The Capitol Hill Community Council has revived and grown into an able representative body that has the attention of city leaders civic, business and in between. The group has recently helped make projects like the 12th Ave Arts development move forward and helped drive the agenda on important Capitol Hill issues at City Hall. Thursday night, a group of returning candidates will be joined by a couple newcomers to seek your support for a new year of community council activity.
Candidate bios are below. The election — complete with free pie and ice cream — takes place Thursday night at the Cal Anderson Shelter House starting at 7p. Show up to vote. Show up to have some pie. And show up to thank these candidates for their time and find out how you too can get involved. Learn more at http://capitolhillcommunitycouncil.org/
2011-2012 Capitol Hill Community Council Officer Statements
Norma Jean Straw, President
I’m interested in working to preserve the diversity and character of our neighborhood. I also think that our neighborhood can and should play a greater role in City and regional politics especially in regards to transit oriented development, sustainable community development and social justice. I’m an advocate for parks, lifelong education, arts, equality and neighborhood based economic development. I’ve lived on Capitol Hill for most of the last 18 years and I LOVE this neighborhood. My partner and I currently own a unit in the Braeburn Condos at 14th and Pine but I have lived in many areas of the Hill. I was born in Glasgow, Scotland, grew up in Kitsap County and moved to Seattle when I was 17.I have a BA from The Evergreen State College where I studied Political Economics, Social Change, and Visual Art. My professional experience includes launching AmeriCorps programs in the mid-90s, working for k-12 school reform, directing the growth of beauty and art business VAIN, producing educational and documentary TV programming for PBS, Discover Kids, and TLC, and consulting to non-profits, businesses, and government agencies on strategic planning and leadership development. Over 10 years ago, I helped create and launch the Get Engaged program for the City of Seattle that places young adults on the CIty’s policy boards and commission. I have served on the board of directors for Washington Film Works, Metrocenter YMCA, YMCA of the USA, Points of Light Foundation and Puget Sound Community School.
My goal for the next year is to continue to build and grow the role and work of the Council so that we can effectively advocate for our neighborhood. I believe that the Council should also serve as a vehicle for greater community engagement and connection to city policies and services in all areas of government with special emphasis on Parks, Transportation, Arts and Culture, Housing, and Economic Development.
Mike Kent, Vice-President
In the two years since I moved to Capitol Hill, I have enjoyed working with my fellow community members to make our neighborhood even better – a safer, more vibrant and accessible place where even more people will choose to live, work, and play. I therefore hope to continue in my role as Vice President for the Capitol Hill Community Council.During my time here, I have been an active member of the TOD Champion, a group of Capitol Hill residents and business owners advocating for community-supported development at the future Capitol Hill Light Rail Station. I have also led the Community Council’s efforts to make 12th Avenue safer for pedestrians, bicyclists, and auto traffic; this project recently received a $17,000 Neighborhood Matching Fund grant from the City of Seattle, and our Steering Committee is working diligently to make this project a success. Professionally, I run my own urban planning consulting practice and have taken on projects in Capitol Hill and Columbia City. In the year ahead, I hope to continue helping the Community Council grow, seeking the meaningful engagement of our active local community, and pursuing projects that have a profound and positive impact on Capitol Hill.
Eric Sanders, Treasurer/Secretary
I moved to Seattle – and directly to Capitol Hill – almost eight years ago and immediately became smitten with this endlessly fascinating urban village. From this initial love affair has grown a commitment to the neighborhood and a desire to play an active part in improving our community. Capitol Hill has settled me like no other place.
Because Seattle’s ‘city of neighborhoods’ urban model places heavy emphasis on civic dialogue and effective grassroots representation, reliable and effective community voices are essential to sustaining high quality neighborhood life. The Capitol Hill Community Council has long provided a voice for the community and I look forward to lending a hand as the Council and the community at-large navigate through a generationally-significant amount of development, change, and possibility.I grew up on a small wheat farm in north-central Montana and graduated from San Diego State University with a degree in accounting. I began my career at Ernst & Young and did a short stint at KPMG in Germany. After a few years’ experience with for-profit companies, I moved into the more personally rewarding non-profit sector about six years ago. For the past five years I have worked at Humanities Washington, a local non-profit committed to lifelong learning and civic engagement, as their Finance and Administrative Director. This past January, I became a Certified Public Accountant (CPA).
