I have been an advocate for building and completing the East Lake Sammamish Trail since 1999, shortly after I moved to Sammamish. Recently, Mayor Tom Vance and the city staff worked closely with the county and made the shoreline permit for the next trail section contingent on most of the mitigations the lakeside homeowners requested.

Yet the lakeside homeowner’s association, SHO, appealed the permit on July 27. Only then did the county appeal. It appears it was always SHO’s intent to appeal the permit no matter what the city and county did to try to address their concerns. SHO’s actions makes it apparent that they were never willing to see the trail completed.

The candidate running against Mayor Tom Vance is Tom Hornish, who is head of this homeowners group. He and his group are not only appealing the permit, but also have filed lawsuits against the city and county claiming they, and not the county, own the right of way. The homeowner’s group continues blocking the trail, even when the city and county agreed on mitigations for the homeowners.

I would like to see the trail completed in my lifetime. Thus, I am supporting Tom Vance and Mark Cross.

Mark Cross is a former city council member and mayor who helped support building and opening the interim trail. As an urban planner, he also has ideas on how the final trail can be built in a way that can accommodate the narrow area available that must accommodate the homeowners egress as well as create a trail that is wide enough to be safe for trail users of all abilities.

Let’s vote for those who are interested in solving the issues involved in completing the trail rather than blocking it. It will be a great amenity for the city when it is totally complete!

Jan Bird, Sammamish