Out of the four seats up for election this November on Issaquah City Council, only one candidate has a challenger.
It’s surprising, because nine people applied for a vacant seat in February, said incumbent Joshua Schaer. “I kind of expected some of those folks consider running.”
The deadline for candidate filings was June 10.
TJ Filley is challenging Schaer, who is finishing is first term.
Filley chose Schaer because he’s the chair of the transportation committee, he said. “I think that’s where we’re making our biggest mistakes,” Filley said.
His campaign plans to focus on transportation projects, including the bicycle overpass on State Route 900, which is over budget and late.
“People are going to want to vote for me, because we can’t afford to waste any more money on boondoggles,” he said. “When you look at things in the Central Issaquah Plan, we’re letting people outside of Issaquah determine what’s important to us.”
Schaer is standing on his years of experience on City Council, and the number of projects the city has completed since he arrived, including the undercrossing by the post office.
“I’ve worked with a really good team of people on council, and we’ve done a lot of good things in the city,” Schaer said.
He wants to stay on council to see through many of the projects he helped start, he said. “There is a lot of unfinished business.”
The two candidates are also eager discuss their goals for business development, something the council turned a serious eye toward in the last goal setting retreat.
Filley is a business developer who works with security tech companies. He’s lived off an on in Issaquah for 25 years, and has owned a home on Tiger Mountain for five years.
While he hasn’t served on any city boards or commissions, often a training ground for future council members, he volunteers at Artwalk and is a member of Eastridge Church.
Schaer is an attorney in Bellevue. In addition to his work on transportation projects, he worked toward a food packaging ordinance that required all restaurants to use recyclable or compostable serverware.
The three candidates that will run uncontested are Stacy Goodman, new to the council this spring; Fred Butler, a senior council member; and Paul Winterstein, who was tapped by council member John Traeger, who decided not to run in November.
There are two contested races in the Issaquah School District. Patrick Sansing is challenging incumbent Brian Deagle. Two candidates are challenging Suzanne Waver, Brian Neville and Joseph Arnaud, which means they will have a primary.
Anne Moore is expected to replace Jan Colbrese, who decided not to run after 12 years on the board.