For the past four years, I have served on the finance committee of the Pride Foundation and the audit committee of the Federation of State Humanities Councils. Recently I became Treasurer of my condo association. Previously, I provided volunteer accounting consulting services to non-profit clients of 501 Commons (formerly the Executive Service Corps of WA) and was an information desk volunteer at Sea-Tac Airport (I’m an aviation fan).
As a candidate for Treasurer/Secretary of the Capitol Hill Community Council, my goals during the next year of service are:
● to be a reliable resource for the council on financial, policy, administrative, transparency & accountability, and organizational risk-mitigation issues,
● to serve the community as an effective and fair advocate; able to transform the needs and desires of a diverse community into unified action,
● to appreciate the opportunities growth and development create while respecting and acknowledging the needs of the under-served in our community, and
● to play a part in extending the streetcar to Volunteer Park.George Bakan, At Large Position
For 26 years George Bakan has been the Editor-in-Chief for Seattle Gay News. He has been overseeing the operation of the SGN weekly newspaper since 1983.
George was born in Seattle, raised in rural Bellevue and in the 1960s he moved with his family to Eastern Washington. George returned to Seattle in the early 1980s to become a Gay activist.
Some of the highlights of his almost 30-years of Gay community activism are organizing the Seattle AIDS Action Committee in 1983, which later became Mobilization Against AIDS. During the early days of the AIDS epidemic George and the Seattle AIDS Action Committee organized an annual candle light vigil at SCCC at Pine and Broadway on Capitol Hill. During his early days as an activist he co-chaired the 1984 Freedom Day Committee, now known as Seattle Out and Proud. George was the regional co-chair for the 1987 and 1993 National Marches on Washington, DC. During both organizing efforts Bakan led the Northwest sponsored push for bi and transsexual inclusion at the national events. He was on the Hands off Washington Executive Committee and was for a time Vice Chair for Hands Off Washington. HOW worked statewide on LGBT political issues from 1992 to 1996.
Thought of retirement does not suit George. The LGBT veteran activist continues his daily oversight at the SGN and looks towards future projects, including health issues for old Gay guys and setting up training and leadership workshops for young LGBT activists and a tree planting project in Seattle parks to honor people who’ve died of AIDS.Rachael Brister, At Large Position
Rachael has a BA in Spanish and Comparative Literature with a Film Studies minor from The University of Rochester in Rochester, NY. Rachael moved to Seattle from Rochester, NY where she produced ImageOut: The Rochester Lesbian & Gay Film Festival for 9 years. She also managed an art house cinema for 5 years and a historic archival movie theatre (Dryden Theatre at George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film) for 2 years. Rachael moved to Seattle 7 years ago to become the Executive Director of Three Dollar Bill Cinema, the non-profit organization that produces The Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival, Translations: The Seattle Transgender Film Festival, and the outdoor movies in Cal Anderson Park. Rachael also serves as the Board 1st Vice President of the Greater Seattle Business Association (GSBA).Micah Kurth, At Large Position
Micah is a Seattle Native and had been a resident of Capitol Hill since 1989. He is a renter and is employed on Capitol Hill as well. He loves living on Capitol Hill and would like to be involved more involved with the community and “in the know” about what is going on and what is coming to “the hill” in the near future. His work experience is made up over 20 years working in the Customer Service/ Collections and Credit Unions. He has been volunteering with numerous non-profits since he has been a teenager such as Lifelong AIDS Alliance, Special Olympics, PAWS and Gay City. In his spare time he likes to bake, garden, listen to music, watch old movies and play with his pets.Michael Archambault, At Large Position
I have been living in Seattle for 6 years, the last 4 of which have been spent on Capitol Hill. I’m a resident and landlord on the Hill and a Community Council regular, spending some time in the Land Use and Transportation committees. I have written for the Capitol Hill Seattle Blog, have a BS in Computer Engineering, and currently work for Boeing. This fall I will be pursuing my interest in public policy and urban design by beginning the Master of Public Administration program at UW. I share in the love we all have for Capitol Hill and I wholly embrace and appreciate the strong sense of place and community that exists here. I look forward to working with the Community Council to ensure that we strengthen our growing visibility in the local government as we continue to be a beacon of uniqueness and a proud leader in livability within the city.
