Growth, annexation requests and protection of city residents are among the key issues on the minds of Bellevue City Council candidates leading into the Nov. 7 elections.
Bellevue residents will vote on three open City Council seats during next week's election. The race hasn't drawn any challengers for the sitting incumbents Chris Koch, Shaun Mahoney and Tammy Eaton.
For Koch, protecting the interests of the city's residents ranks highest among his list of priorities. The upcoming term will be Koch's second.
A key part of protecting these residents will be the type of decision the City Council eventually makes on the three major annexation applications it is considering, Koch said.
The annexations—proposed for lands northeast and south of Bellevue—would effectively double the size of the city in one fell swoop if approved.
The approval of these annexations is in no way assured, Koch said.
"To me, the people (of Bellevue) are more important than the annexations," he said.
Koch said the council will have to consider a number of factors—including appropriate fees and other concessions from the annexation applicants—before any decision is made.
"I think there are a lot of facts that still need to be made," he said.
Koch expressed disappointment that the race for City Council hasn't brought about much interest.
"I'm very disappointed there aren't any challengers," he said. "That's where a lot of new ideas come from."
Still, the makeup of the sitting City Council is a good one in his opinion. The council members work well together and represent a good mix of the old and new in Bellevue.
"I think the current council is working really hard," he said.
As long as city residents continue to vote for him, he'll continue to serve, he said.
Like Koch, the next term will be un Mahoney's second in office.
In Mahoney's opinion, working to build the city's infrastructure should be the top priority of the next City Council. "You don't have a city if you don't have infrastructure," he said.
Second on his list of priorities, Mahoney says the three annexation requests are the second most pressing issue.
Mahoney said the City Council doesn't have a predetermined outcome already in mind for the annexations.
Another of Mahoney's priorities is protecting the city's downtown commercial core through the development of a downtown business district in order to "build up the downtown."
Despite several telephone inquiries, Councilwoman Tammy Eaton was unable to be reached in time for this article. The upcoming term will be Eaton's third.
Earlier this year, Eaton ran unsuccessfully in a bid to secure the Democratic nomination for the race to succeed Blaine County Commissioner Dennis Wright.
All Bellevue voting will take place at the Bellevue Elementary School from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 7.
