Issaquah Mayor Fred Butler’s annual State of the City address at the Feb. 21 Issaquah City Council meeting touched on a variety of issues from traffic to affordable housing, but there was one common theme throughout the speech — partnerships.

“Partnerships turn ideas into actions,” Butler said.

Butler called traffic Issaquah’s “number-one focus as a community,” and addressed the need for partnerships between King County cities to solve regional transportation difficulties.

“Regional problems mandate regional solutions,” Butler said. “No single city is isolated and unaffected by any other city.”

According to Butler, representatives from every city in King County will meet within the next month to discuss how to combat regional traffic problems with “long-term funding solutions.” Butler also talked of his plans to create a regional partnership with representatives from the state, county and city level to work together on fixing the Issaquah-Hobart Road’s congestion issues.

“As we all know, more people will choose the Pacific Northwest as their home in the coming years,” Butler said, noting that 86,000 people moved to the region in just the last two years.

Butler named partnerships as the solution for issues connected to Issaquah’s growth and as a way to better provide services to residents, pointing to the city’s affordable housing strategy, public engagement process and partnerships with the Issaquah School District in anticipation of new schools.

“By listening to each other, considering all perspectives and setting common goals, we are a community. It all comes down to partnerships,” Butler stated.