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closeDerek Young wants to keep focus on budget, land use
Incumbent points to developments in GH North, Uptown
Nate Hulings
of the Gateway
Derek Young will be seeking his fourth term on the Gig Harbor City Council this fall. He began his council career when he was 21 and is junior only to Council member Steve Ekberg.
Young, now 32, said his main motivation for seeking re-election is to solve the city’s budget shortfall.
“One of the reasons I decided to run was because of the serious budget problem,” he said. “Leaving now, when you have to solve this sort of thing, would put the city in a more serious condition.”
Young said he’s prepared to hit the campaign trail — he’s run opposed in each of his previous three terms.
The closest race of his political career was his first. Young, fresh out of college at the time, said he beat incumbent Marilyn Owel by two votes.
“I originally ran to prove a point, and things took off in ways I didn’t expect,” Young said. “A lot of support I didn’t anticipate.”
Besides working on the budget, Young said another major issue facing the city is land use. He wants to make sure the city strikes a balance between preserving the feel of Gig Harbor while continuing to allow it to grow.
“You can throw up your hands and say ‘No growth,’ but that isn’t going to happen,” he said.
Young said many of the accomplishments he is most proud of have been land use and zoning changes. He said he pushed for the zoning change that helped produce Uptown Gig Harbor.
Finding the balance is key, he said.
“If you have good design requirements, you can have a neighborhood that has a sense of place,” he said.
Young also points to his work on Gig Harbor North and pushing the council to create a legislative program to work with the state to find funding for projects.
Young currently is taking Web design and multimedia courses at Bellevue Community College and plans to create his own campaign materials and Web site.
Young also has worked in government affairs and banking.
A self-proclaimed “nerd,” Young said his favorite pastime is reading.
“One of my weaknesses is a decent book,” he said.
Young also is a soccer and football fanatic, and he enjoys hiking.