. As always, all Readers are encouraged to either email us their thoughts, or Comment below. What do YOU think of "Ordinance 517"?]

by Mark Neuman

I spoke Friday (June 5th) with Burien City Councilmember Rose Clark, who is running for re-election, Position No. 5.

As of press time (or in this electronic era, as of “hit send” time), Clark has no opposition in her bid for another four-year term on the council:

MIKE MARTIN PROTEST
A May 20th B-Town Blog story covered a public protest by Burien resident Tai Oh concerning the April 19 arrest of Burien City Manager Mike Martin for suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. Martin entered a plea of “not guilty” on May 15.

In that story, Oh, who is calling for the resignation or firing of Martin, said he contacted the Burien city council as a body and each member individually via e-mail and voicemail and not a single councilmember responded to him.

“My office phone number is everywhere. I never received a phone call from him,” Clark said, referring to Oh.

“I would have been happy to talk to him if had he called me, but he didn’t.

“We did receive some emails from him over our city website.

“He has sent several (emails),” Clark said. “I can’t tell how many. (On) all of them the tone is very derogatory towards Mr. Martin, expressing anger that ‘a man like that’ is holding ‘that job’ (city manager). And demanding that he leave the city. On one email he called (Martin) an unkind word. I can’t even remember what the word was. But I’m not very impressed when people come on like that. They need to be a little bit more intelligent about their language.”

ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
Among her major accomplishments over the recent four years, Clark says “I was very, very gratified to have pushed emergency preparedness enough that we hired an Emergency Preparedness Coordinator (Karen Ferreira) which would have been a costly position except we share it with Normandy Park and Sea Tac.

“I think that is what I am most proud of.”

ANNEXATION VOTE:
Regarding the August 18 annexation vote, Clark said “I think the people north of here will vote to come to Burien, a small city, more able to serve their needs.”

BUDGET CUTS:
Will coming budget cuts result in the reduction of officer positions in the Burien Police Department?

“I think, yes, the possibility is there,” Clark said. “However, our Police Chief, Scott Kimerer, is pursuing grants. We might lose a couple positions, but through the grants, we might gain them back.”

MAYOR CLARK?
The seven-member council will, this January, elect a mayor.

Would Clark want to be elected mayor?

“No I don’t think I have that kind of personality. I would consider serving as deputy mayor again.”

Clark served her first term as Council member earlier in the decade. She has served as deputy mayor six times, her most recent term expiring this past February. The term of deputy mayor runs one year.

She is employed as a library tech at an area high school, and has been there since 1992.