KP community elections draw near

Area-wide positions up for grabs, election scheduled for Sunday

Lance McMillan

Special to the Gateway

The Key Peninsula Community Council will be holding elections for the Board of Directors on Sunday.

The council is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to address, respond to and meet the needs of community residents by developing partnerships, sponsorships and programs to maintain and improve the quality of life on the Key Peninsula.

Ballots were mailed to all registered voting members of the council in early September. Registered members can either mail in their ballots or drop their ballots off at the KPCC polling booth at the farmers market in Key Center on the day of the election, between noon and 4 p.m.

Several members the council’s Board of Directors will be present at the polling booth to talk with interested citizens about current issues that impact the community and present informative briefings on various projects and changes that are being considered for the Key Peninsula.

Voting members must be at least 18 years old and currently either live or own property on the Key Peninsula. Voters may register at the polling booth and vote on the day of the election.

Candidates who are elected to the KPCC’s Board of Directors will be sworn in on Oct. 14. The council meets the second Wednesday of each month at the Key Center branch of the Pierce County Library System.

Biographies and statements for nominated candidates are provided below.

Area 1 (two positions open)

Michael Razmek: I believe my 30 years of working for government agencies and political organizations would be an asset to the community. I understand the challenges we face and will provide the representation and leadership to ensure our community prospers.

Currently, we are not receiving our fair share of the county and state taxes for road improvements and other growth initiatives.

As a prospective director on the community council, my goal would be to secure necessary tax dollars to meet our current and future needs.

I am a member of the Association of Government Accountants, the American Bar Association, the National Association of Purchasing Managers, the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary and a retired contract manager for the Department of Defense.

Area 2 (two positions open)

Mike Baum (incumbent): I have lived on the Key Peninsula for more than 20 years and have been active in helping it mature into the wonderful place it is.

It is critical that, as it continues to mature, we provide guidance and oversight. I can be diplomatic and engaging. I promise I won’t be apathetic or complacent.

Traffic and transportation are my passions, and I feel I am a good liaison between you and our governing agencies.

Dottie Mazza: I’ve been visiting the Key Peninsula since the 1960s. Our family decided this is where we want to call home, and we made it our permanent residence in 1996.

I’ve been a realtor for Windermere since 2002 and was active in assisting in the purchase of a 39-acre shoreline property at the head of Taylor Bay for Trust of Public Lands, a conservation group.

That property was one of the last large undeveloped pockets of land on the bay, and TPL and the Key Peninsula Metropolitan Park District are working together to create a public park.

I also do volunteer work on the Key Peninsula, such as Habitat for Humanity, donations to the Children’s Home Society and various projects for the park district.

I hope to be a part of the council to work on keeping our waterways clean, safe and available for the people of the Key Peninsula to use and enjoy.

Danna Webster (incumbent): The Key Peninsula Community Council is the only organization on the peninsula dedicated to representing all communities.

I have served as an Area 2 director since 2004, working with the council to learn the issues and concerns of the peninsula and addressing those subjects to state, county and local governments.

This past year, it has been my duty to serve as president of KPCC. I am dedicated to helping the council build a representative voice through authentic community involvement, from the chin of Devil’s Head to the Kitsap County line.

I’m also the vice president of the Key Peninsula Business Association, assistant editor of the Key Peninsula News, a member of the Key Peninsula Farmers’ Market Board, Key Peninsula Farm Tour Board and Key Peninsula Writers’ Guild

Area 3 (one position open)

Liz Gefre (incumbent): I’ve been a resident of the Key Peninsula for five years. After serving on the Key Peninsula Community Council for less than a year, I feel I’ve only gotten my feet wet.

I’d like to have time to work more in-depth on several issues that affect this community.

As a member of the Small Farm Board, I’ve been involved with the Key Peninsula Farm Tour since the first year. I have a degree in human services from Western Washington University, and I worked as a social worker for 15 years.

I’m currently a realtor and have worked for Windermere Key Realty for the past two years.

I love life on the Key Peninsula and would like to see this quality of life sustained for years to come.

Tom Longley: I moved to the Key Peninsula in 1983 to work at the Minter Creek Salmon Hatchery. For the past 11 years, I’ve been working with a Christian non-profit organization that works in Central Asia.

I’m actively involved in my church and enjoy meeting people and hearing their stories.

After some encouragement from friends, I decided to be a candidate for the KPCC out of a desire to get to know more people in the community, and to be more involved in helping people with their concerns in these challenging times.

Dan Miller: No statement submitted.

Amanda Swainston: The Key Peninsula is not only full of retired individuals and families who have lived here for generations, but, more increasingly, young families are drawn out here for one reason or another.

For my husband and I, we were raised out here for most of our lives. It was obvious after only a couple years of being away that we knew it would be the best place to raise our family.

It is my love of the Key Peninsula that draws me to run for this position. I would be an excellent candidate, as I have worked with many of the families out here.

For years, I worked as a personal care provider for elderly and disabled Key Peninsula residents.

Later, my husband and I became a licensed family child care service in Lakebay, serving many families over the past few years.

Currently, my husband is running the family child care business and I work as preschool teacher/family advocate for ECEAP, our state’s low-income preschool program, much like Head Start.

It is for these reasons and many more that I feel I would be a well-qualified candidate.

Area 4 (two positions open)

Chris Fitzgerald (incumbent): The Key Peninsula has been precious to me since childhood. I am seeking re-election to advocate sound, community-friendly solutions for land use, shorelines and rural access issues.

I was the organizing force behind the successful geoduck forum sponsored by the council and local newspaper, during which time I was also an environmental reporter.

The KP is a modern-day rarity — communities that care for their neighbors and embrace quality of life in a rural setting.

We have been “discovered,” however, and traffic is causing some activities that make country living unique to diminish.

If re-elected, I would invite like-minded citizens to join with me in challenging the county and state to help us create walking, bicycling and horseback riding trails.

We can’t afford to sit back and let the KP become just another suburb adjacent to a city.

This special gem, this peninsula, and the people who love it, deserve more.

Rion Tisino: I chose to run as a board member for the Key Peninsula Community Council because I want to work to keep our community safe, and to maintain and improve the quality of life on the Key Peninsula.

I have been a homeowner on the Key Peninsula since October 2007. I feel that Longbranch is one of the highest-quality areas of rural living in the state.

I believe I am a qualified applicant because of my ethical standards, educational history and experience.

My primary goal when I moved to Longbranch was to set examples and bring a unique sense of diversity.

I’ve been in the social services field. I have been working for the Dept. of Social and Health Services for the past 2 1/2 years. I’ve been teaching a diversity course at Edmonds Community College for the past three Winter quarters.

I believe in community involvement on a micro level, and I believe children are our future. Knowing this is important to ingrain the importance of education to our children.

In the fall, I plan to offer my services to the community.

Kim Wiley: I’m running because I feel community improvement depends on the involvement of concerned citizens.

I’m a member of the Peninsula High School Scholarship Committee, Secretary to the President of “NW PRO4 Trucks” touring circle track racing club, a photographer for Latent Images and a notary with Key Peninsula Notary.